The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1902-09-05

Vanderbilt, Rockefeller or an Astor
even though you once on earth livet
In as magnificent a mansion as die
Dives of old, at whose gate the dog
were licking the sores of a dying beg
gar, Shrouds have no pockets, and {
skeletons bony fingers can hold M
gold, and all your worldly riches will
then be but dross, which you canno
carry with you ON that last journey
But, If you have the letter of credit OF
divine grace and the passport stamped
with the crimson seal of Calvary, ther
the long journey will be accomplished
safely, and the gates of the New Je
rusalem will be opened unto you, nc
matter how financially poor you may
have been on earth, because you are
pleading there for admittance In
Christ's name.
Henry Clews tells us that when old
Cornelius Vanderbilt, the richest man
of his day, lay dying, turning his back
upon his $90,000,000 as though he had
| been the poorest outcast in the street,
he had to ask his Christian wife to
pray for him and sing one of the old
Christian hymns which she had learned
in her fathers house. May we, one
and all, never make the mistake the
aged millionaire made in trying to fix
up our divine passport at the last mo-
ment May we, long before our earthly
demise, apply at the Bank of Grace
for a letter of credit which will sue
cessfully carry us through the dark
days when we are dying and be suffi-
cient for us until we realize the bright
and triumphant advent of a heavenly
welcome.
The long, Long Journey.
The simiie of death as long jour-
ney away from the family fireside is
very striking When a man takes
long earthly journey, he is very apt to
gather his family about him and say,
eff l should take this journey, in all
probability l will return home at such
and such a time" or if the father is
going into a new country to establish
another home he says to his children:
after l am settled there and find ev-
erything all right you can sell the
goods and pack up and come to me. I
will be in such and such a place at
such and such time" Or perhaps the
man who is about to take long jour
ney will do as my father and myself
did when we started ON our journey
around the world. We were to set
sail from San Francisco and go by the
way of the Sandwich Islands, Samoa,
Australia and India. 1t was a long,
hard journey, and mother was phys
ically unable to undertake it. SO ia
Their said: Mother, you take the two
girls and go to Europe and meet
Frank and myself as we come around
the world Meet us either at Brindisi
or in Paris or London" So mother
set sail from New York and went east.
Father and myself set sail from San
Francisco, going west. We were all
to meet by preconcerted plan at the
French capital.
My brother, as you must take this
long journey through the valley of the
shadow of death with the divine pass
port in your hands, how can you ever
expect to rejoin your loved ones unless
you make previous arrangements with
them where to meet? Having a letter
of credit at the Bank of Grace, you
say you expect to journey to the Celes-
tial City. Have you ever told your
loved ones about that city? Have you
ever told them how to get to that cen
ter of the universe? Have you ever
told them there is only one way to
reach your destination, and that is for
them to obtain forgiveness of their sins
by the blood of the Lamb, so that their
heavenly advent shall be made pos
sible? If it is important for you to
make spiritual preparations for the
journey of death by being washed in
the Saviour's blood, is it not just as
for your loved ones to be
cleansed by the same blood? You
should tell your loved ones how they
can be cleansed from sin as surely as
the guide, many years ago, told the
traveller how his body could be cleansed
as he became covered over with a
swarm of leeches when he was ford
ing a shallow river in Burma. In hor-
ror the foreigner began to pull them |
off, for the vampires were draining |
away his life's strength. But the guide |
babe him cease or he would destroy |
himself. Then the guide prepared a |
bath in which he diluted some herbs, |
the juices of which were fatal to the
life Of the leech. Then he directed the
traveller to lie down in the prepared
waters, and Immediately his body was
freed from the vile aquatic worms.
Have you ever told your loved ones
that the only way they can meet you
In heaven is by bathing themselves in
the blood of the Lamb, so that the ia
tai worm of sin which is sucking at
their hearts shall fall off and die?
would plead with you, men and
who are trying to set your
house In order, to look after the spir-
tual welfare of your loved ones as
we'll as your own, because do not I'M
how heaven can ever be a
ruly and entirely happy place for any
nan who has neglected to look after
he spiritual interests of those who on
sarth were near and dear to him.
lnow that the Bible distinctly declares
hat heaven is to be a bright and a
lappy place; but, for one, 1 think that
wen celestial happiness would be mar
ed If. when we are safely there, we
we're conscious that our loved ones
lad missed their opportunity of COM
ng In through our own neglect to tell
hem the way to the great white
hrone. 1 well remember in our jour
ley around the world how the heart
ched when In faroff Australia father
nd 1 received a cablegram that moth