Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1903-03-19
a SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED
THE END OF TIME"

Tie Rev. DR.. David j. BurreII Discourses
Instructively on Theme That in Less
Eloquent Mouths Might Seem Thread
bare-EconomizeF Fragments of Time.
New YORK C1rY.-The Rev. DR.. David
James Burrell, pastor of the Marble Cole
gate Church, Fifth avenue and twenty
ninth street, preached on 1'The End Of
Time" He took his text from Revelations
x: and 6: s'And the angel which I saw
stand upon the sea and upon the earth
lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware
by Him that liyeth forever and ever, who
created heaven, and the things that therein
are, and the earth, and the things that
therein are, and the sea, and the things
which are therein, that there should be
time no longer"
Our theme is trife threadbare, but per-
haps none the less profitable on that ac-
count. 1t is an easy matter to make a
homily on time, but not all homilies are as
much to the point as that Of the court jes-
ter Jacques:
Good morrow, fool" quoth I.
mo, sir" quoth he;
"Ca1l me not fool till heaven hath sent me
fortune"
And then he drew dial from his poke,
And, looking on it with lack-luster eye,
Says very wisely, ut is ten o'clock;
Illus Lndy we see, quOCn ne, now the
world wags;
'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine;
And after one hour more twill be eleven;
And so, from hour to hour, we ripe and
ripe,
And then, from hour to hour, we rot and
rot;
And thereby hangs tale"
Let this melancholy '''tale'' engage us for
while. The issues of interminable aeons
may depend upon the attention we give to
the circling hands on the dial. He who
learns Alright the lessons of time is ready
to meet the responsibilities Of eternity
But what is time? "Time is money!
they say. So far so good, if we would real
ize it. A man went into Benjamin Frank
Inns book store and inquired the price Of
a volume ..c "0ne dollar" was the clerks $
~ouidbe purchaser WReGy Frann KIN sas
asked the price Of the volume he answered,
Gone dollar and quarter" 'sWhy, your
clerk asked only dollar" "To be sure,
but you called me from my printing press
and [ am charging you for my time" The
Presently he said, .:Now, Mr.. Franklin,
really what is your lowest figure for this
book?" Zone dollar and half" I'Pre-
posterous! You only asked me dollar
and quarter eyes, but my time is val
liable, and every minute sends the book
! up" This was sound philosophy and good
business. # our days and hours were al
should probably be less profigate of them
We have no such scruple about wasting
time as we would have in throwing gole
! eeslass into the
But time is more than money. It is "th'
stuff that life is made Of" It stands fol
ment, heaven or hell. You may throw
away dollar and earn another, but NJ
two moments overlap. The last one sale
farewell forever; the next is-already gone
Time is a talent, a talent of gold stamped
with the image and superscription Of thu
and mountains, and He owns it.. He ha
entrusted it to us, to be put at usury fol
Him. ssWill a man rob God? Yet ye hav,
robbed Me, saith the Lord of hosts" Th'
misappropriation or misuse of days ant
hours and moments is as really dishones
as the tapping of an employers till. Thi
is serious matter, and gives us suthclen
food for thought, if our question wer
pushed no further. But we cannot sto]
here
asked an aged man with hoary hairs,
| Wrinkled and curved with many worldl,
cares,
se.Time is the warp Of life" he said, 20 tell
The young; the fair, the brave to use /
well.'
| I asked the mighty angel and silver.
Those bright ehronometers of passin,
They .snswared, +srime is but meteor
And bade me for eternity prepare.
I asked the mighty angel who shall stan,
One foot on sea, the other on the land;
ttMortal," he cried, "the mystery is o'ers
Time was, time is, but time shall be n
nlore!''
A step, further brings us to the inquiry
What is time for? or to what end has thi
nomentous trust been reposed in us? LIE
it be understood that time is not for us
live in. We are not ephemara; we live fol
: ever. Time is given us for preparation
This is only the antechamber Of life, wher
!. we stand waiting until the door opens an
: we pass in. Death is the angel that open
: death is because we know that as tim
! leaves as eternity finds us: Death enc
I probation We cross the line with OF
O characters chrystalized: "He that is unjus
= let him be unjust still; he that is holy, K
: him be holy stlll these are a our !, schoo 4s,
), we serve an apprenticeship; death Is golr
q to work.
The other day a young newspaper T
8 porter said to me, on my refusing an 1nte
e view: Il wish you would help me alon
|. I'm on probation, and whether l get q
:, engagement or not depends upon my su
Il cess in this sort of thing" wonder no
( some of the people who are now wastil
= their probation can expect to be taxi
: into service in the kingdom Of God. VIII
> can they dos Let the great Employer d
: them, ''What can you dos" How will
seem to answer, II can sell dress goods;
can lead the german; can make money
spend it; can drive a bargain; | can s.
a schooner or run an engine; l can !
le ceive' and entertain can make money
< These may be good as far as they go, b'
l. in all soberness, how far do they go as
, preparation for the tasks of heaven?
IS you know, friend, how to comfort the gri
g stricken and rescue the wandering? III.
10 to minister to the need of the wound
- traveller on the Jericho road? How to q
). the cup of cold water to one of Gods lit
l. the lamb of God? How to speak
n. praises of the One altogether lovely? 81
= =. to sing 3sHoly, Holy, Holy, Lord God
Is mighty?" If not, what bewildering s
a Of place heaven would be to you'll, w
n are you fit for? Heaven Is no place
:, unskilfed labor. What can you do?. Ii
~ is given you for this very purpose, to
le ready for the things further on.
th But how much time have we? Enou
/ LII