The national Republican. [volume] (Washington City [D.C.]) 1866-1870, 1869-12-11
SUNDAY aeADIHo.
THE RouK OF AGES.
nr RKv. RAT rALSsE, D. D.

THE RouK OF AGES.
MT RKv. RAT rAtnsR, D. D.
U Rock Of Agesi sioes on thee
By grace my feet are planted
lis mine, In tranquil faith, to see
The rising storm, updauntedi
When angry pillows round me rave,
And tempests nerce asssil me,
To 'hee l cling, the terror brave,
For thou csnat never fail ne,
unmoved thou stsnd'st, Etsrnsi RookI
Within thy elefs love to hide,
When darkness DER me closes;
There peace and light serene abide
And my stilled heart reposes,
Ny soul eSults to dwell secure,
Thy strong munitions round her,
She dstes to count her triumph sure,
Nor fears lest hell oonfounA herr
Though tumults startle earth and sea,
Thou, ohanseless Rock, they shake not thsei
From thee, o Rock, once smitten, nov
Lie giving streams forever;
Ana whose doth their .weetnsss know
Ny lips have touched the crystal tide,
And feel no more returning
The fever that so long I tried
To cool, yet felt still burning;
A., woudfous well. sprinsi briamins DER
With living waters eyermors.
On that dread day whso they that sleep
shall hear the truapst sounding,
And wake to praise, or wake TO weep,
The jadsmsn, throne surrouadinsi
The solid globe is wasting,
Ard what At drH from nothing came
hbaek to nothing hsstingj
Zen then my soul shall calmly rest,
U Rock OF Agesi on thy breast.
ia MAN IS SAVED, 1t is by grace alone; 1t
Is by wonderful stoop Of tho Almighty
Saviour; aud that boundless grace can grasp
every human being. Those arms Of Jesus
that eneircle humanity are strong enough u
IN Us all TO heaven; and when he stopped
be came so low that he laid his arms beneath
the very lowest gradatious Of humanity, that
ne might raise US up TO the very highest
Throne Of God. We preach that Jesus in
bis glorious offices, In the fulness Of his love,
In his boundless compassion for man, and
we say to every son Of fallen humanity that
he may be saved. OH tell me there Is ono
that may not be saved, and l shall scarcely
dare to preach; dare not call the sons OF
men To come, were 1t not that Jesus died that
they might come; but, OH rejoice there Is
Gospel so full, so free, and so glorious that
all may be saved-that we have Saviour
and High Priest who Is able 10 save TO the
nttermost all who will come unto God
through Him. 1t is this Jesus who is the
theme OF the Christian pulpit; and 10 :his
respect prophecy is the testimony OF Jesus.
Then again the pulpit bears, not Its own
words, but the message OF Jesus directly to
men: go preach my Gospel" cannot
explain how 1t lie, when a man stands In q
pulpit and talks Of the Cross Of Christ, that
divine power reaches the hearts Of the audi.
ence, but / know II TO be so. God has
ordained preaching to be the means of saving
the world, and when a man talks OF Jesus,
He exercises an omnipotent infu &C through
the words OF that man.
There Is key put In those words that
sometimes uulocks the hardest heart. A
single sentence sometimes, like an arrow of
light, pierces into the darkest soul, looseninp
manacles, shaking dungeons, and opening
prtson-doors; poor, dark souls are made full
OF light, aud trembling ones rejoice with 10y
unspeakable. Believers In Jesus Christ, 1
rejoice that as years increase these testimo-
MES for Jesus multiply. Great was the army
that published, saith the Psalmist; many
shall run TO and fro, says the prophet, and
knowledge shall be increased. / rejoice that
on this blessed Sabbath there are more per.
sons thinking Of Jesus and more people
gathered to hear Of him In this than In any
previous year. Probably there are sixty
thousand men in our own land who have
been prophesying in this sense Of the Lord
Jesus Christ, besides those In other lands.
Look across into Europe; skirt along Asia;
ting Africa, and go to the South Sea Islands;
then listen, and you will hear from every
mountain top and every valley a song OF
praise rising TO our glorious Redeemer -
Bishop Simpson.
ASHAMED because so tempted It Is not
the being tempted one need be ashamed Of,
since Christ himself did not escape this
malIgu influence OF Satan. It Is yielding
that calls for "confusIon OF face" The
promise is that help shall be given to who
ever resists through the strength Of him who
contended till death, and overcame, though
tempted like ourselves. Do we take comfort
and confidence enough from that In call
points :" Are we not apt to feel that In some
general way Jesus may sympathize with the
weakness of humanity, but that, after all,
our Individual temptations are peculiar, and
must be borne alone, or excused II yielded
tot 1t may be difficult to comprehend, bu,
whatever sin besets US, whatever human
falling lies In walt TO betray us to the ad.
versary, Jesus feels and cares for US In the
struggle, watches TO catch the faintes,
breath Of duplication for his aid, perhaps
prays that our strength fail not, because
Satan Is desiring US. He was I" In all points
tempted like as we are"
BIsHoP HEBER said; at is q fatal mis-.
take to suppose that there can be no apostacy
from Christ, where we are not absolutely
called on to deny his name or to burn incense
to an idol. We deny our Lord whenever,
like that Demas, we, through love OF this
present world, forsake the course OF duty
which Christ has plainly pointed out to us.
We deny our Lord whenever we lend the
sanction OF our countenancs, our praise, or
even our silence to measures or opinions
which may be popular or fashionable, but
which we ourselves believe TO be sinful In
themselves or tending to sin. We deny our
Lord whenever we forsake a good man In
afiilction, and refuse to give counteuancc,
encouragement and support to those who,
for Gods sake and for the faithful discharge
Of their duty, are exposed to persecution aud
SANDER"
"Do roU THIsK," asked, 'that the Lord
will let me see In this life the salvation Of
the souls for whom pray 7" 81 cannot say
as to that. When was child In the Sab.
bath-school 10 the country" she continued,
I" my faithful teacher used TO say, Il have
prayed too much for my class for one of them
TO be lost was thoughtless girl at that
time, aud remember wondering at It, and
thinking 1t a very self-conadent remark. She |
was so sure. shall have them ALL she
would say. Il shall say to Christ at the judg.
ment, Here am | and the class thou hast
given me-" "And were they all convertedf'
asked. Yes; she did live TO see II, but
my eyes have seen 1.-THE last Of the sixteen
gathered into the fold."- Witnss,ing for
Jesus.
An, THIS BEAUTIFUL WORLD know not
what TO think Of 1t, Sometimes It Is all sun
shine and gladusss, and heaven itself lies
not far of, and then II suddenly changes,
anu 10 dark and sOrrowful, and the clouds
shut out the day. In the lives OF the sad.
dest OF US there are bright days like this,
when We fenl as u we could take the great
word In our arms. Then come gloomy
hours, when the hrs will not burn on our
hesrths, and all without aud within ia dis.
NAL, cold and dark. Believe me, every heart
has Ito secret sorrows, which tho world
knows not, and oftentlmos we call man cold
when he Is only sad.-LonatslioW.
RELIGious.-Rey. Or. SAKE, of Rochester,
n T. the genial Secretary Of the General
Convention o Universities OF the United
States, Will preach tomorrow morning and
evening at MctEerott Hall. Or. SAKE has
few equals as pulpit orator, and ali who
are interested 10 the success Of the cause in
the national capital should not fall TO be
present.