The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-11

| l but in personal conservation and active
 Christian service. The text Is Philip l plans iv. 1, Rejoice in the Lord alway,
 and again I say, Rejoice"
 An aged minister once said to me:
 "The entire character of my preaching
 has changed with my advancing years.
 As young man l used to preach on the
 terrors of the law, on the wrath of God,
 on the warnings against sin and on the awful picture of the lake of fire drawn l by St. John In the Apocalypse. But as l grew older l found my favoTite texts in
 the tender passages of the Psalms, In the 1 loving words of Christ to his disciples set down by the beloved disciple and In the l eloquent exordium on charity or love by
 the Apostle Paul. l find that the nearer | l come to heaven the more my heart l burns with an unutterable desire to see l Christ's face and to have part In the ] never ending reunion of the redeemed
 and therefore the less 1 think about the | terrors of the judgment. Faith to me IS becoming more and more the substance 1 of things hoped for, and l am looking l forward to peace and joy rather than l backward at the drawn fiery sword Of an l averaging angel standing at the gate ol l paradise" These are not the exact Worus 1 of my venerable friend, but they convey
 the substance of his thought Truly what 1 this aged man said about his ministerial l life every minister who Is conscious oi advancing years feels his soul grows 1 riper and richer in spiritual development. More and more he loves to preach apout the joys of the gospel rather than about the destruction that Is inevitabie 10 one who leads sinful life.
 PauPs letter to the Philippians was
 written near the close of his life. lie had passed beyond the earnal part or ms religious experience. He does not now think so much of Christ presiding In judgment as he does of the Jesus or sal vation He does not dwell so much on the leaping flames of the bottomless pit as he longs for the songs or Moses anu the Lamb and is thrilled at the thought of all the mercies and blessings with
 which Jesus will welcome him. Thus he comes to us not grooming d1rge' put
 singing a psalm of praise. He comes to us with Joy smiling upon his lip, with l joy shining forth from his eye, with JOY throbblng in his heart and with Joy Tn his congratulatory handshake. lie comes to Us with a raptuous exhortation as he bids us take an inventory of our spiritual opportunities. Ho says, Rejoice In the Lord alWay." Then, as though he had not made this gospel salutation emphatlc enough he repeats his words as ne says, Again l say, Rejoice" Now, today am not going to talk to those who LOOK
 
 means of escaping the horrors of eternal anguish, but l am going to talk to those who have so developed in the Chr1stlah life that their gospel faith IS pleasure and a joy and a never ending consolatioh' As l speak to you today l snail teii you why you should rejoice in the Lord alway and why you should come to him with never ending praise and with eternal thanksgiving.
 Joy is q fruit that will not grow
 In natures barren soil;
 All we can boast till Christ we know
 Is vanity and toll;
 But where the Lord has planted grace
 And made his glories known
 There fruits of heavenly joy and peace
 Are found, and there alone.
 Rejoice in the Lord Away.
 My Christian brother, you of the deeper and holier religious experience, you should in the first place rejoice in the Lord alway because you have by your side a divine friend who will guard you and keep you and be a very present help in ah trouble. He has keener eye than you. He has stronger arm than you.
 He has all the powers of heaven and earth at his command He has heart so tender and loving and self-sacrficing that he is willing to surrender all and do all If he can in any way help you in your struggle of life. I1e is' not an ab- q is gong to meet you by appointment at tho brink of the grave. but he is friend so near that you can whisper to him and he will hear you. He Is so near that you can put out your hand as a little totter- ing child and he will grasp that hand and keep you from falling. He Is so near that, like a loving mother, he will guard you when you are asleep, and he will greet you with a smile when you awake in the morning He will go with you to the breakfast table. He will follow you in the street and stand with you by the store counter. He Is an ever present friend. But he Is also omnipotent and omniscent well as omnipresent. Now ought 1t not to be Joy to you that this divine Friend, this Son of God, Is always by your side to help you and care for you and love you?
 You know what mo power of a sanctl- l fled and holy and purified friendship means. Years ago. in the dawn of young ! manhood, there came Into your life a young girl You thought you loved her at the time. You did not believe you could ever love any one more But you 1 did not truly know what love was Life for you at the time was a picnic in tho woods. You thought mostly about what you were to eat and drink and where you were to live and what jolly companions were 10 be your associates. You married that girl. When you married her you thought your honeymoon was to be the never ending life of bee in flower gar den, finding nectar whenever you went But that honeymoon was of very short duration. After awhile came the strug- gles of life and the storms and the bitter | trials. Then that merry companion of your youth changed. She stood by your side m the crisis. She stood near you in the sick room. When death invaded your home her hand joined yours in plac- ing the flowers about the open casket She literally poured out her life for you.
 Real Lovers Now.
 Now, In the evening twilight of life. 1t is not so much the beautiful face that you love. or the merry laugh, or the golden curls, but it is the tender, true, faithful heart of that woman by your side who has shared your troubles as well as doubled your joys. Though she may ] not talk of love as much now as she did when girl, yet you are never happy un- less she Is in touch with you. When<even- ing comes and you are sitting by the li- brary table, the book is never interesting nor does the fire in the hearth burn brightly enough. nor do the children play right, unless she is on the other side ot that table You who have been marric1 for a quarter of q century, you know what it Is to have a devoted, unselfsh companion by your side You know what 1t Is to have that love pour out its lifos blood for you. Like the aged poet, you can sing this sweet love song in your old age: