The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1911-01-12

nave gone before. When king Is
dethroned his subjects rejoice, but
when a great man dies the people
mourn. A tall cedar has fallen, and,
gloom pervades not only the State
OF West Virginia, but the Nation as
Well. because his fame was nation
wide. His sun went down soon af-
ter 1t reached the horizon and be-
gan receding toward the west. When
1T settled beyond our visions, dark
ness fell upon thousands Of devoted
and admiring friends. It was Gods
Will, not ours, that his sun should
set before due evening tide had
come. He could not prevent it's set
ting, nor could his friends prevent
1t. All we could do was to stand
and watch and wait. We stood until
the light went out, while he met the
issue as only the strong and brave
and great, could do We believe
new and brighter sun arose beyond
the setting of his earthly life. we
believe that death does not end all.
Some lnen flower, early-others
late. Senator EIlkins was noted
man in early life, and was scarcely
AT his best when, the final summons
came. He was Just in the early af-
ternoon Of life and was best quail
fed to grapple with its sternest prob
lens and be the most useful to his
fellow men. Man proposes, but God
disposes. We make our plans, but
they are not always for the best, and
a wise Providence often overrules
them. We may wonder why, but
that is not for us to know: It is.
enough for us to know that there is
God supreme, and that all OF US
should bow submissively to His will.
Tl}e-way- is often dark 1t is dark
today to some Of us. The pail hangs
heavily over the dead statesman's
househo old, but God willed 1t thus,
and ait should bow reveretf to His
decree. When the, golden bowl is
broken and the silver cord Is loosen
ed, We pause, we wonder and--we-
weep. ; We drop our tears. We pour
ont our sympathies. But tears and
sympathies only aggravate the
wounds. unless out o; the surround
ing darkness we can ny faith in the
unseen believe that Gods sunshine
will some day drive away these
clouds.
Just how much life means words
refuse to tell. because they can not:
The doorway of life is hung about
with fiowery emblems to indicate
that it is for a purpose in the great
Crea tors plans~for Sf1ea government
Of His subjects. Life may be
grand. God Intended it to be glo-
rious. So He paved it's course with
diamonds, f"inged it's banks with
flowers and overarched it with stars.
Around it he spread the physical
univerce--suns,. moons, worlds, con-
stellations, sublime In magnitude and
grand in order and obedience. In
this strange, this wonderful thing
called life, every man, every woman,
has his and her place. Some lay
their life work down early, others
later; bnt sooner or later all must
surrender their trusts to God, the
Creator Of us all.
l have long been persuaded that
nothing abides save God and the
soul There is nothing enduring in
this world except the Creator and
His laws. The stars that shone up
on our cradles will shine upon our
graves. Darkness is closing over
the careers of Scion and Lycurgus.
The hills that once echoed the elo-
quence Of Pericles are now unknown.
The groves in which Plato and Soc
rates prepared their PHILOSOPHERS
have been RACED to earth. The an
cient, grand temples that were in
tended to immortalize the names Of
their builders have nearly all been
gnawed asunder by the tooth Of
time; but God and His laws yet re-
main and~are taking a stronger and
still greater grip upon the nations
as the years roll on.
This is the lesson that comes to
us by the passing Of the patriot and
statesman whose life I am now brief
ly reviewing. What is life? Tell
US, friends, from the high abode Of
death, what is life? We ask this
question and no answer comes as
we watch and wait. But if life on
the earth contributes to the life Of
the soul, we have the comforting as
surance that all is we'll. If the soul
fills we'll the place assigned to it on
the earth, discharges it's duties faith
fully, obeys the commands Of It's
Creator, and helps others on in life,
that one is a true child of the King.
To one like this, death however sud-
den, however shocking in it's condi
tons and surroundings, can bring
no fear, no sorrowful forebodings.
I believe firmly that death does
not end ALL. The first and foremost
poet Of the Bible, If not indeed the
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