Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1905-03-31

die"
These words of the Bible do not
teach that the day and hour of mans
death has been appointed only that
he must die. The time of death, or
rather the length of life depends upon
how we live. Dissipation, disease, a,ci
dents and other contingencies may cut
life short. The great and solemn truth
remains-we must die. The only OBJ
ject Of this little sermonette is to call
attention 70 this one fact. Do you
ever seriously think Of the one most
certain and awful act OF life? Yes.
when you so TO a funeral, OF when you
become i'll yourself, you think Of your
own death for brief time, but soon
relapse into state of forgetTulness
again. 1t is not good, or necessary to
brood over the coming day of doom
constantly. This would unfit US for
the business Of life, bat We ought to
think seriously and often OF the long
journey we are TO take alone. and into
the unknown land from which no
travellers ever return.
Think of its certainty. Nothing is
so certain as that we must die. III the
Bible did not tell us we would know
it all the same.
Beneath our feet and over our head,
is equal warning given"
The past generations have all gone.
and many Of the present are going.
The cemeteries are filling up. The
smoke Of crematories ascend ana
darken the sun. The ring of the
sections spade ana pick falls dismally
and constantly on our ears. In our
town the undertakes buy collins 10y
the car load The hearse halts sooner or
later at every door, and our time will
come. 1t will do us good to think
oftener Of these things. If you will
take walk through our cemeteries in
company with one who is familiar with
these solemn spots, and have him point
out the unmarked graves, and call the
names of the silent sleepers while you
count, and then read the names on the
tolnbstones and add them all together,
you will see that there are two Taze-
wells-one living the other dead, and
the faces OF the living are turned
toward the sleeping place Of the dead.
Every step you take is toward the
cemetery, no matter which way you
walk, and you'll reach there by and by.
1t never was true that call roads lead
to Rome" but it is solemnly and aw-
fully true that all roads lead to the
grave. Solemn says, wisdom crieth
from the gates" and it is true. She
stands at the cemetery gate and cries
aloud, reminding every passerby that
he must soon enter there. She stands
in all the gateways of life, and with
warning finger uplifted points to the
city Of the dead that "city" whose
population is forever increasing whose
causes cannot be taken.
You object to thinking on this sub
ject? lit makes me gloomy" Yes.
its true, it is a gloomy subject. but,
nevertheless, it must be met. We
have number of old men among us.
from 60 years old, up, who cannot be
here long, and all of US will not be
here long, and however gloomy the
subject it must be considered. The
ordeal must be met, the hong journey
must be taken. The casket may now
be stored here in which you will lie
down to sleep your last sleep. Think
ing Of such serious thing will do you
no harm. Your star may now be
trimming the horizon OF life's bIief day.
Before you are aware OF il the white
horse will be paving at the gate, TIC
nearse. with nodding plume and solemn
procession, viii be vending its way |
TO the "Silent City" and your chain
will be vacant, and they will say, '.he
is dead" And so il must be with ne |