The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1903-03-19
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED
THE END OF TIME"
The Rev. DIT. David j. Burrell Discourses
Instructively Theme That in Less
Eloquent Mouths Might Seem Thread
bare-Economize Fragments of Time.

OdmeS Burrell, pastor OF the Marble Cole
gate Church, Fifth avenue and Twenty.
ninth street, preached on "The End of
lime" He took his text from Revelations
*: 5 and g: and the angel which / saw
stand upon the sea and upon the earth
lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware
by Him that liveth forever and ever, who
created heaven, and the things that therein
therein are, and the sea- and the things
which are therein, that there should be
time no longer"
Our theme is trife fhreadbare, but per-
haps none the less profitable on that ac-
count. 1t is an easy matter to make a
hOmliy on time, but not all homilles are as
much to the point as that of the court jes-
ter Jacques:
Good morrow. fool" quoth I.
No, sir" quoth he;
"Call me not fool till heaven hath sent me
fortune"
And then he drew dial from his poke,
And, looking on it with lack-lustere eye,
Says very wisely, 1T is ten o'clock;
Thus may we see,' quoth he, chow the
world wags;
lis 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;
Anu CnereDy hangs d Cale.
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
Ill IL Il -
answer. Call your employer" said the
would-be purchaser. When Franklin was
asked the price of the volume he answered,
"One dollar and a quarter" why, your
clerk asked only dollar" '"To be sure,
but you called me from my printing press
and am charging you for my time" The
man argued and demonstrated in vain.
Presently he said, Nov, Mr.. Franklin,
really what Is your lowest figure for this
book?" ''One dollar and half" "Pre-
posterous! You only asked me "a dollar
and quarter" eyes, but my time is val
iuable, and every minute sends the book
up" This was sound philosophy and good
business. If our days and hours were all
marked with a price in plain figures we
should probably be less profigate of them.
Ne have no such scruple about wasting
time as we would have in throwing gold
eagles into the sea.
But time is more than money. 1t is 'esthe
privilege, opportunity. responsibility, 1udg-
ment, heaven or hell. You may throw
away dollar and earn another, but no
two moments overlap. The last one said
farewell forever; the next is-already gone!
Time is talent, a talent of gold stamped
with the image and superscription of the
klng. God made it, as lie made the trees
and mountains, and He owns it. He has
entrusted it to us, to be put at usury for
Him. '''Will a man rob God? Yet We have
robbed Me, saith the Lord of hosts" The
transportation or misuse of days and
hours and moments is as really dishonest
as the tapping of an employers TILL This
IS a serious matter, and gives us sufficient
food for thought if our question were
pushed no further. But we cannot stop
here
/ asked an aged man with hoary hairs,
Wrlnkled and curved with many worldly
cares,
thine is the warp of life,'' he said. go tell
The young, the fair, the brave to use its
we'll"
asked the mighty angel and silvery
spheres,
Those bright chronometers of passing
years;
They answered, 1'Time is but meteor's
glare"
And babe me for eternity prepare.
/ asked the mighty angel who shall stand
: One foot on sea, the other on the land;
mortal" he cried, "the mystery is DER;
Time was, time is, but time shall be no
morei"
A step further brings us to the inquiry,
What is time for? or TO what end has this
momentous trust been reDosed in us? Let
it be understood that time is not for us to
live IN. We are not ephenera; we live for
ever. Time is given us for preparation.
Ih 5 is only the antechamber of life, where
we stand waiting until the door opens and
we pass in. Death is the angel that opens
the door. The only reason why we fear
death is because we know that as time
leaves us eternity finds us. Death ends
probation. We cross the line with our
characters chrystalized: HE that is unjust,
let him be unjust STILL he that is holy, let
him be holy still These are our school
days; death is Commencement" Here
we serve an apprenticeship; death is going
to work.
The other day young newspaper re-
porter said to me, on my refusing an inter-
view: Il wish you would help me along.
I'm on probation, and whether I get an
engagement or not depends upon my sue
cess in this sort of thing" l wonder how
some of the people who are now wasting
their probation, can expect to be taken
into service in the kingdom of God What
can they do? Let the great Employer ask
them, What can you do" How will it
seem to answer, 81 can sell dress goods; /
can lead the german; can make money or
spend it; can drive bargain; I can sail
a schooner or run an engine; / can re
ceive' and entertain;' can make money!
\ These may be good as far as they GO, but.
In all soberness, how far do they 90 as a
q preparation for the tasks of heaven? Do
syou know, friend, how to comfort the grief
& stricken and rescue the wandering? How
1 to minister to the need of the wounded
traveler on the Jericho road? How to give
I the cup of cold water to one of Gods little
ones? How to point a penitent sinner to
4 the lamb of God? How to speak the
i praises of the One altogether lovely? How
to sing Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God AL
mighty" IF not, what a bewildering sort
of place heaven would be to you! What
Aare you fit for? Heaven is no place for
unskil ed labor. What can you dos Time
lis given you for this very purpose, to get
ready for the things further on
n But how much time have we? Enough;
no more, no less. It is distributed ito
every one according to his several ability
IA short life is long enough, and the long
egt life is short enough for what must be
hone IN it." Seneca said, eve complain