The Monmouth inquirer., 1905-12-07

his clerks as they are and drills them
and keeps on drilling them until in
spite of themselves they are compelled
to do his bidding. The successful cap
tain is a man who like Paul Jones, can
inspire a mixed crew, made up Of all
different nationalities, to fight his bat
ties as though they were made out Of
/ the stuff of heroes. And the strong
man for God is not the man who sits
down and repines over the weaknesses
Of his fellow men. He is like Joab,
ready to shut his eyes to other mems
faults and out of mems weaknesses
build up his own towers of strength"
Even lion can be strangled to death
with spider webs If you can weave
enough of them together into one rope.
The sunbeams can change ships hull
into Goals of fire if you can only focus
the suns rays upon it by a powerful
burning glass.
What Gladstone Said.
But must not close without drawing
your attention to one other fact. The
awakened king was not young man.
He was not even a middle aged man.
/ think his hair was white and his step
was becoming slower with age, and he
knew it. William e. Gladstone said
just before he gave up his English pre-
miership, 81 feel that the sands of my
life are running out" King David
must have felt his sands of life running
away also. His grown children proved
1t. Absalom must have been grown
man. No mere boy could have had the
brains or the power to raise the insur-
rection which he did. Absalom was
evidently fully developed man. This
meant that David, as the father, was
probably past the fiftieth milestone if
not nearing his threescore years of age.
Now, methinks, when this insurrection
started, David lost all his moral back
bone | can almost hear him soliloquiz-
ing something like this:
"What is the use of my fighting? l
am an old man. If l were young, as
in the days when l fought Goliath.
1 could fight now; but, old and worn
out, there is not much use. / think |
had better abdicate. 1t will only be
few years at the most, and then l must
die" But Joab had none of this non
sense in him. He came to the king and
practically said: "Your majesty, your
best days are ahead. Get up out of this
room and go to work. Your last years
of reigning over Israel are to be your
best years." My friends, my middle
aged or white haired friends, / bring to
you Joab's salutation, "Your best days
are ahead; up and out" That is what
your motto should be. Yea, up and out
noWi
You are discouraged, like David.
Things have not been going right in
business, have they? The younger men
In the partnership want to push you to
the wall? Don't you let them do it.
Things have not been going right in the
home and in the church. People say
you are an old fogy and that you look
at things through antiquated spectacles.
Don't you let them push you aside.
Who ought to be so well fitted to lead
and mold the world as the mature mid
die aged and white haired teachers or
ministers or merchants or church men,
bers? 1t is sad cry which the world
is calling today: GIVE US young men!
Let us have only young menp' The
voice of the church and the voice of
the world should be the voice of Joab:
''Give us older men for our leaders.
Give us older men in the pulpit and in
the pew and in legislative hail." The
best days of King David were his last
days. The best days of your earthly
life, o aging man, are ahead, al
though at the present time, as with
David just after Absalom's death, con-
ditions may seem to be black and al
most hopeless. And 1 say this with
the greatest confidence because 1 be-
lieve that the blackness and hopeless
ness Of your present troubles will drive
you closer and closer to Jesus Christ,
who alone is able to fit you for service
for your fellow men.
How black the world seems at times
even under the brightest Of conditions!
A short time before Henry Irving, the
greatest actor of his day, passed away
he made this statement: with the ap-
plause Of the theater still ringing in
my ears, with the memory of kind
faces emblazoned on my memory, with
the consciousness that have won the
affections of multitudes whom / cannot
meet in person : have often gone home
from the theater feeling utterly desc
late and alone, yearning for the init
mate human companionship which fate
has denied me-"
AS Henry Irving was yearning for
an intimate human companionship
you, on account of your troubles, have
been yearning for Christ Thus in clos
ing l commit you unto the hands of
my Saviour. He is the Christ who will
lead you if you let him. He will lead
you out of your troubles just as he led
the king of olden times. He may not
lead you to a throne of earthly power,
but he will lead you to a throne of
heavenly glory. Into the Saviour's
hands 1 commit thee today, o King
David, as I declare again: '"Thy best
days are ahead. Thy best days of earth
! and heaven are ahead if you will let
| David's God lead you as he will"
| copyright 1905, by Louis Klopsch.J
Z