Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1903-06-11
"hEART FAILURE"
A Brilliant Sunday Sermon By Dr.
Howard Duffield.
The Autobiography Of Our Souls Is Often
Stained With the Very Faithiessness
Which Biots the Memoirs Of
the Apostles

urc. lie TOOK MS tcNt from MAN ~,
SO: And they all forsook Him and fled"
Dr. DuiReid said:
What towards! Comrades of Jesus,
shall a three years friendship with the
Master come to such an end? Shall the
intmacies OF man months go swirllng
like leaves in the wind before puff OF
panic fear? Apostles of Jesus, why, will
yc be pillorcd for poltroonery!, When
| defeat hrooded over the hills of Gilboa9
lay strewn through the Judean valleys,
Saul and Jonathan died together. When
Socrates kept tryst with death the prison
yard in which he sat became like hall OF
hanoue.ng and the Jail stones echoed with
the converse Of devoted friends wlsttni OF
sharing with him the cup of hcm|ock;
| VIXEN the sun of Austerlitz that had
bathcd the earth in glory at its rising san, sank
ccIipscd in blood behind the plain OF Wat
cr,oo, the files of the imperial guard drew
up as on parade and died beneath the flag.
But in the hour of His EXTREMIST need the
comrades of Christ "iorsook Him and
sled" Those that had seen Him walk the
storm swept lake; conquer disease with
Gngcr-touc and dethroue death with
| syllable, when a squad of hlrelinga with
swords, and the rfirafi of the city with
slaves, came out TO take lllm, tney iorSooN
| Him and fed.
Jesus walked the pathway OF tears, and
NJ one kent step with Him. The hour
| has sounded for chivalry, and His friends
exhibited poltrooncry. The call was tor
heroes. and those He loved showed their
! backs to Christ. instead of their faces to
the foe Occasion beat the long roll, Int
! the battle line became a rout. Imagine
| that scene reversed. Imagine that Gordon
If apostles undressing Christ against as
SAUL as with citadel Of rock. We can
almost sec them roofing themselves like
storm-dclying oaks, and opposing the
metal corSlcts of Chrisi's foes with the
hrcastp'atc of their invunerabc affection,
We can almost see them converting Geth,
semane .nto a Gibraltar of affection. and
SCATTERING the onset of emhlttcred pe:se'
| devotion that was stronger than death
We are we'll nigh cnvious of their oppor
tunity of renown
The possibility of such loyalty has not
| yet passed away, it has not yet become ln.'
| possible for one to show a sialwart allie
glance to Jesus Christ III the face OF CON
tempt and antagonism. "Thcy are not yet
dead that seek the young ch,'d's htc,
| Christ does not reccla with Inc ebh oi
| passing years. The men of His age are
| sleeping in their sepulchcrS.
| The first cement OF heart failure Is dis.
| apnoin:mtnt. The apostles had a very wei
| defined theory Il. 10 what Christ had come
t. DO ,or them, bat they had Thought very
! little Of what they were to do for Him,
| They had clear conception OF the prcre'
| Ouisitc oi discipleship. They were deeply
concerned as to the pattern of their crowns
! They knew to nicely the comparative
! altitude of their thrones, and they were
anXiousIv parccllIng out the cities over
which they were to rule. With their feet
| trcading the very ascent to Calvary they
were h1dgering each other as to which Of;
| them should be greatest. Jesus Ind come
! TO give them life of case and self salts
! faction. No more stormy nights out upon
| Gcnnesarct; no more tuggine at the nets
! and pulling .he wet cOrdagc of their heats;
! 80 more weary days Drawing in the CapCr
naum market place to get salt for :Hcit
meat and butter for their bread. Christ
! lad whole cornucopH of spcndors to
empty into their lap kingships. and dix.
mites, and thrones, and sccptcrs. When
aS with lightning stroke all these fond
dreams went whist!ng down the wind
! and their cloud palaces vanquishcd like
| mist 1T sunrise. disappointment thrust 1t:
| iron into the soul and away they went
! spurrCd by an impulse which for the mo
ment was irresistible. Their thought had
been conferred on the good they we're &c
get. not upon the good they were TO do.
II is not impossible that You and |
| should just as mistakenly interpret the
| purpose of Christs mission. In some ply.
otal moment the consciousness of sin nm
eypcctedly leaps UP and chlls us with its
! shadow We are dashed by the scorpion
thought of death. The awe Of eternity
ovcrshodows lis, With tlmid fingers we
open the Book Of God With earer eye
we sean the page of Scripture 4 wondrou'
gospel salutes us Cad tidingS ring like
music through our hearts concerning One
who has welcome for the outcaSt, who
can whitcn tie most sollcd soul, who viii
uplft :ho fallen and recall the wandering,
/ and who has planted His mighty heel upon
the head Of death We Fncel rcjoicinsly
at the foot OF the cross We surrender our
HE into the keeping OF Jesus. We Weld
Him the ready homage Of our hearts Then
comes The danger hour. Then we are III
peril Of thinking how much Christ has to
give and too little of what He is training
us to give, Then we are prone to dwell in
Imagination with the spirits of Just men
made perfect. and the companies of the
shining ones who walk with Christ in glory.
until we lose touch with the men and
women who throng about Us warped and
stained with the sin and sorrow of tho
world We forget that forgiveness is
not tho last word but the first
word of the Gospel. We forget that
pardon is NOT the last uttcrance but
tho first utterance that Jesus has spoken.
We overlook the fact that there is n culture
of chara, ter which demands the energy OF
a hero and the patience of a dcvotce. that
there is service of others that calls for
tn" crurihXlon of self.
Another element of heart failure is
doubt How was 1t possible for the arOS-
ties to recognize Messiah under arrest?
Was this the upShot of centuries of proph-
ccy! Wa, this the story that the mcssen-
rcrs Of God had been telling OF majesty
and glory and of victory? Was the Prince
Of the house of David to be dragged away
in chains and the Lion of Judah to he
thrust into a cage? Cloudcd in their per.
reptons, confused in their thought. con.
founded by the thrush of doubt, Jesus
disciples hurried away beneath the shad,
nws of a night that but family suggest
The dark qlcstionngs that must have shad-
owed their devoted hearts,
This is an age OF Gouhi. Demon whls-
rcrs are upon every breeze. Siren songs
are at every turn. Faiths are under the
scolpe'. Crccds are in the crucjble Ec,
liefs arc upon the anvil. A searching and
pltcss criticism is passing under its lens
everything that men have counted helpful
aud holy in the days gone by. For one
do not regret it. Flame will never harm
god, A files tooth cannot bite diamond.
But IN age Of doubt brings many doubt
ing day into the hearts of faithful and 10y.
ing disciplcs The champions of the faith
had their doubling days. the record of
which is written in the Scripture with a
pen Dipped in tears There cane Il day
when David loving, trusting aspiring
spirit that he was, bemoaned the time
when Gods face was hidden There came
day wien Elijah, that man with nerve
Of strel and heart of fire. lay spent and
worn D." the stress of mental corn:ct under
the Jumper tree in the desert. mere came
dav when John the Baptist that mount
cd like an eagle to greet the dawn of truth.
felt his heart weaken and his eve film
There comes a Gethscmanc to every one
that is folIowinu Jesus closely. a time OF
darkness. of loneliness of wrestling in
the night, when those that love is most
rem wrapped In sleep, unable to compre'
bend the conflict that surges within our
snnl Ehnrn are dnuhtinp DAYS in the cal