Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1902-07-18

Now, as Paul sent the salutati0n of
the saints in Caesars palace TO the
members of the Philippian church for
their encouragement, | am going to
bring the salutatiOns of the saints who
live in Caesars modern palaces for the
encouragement of every man. woman
and child. am going to declire to
the young and the old, the rich and
the poor, the high and the low alike,
that. though some of you are having a
hard time to maintain your Oh 'istian
integrity against the commandments Of
seemingly overwhelming WORLDLY diff
culties, yet there are men and women
who are maintaining their Christian in
tegrity against troubles infinitely
greater than yours. There are M en and
women true to God today who have
shouldered upon their backs whole
mountain range of misfortunes and
sorrows and pains, while you com
paratlvely speaking. are going forth
into the gospel fight weighted down
only with little knapsack. There are
| Christian men who. figurutively speak
i %AA.f AAathN hNNh nuns WV uOtAAAA AAAAh-
Atlantic and told TO swim ashore, while
you have only shallow brook tC cross.
There are Christian men who are ankle
deep, knee deep, waist deep. shoulder
deep, chin deep in the quicksands of
difficulties who can yet look UP and
see the face of God, while you, COM
paratively speaking. have only ii stony
path to climb. If the saints in C,0esar's
ancient and modern palaces could be
true to their gospel faith, surely their
spiritual examples ought TO rollse ev.
cry one of us TO better and truer and
purer and nobler efforts. no matter
what our mental or physical or Incl
dental difficulties may be.
l would encourage those Christians
in the first place, who are struggling
against the physical depressions of il
health. Life even under the brightest
of conditions is an awful struggle Al
eXander Pope once compared thu cease
less struggle of life to Il cOntinuou.
journey over the bridge of time. Up
? on one end of this bridge the Englisl
poet started the different generations
Then he kept them moving on and OIL
and on. never allowing the tired ant
fO0tsOre and headaching and heart
: aching traveller to halt for an instant
He kept them moving on and on owe
the bridge Of time until every boy an
girl or young man and young woma
or middle aged man and middle age
woman or SeXagPnarian or OttOgena
y rian or lettering centenarian had tun
6. bled through the broken planks of tia
Z bridge into the dark waters of the ril
e. er of death flowing below.
y But though life is such an awfU
s struggle for the broad chested and tn
as stout limbed and the powerful ly PHI,
IS siqued, vet, wonderful to say, some {
~ the mightiest Christian heroes an
herOines have been men and wOme
~ II who were physical weaklings. Som
Of the most famous mental and spi
L. itual giants of the ages have bee
- those whose physical frames were
frail that they could have been d
y strOyed almost as easily as a dey
drop could be flung from the surfat
of Il leaf or a humming birds Iii
could be crushed out between Il
= thumb and the forefnger of A man
{, hand. John Summerfeld's body w;
so frail that it withered away und
= the touch Of consumption while !
was yet boy. John Summerfie
tai died when he was but twenty-seve
yet he lived long enough, with tn
frail body, to bring the gospel me
sage to the whole English s;peakil
TO. race of his time. Fanny Crosby, Il
. inspired hymnologist, who has writ,
4 over 5000 hymns, by means Of viii
many thousands of souls have nestl
r. safe In the-Arms of Jesus" (which
81 perhaps her most popular hymn, h
! such a weak, frail little body til
- there seems to ha nnthinG to I,er nhl