The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1880-01-22

to the doors. The opening hymn was
"stapd up, stand up for Jesus,
Ye soldiers Of the cross"
The following is verbatim report Of
the sermon, which was listened to with
the most marked interest to the close
BubJeol:-DrssmS.
TEXT-Joel ii, 28' II will pour out my
Spirit upon all flesh. Your old men
shall dream dreams and your young
men shall see visions"
In this photograph of the millennium
the dream is lifted into great consplCui-
ty. Men may call it nocturnal phantasia
or an absurd combination of waking
thoughts, and with slur Of intonation
may say, 1T is only dream;" but God
has honored the dream by making it the
avenue through which he has again and
again marched upon the soul and deCid-
ed the fate of nations and changed the
course of the worlds history. In a
dream God came to AbimeleCh to warn
him against an unlawful marriage; in a
dream to Jacob by ladder clustering
with angels to show that earth and
heaven we're in communication; in q
dream to Joseph, announcing his coming
elevation under the vision of all the
other harvest sheaves bowling to his
sheaE in a dream to the chief butler,
promising him disimprisonment; in a
dream to the chief baker, announcing
his decapitation; in dream to Pharaoh,
toretelling first plenty and then famine,
seven fat COWS eating up the seven lean
cows; in a dream to Solomon giving him
the choice between wisdom and riches
and honor; in a dream to warrior un-
der figure of barley cake striking down
q tent, encouraging Gideon against the
Amalekites; in dream to Nebuchadnez.
zar, under figure of a demolished image
and hewn down tree, showing the fall
of his power; in dream to Joseph of
the new Testament, announcing the COM
ing of Christ in his own household; in q
dream to Mary, bidding her fly the He
rodic prosecutions; in dream to Pilates
wife, warning her husband not to get
complicated in the SaVior's judicial over
throw. But "Does God continue to
speak through dreamsH" is practical
question which everybody asks. and
which l this morning will attempt to
answer.
You ask if 1 believe in dreams. My
answer is," do" but all have to say
on this subject is under three or four
heads.
First remark The scriptures are so
full revelation that, if we got no direct
communications through dreams, we
ought to be satisfied. With twenty
guide. books to tell you how to get to
Boston, to Pittsburgh, to Philadelphia, to
London, to Manchester, to Glasgow, you
want no night vision to direct you before
you start on your journey. Now, the
bible is such complete guide-book and
such magnificent directory that you
ought to be satisfied. We have in it full
directions for the journey of this life and
for the best way of getting to the Cees-
tial City. have more faith in the dreC
tions when l am wide awake than when
am sound asleep. have noticed that
those people who are given to close
watching of their night visiOns are apt
to get their brain added. They are very
anxious to remember what they dreamt
about the first night they slept in new
house. If in dream they take the hand
of the dead they are going to die. A
dream of a garden means to them
corpse. If something turns out as they |
saw it in a night vision they say, II |
am not surprised, for dreamt it," Ifit |
turns out just opposite they cay, Dreams
90 by contraries" In trying to put their
dreams into rhythm they get their wax
ing thoughts into disCord On most sub |
jects an address from God in night Wis
ions won be a superAuity, because we
have the address already before us in the
scriptures. Sound sleep was much hon
ored when Adam slept so extrdordinari.
ly that the surgical iDcision which gave
him Eve did not awake him. But there
is no more need for such extraordinary
sleep as that, and to catch an Eve now
one must ba wide awake. No more need
Of dreams like that of Jacob, in which he
saw the ladder, for in ten thousand
ways it is proved that heaven and earth
are in angelic association. No more need
OF a dream like that of Abimelech to
warn him against unlawful marriage.
for there are county records for his OK
animation. No more need of q dream
like that of Joseph about the seven years
of famine, because the seasons march in
better procession, and steamer and rail
road freight-train take bread stufs to
any nation that may be famine-sLruCk.
No more need for dream like that
which encouraged Gideon, for it is de-
monatrated fact that righteousness soon
Or or later will triumph. Be satisfied
with the revelations already made. II
you come TO crisis in life upon which
the bible does not seem to be very spe.
cifc, 60 to God in prayer and you will
get special direction. In ninety. nine
cases out OF hundred l will give you
more for your decision formed with
bible in your lap, and with your thoughts
uplifted in prayer, than for all instruc.
tion you will get with unconscious head
on q pillow. II 10 no wonder that the
Egyptians and Babylonians putso much
stress on their dreams, and put them
into science, and that Homer thought
dreams came from Jove, and that the
Chinese, in their holy book, Chow king
say that the Emperor gets his directions
from heaven in a dream. But we who
believe that we have supernatural
book, filled with the teachings of God,
need not harry ourselves about dreams
There is no need that Eddystone aud
Barnegat Lighthouses question the bum
Ter frehy.
Second remark: Ali dreams have an
important mesning-they prove the
poul'e C0mDarativp indpnandanca and |