Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-02-16
After the Revival.
REV. ALEX. i. JACK.


There is a bible in England bound in
solid gold. Its pages are the finest
parchment, its margins are illuminated
with rare and curious workmanship. Ii
is costly relic, the property of the
British Sovereign, kept under lock and
key, and guarded with untiring care.
Yet, after all, it is only a dead thing,
penned by the hand of some old monk,
painted by the finger of some clustered
nun. There it lies entombed in its grave
OF glass; in itself it has no life, neither
can 1t give life to others. 1t is not for a
moment to be compared with the hum
blest Christian who lives or lodges in
some lowly cottage, and who is not a
dead but living bible. Pearls of the
East, diamonds of the sea, are on the
boards of that bible; what are these to
the ornaments Of meek and quiet spirit?
What, that dead parchmentto deathless
soul and a heart instinct with life?
What, that ink fading and rusting be-
meath the eye of Time to the blood in
which the Spirit dips his finger and
writes living truth upon a living soul ?
ANY body could write bible. With a
feather plucked from sea birds wing
could write the bible on a paper page.
With iron forged in the fire 1 could trace
the bible on the rugged rock. But ah
to write living truth upon living heart,
that is the work of the Holy Spirit. It
is only the Coz who created that can
convert the soul.
What is true of the reading is true of
the preaching Of the Word. Select the
most gifted minister alive, seek out the
man who lives in the closest communion
with God, and who is skilled in reading
the secrets of the human heart, and WHO
has above all other men that electric and
magnetic power which heads others to
himself. Now, take one in whose saliva
ton you feel deep anxiety, and who is
yet in the gall of bitterness and bonds of
iniquity-send him to that minister to be
converted. I know what his answer
would he. His answer is in the bible;
his answer is q royal answer in more
sense than one. When the servant of the
Syrian came before the King of Israel
with letter, saying, I have herewith
sent my servant Naaman unto thee that
thou mayest recover him Of his leprosy :;
Immediately the King rent his garments,
and appealing to his courtiers, cried, Gam
God to kill and to make alive, that
this man doth send to me to recover
man of leprosy?" Even 80, send man to
minister to be converted, and if that
minister knows his business, if he knows
what he can do, he will say, "Am I God
to kill and to 'nake5 olive, that you send
that sinner to me to be converted?' A
minister may make an impression on
dead soul, just can make an impression
on dead body. I have seen corpse
galvanized so that seemed in every limb
alive and ife-like. So man gifted with
the power of moving other men may
raise tide of emotion in the human
heart; but it is tide like that of ocean
when raised by the wind, its surface
swells, and rolling along the beach tears
the sea-weed from the rocks and casts the
sea-shells on tile shore. The tide dial
tells me that it never penetrats the dark
depths of ocean. After heavy swell for
a tide or two it soon returns to its wonted
calm; and that is just the result of many
promising revival and the history of
many Sabbath days labor.-Obseryer.