The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1879-02-06
"A lie on the ocean wave. "

dence or any other, and will show you nine
hundred and ninety.nine who want encourage
ment or comfort. Now, the Church ought to look
at all the causes, and then take down from the
shelf Of the spiritual apotheCary Just the panaCea
most adapted something for the old, something
fer the young for the prOsperei for the laceraed
We ought to make the churches places where we
cut the straps Of burdens too heavy for the people
to carry The vast majority Of people trudge on
from year to year without any encourage
ment They are abused, pounded, cheated ex'
corlated and found fault with and kicked but
seldom blessed. They are physicians, and de-
nounCed because they can't cure those who, thro
parsimony, did not call them till too late They
are mechanics, and everlastingly found fault with
because Of their style of work. they are attorneys
ald have flung at them a Scripture passage twist
ed out of shape, "Woe unto you lawyers" They
are merchants, and have their goods malgned by
customers who expect by such depreciation to
get twenty-five per cent off. They are journalists
and work till their nervous system is shattered
and their eye.sight quenched, without any thanks
They are working women, like Ann Foiletg oil
New York. toillng a whole week on crochet but.
tons at So TO- and cheated out of that till Christian
philanthropy takes her case into their hands OF
Eunice Winter, OF West Fourteenth street, who
made four fashionable bopnets for S8 and long
after the millinery had been admired in the
church aisles, had received no pay, till the Work
iag'women's Association came to the rescue. All
people In church look peaceful enough but mul,
titudes Of them are In almost supernatural strug
gle to hide their woes. Let our churches afford
omnipotent panacea.
Again, If these cities are to be saved, 1t will be
by making the churches of God more attractive
than gin shop, or art gallery or concert hall or
theater. For that purpose We want some Martin
Luther strong enough to smash the frigid conVen-
tionalities Of the churches. By what law is 1t
that people drop naturalness of manner and tone
when they enter prayer meeting or church, or
pew, or pulpit2 Is there anything In religion to
make you lugubrlous2 Why do you always
whine when you make religious exhortaLionH
Why not, In the house of God, shake hands with
grip of enthusiastic welcome, and let your relig.
ion shine out from your face, and let the world
know that the Church is the happest, sunshiniest
and most responsive of all places Instead of
standing on the bank Of the psalm or hymn, din.
ping the tip of your foot into the wave, why not
wade into the Atlantic ocean OF hosannah and
let the eternal surges roll over your Great ad-
vancement was made by the spirit of the age
which broke down the box pulpit, reached by
long flight of stairs, up which the preacher
assembled, height above height, into another eli.
mate, opened the door and shut It, and sat down
out Of Lsight of the people, Still other advance
ment, when the pew door was taken away.
What's the use Of pew dOor2 No use, except to
keep people out Who wants to keep the people
out? Still other advancement was made when
circular churches were made. Why build square
church, God makes everything In circle-the
tree branch bent, the wave curled, the sky arched,
the world round, God himself seated not on the
square, but on the "cTcle of the heavens" How
then dare you In defiance of the divine intima.
tion build square church? The day will come
when the churches Of God in the cities will be
more popular tnan any otaer institution, The
people will say. 1--WE are tired and must 90 to
the church TO rest" 1--WE are so lonely since the
funeral day we must go to the church to hear
about the hour when the grave will surrender
1--WE have lost our money, and we must 20 10
church to hear about the palaces that we are 60
ing TO inherit" Here are our children coming,
up, and we must go to church to have them con.
secrated;" and the church put in glorious rivalry
with other institutions will eclipse them all-its
music more rapturous its gladness more uplift.
ing, its audiences more tremendous, its outlook
more ecstatic. If our cities and the world are to
be saved the church must take Q different tack,
Eighteen hundred and seventy nine wears since
1t was organized, and yet only about ninety mil
lions professed Christians to one hundred and
fifty millions Mohammedans, three hundred and
forty millions Buddhists and four hundred and
fifty millions Of Pagans. The Gospel is mighty
enough, but we do not give 1t a fair chance The
banquet is rich, but while we spend our time en-
craving gilt edged cards of invitation the mil
lions are starving for slice of the Gospel loaf
The sickle is sharp enough, but we lose time in
trying to swing it gracefully or in cutting other
harvest men because they don't cut our way. 1
tell you what will ihappen after awhile If we
who are clereymen do not go a little faster, the
Christian merchants, the Christian lawyers, the
Christian physicians, the Christian carpenters
the Christian masons, the Christian plumbers the
Christian shoemakers, under the baptism of the
Holy Ghost and Of fire will usher the men of their
own occupation into the kingdom, and 1t will be
as during the last war when the militia eclipsed
the West.Pointers and the laymen will Outpreach
and outpray and outsave our dying populations
The time will come when 1t will be acknowledp.
ed that any man has right to preach who can
preach though he never saw Latin Grammar
and could not spell the word homiletics. How
much advancement since the day when a book
was written called "The Pulpit Guarded against
Lawrence Williams, mailer preacher; Thomas
Palmer, baker preacher; Thomas Hind, plow
wright preacher; Humphrey Rogers, bakers
public preacher" There has not been so much
change IN the modes of travel from stage coach
to lightning express train, nor In war from clum
sy sword to Parrot gun and Hotchkiss she'll, nor
in agriculture from Elisha's crooked stick to
steam plow and corn thresher, as between the
way things are now done in the churches and the
way they will be done. The wheel of Christian
work now turns once year. The time will come
when 1t will make thousand revolutions min
ute. Mistake me not-no new Gospel, but new
modes Of applying the old Gospel. There has
been no new style of daylight, just the same as
at the creation, but it now through photography
paints pictures There IA no new style Of electric
ity, just the same as that which Numbered over
Sinai, but now it has become the optic nerve OF
the nations. No new style Of fire and water, but
now they are harnessed together in the steam
power. So 1t is no new Gospel, but new appliea.
ton Of 1t and new uses for speed and power and
grandeur and salvation The best thing we can
do with our old sermons is to burn them, with
our old prayers is to forget them, with our con.
ventIonsllties is to bury them. Get out OF the
way with your sanctiHed stupidity and your holy
dullness and your sniveline cant, and let Christs
Gospel pure as the water, clear as the light and as
arousng as the archAngel's trumpet bathe and
irradiate and resurrecl our great cities.
think it is about hve o'clock in the morning.
The night Of sin and crime is far spent and so
pitch my tent toward the surprising The tears
yet on SO many eye.ids are the morning dew
The croakinR of the owl Of the night is being
hnshed, and the lark will soon dip Its wing in the
day-break. The morning cometh, Oar cities
will all be Saved. You may thiRk that the tele.
graphic wires laid across the continent and under
the sea are only for commercial advantage, but
think they have been laid for the woIld's final
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