The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1881-06-02


any who have swung off from this grand |
old Gospel, thinking to find rest Tor their
souls? Have you found comfort, peace,
Joy, heavenP From score of souls
there comes up to me the cry today, No
light, no light"
All the fambeaux of the groomsmen
and the bridesmaids of the text give no
such piercing, leaping light as is to be
found in the tossing lambeau OF the
Gosr el, which fli'gs light into the dun
geon of thy Gin, and comfort out on the
ocean of thy trouble. A blind man sat
down by the wayside, and Jesus ca ne
along, and the bind man cried out; "Je'
sus, thou son of David, have mercy On
me-" "Hush up" said the people stand
ing around; "you are beggar, you are
blind, and this is king" But SO much
more he cried out: Jesus, thou son OF
David, have mercy on me-" They said;
"Be still; it is indeCorous; you are distur.
bing the peace" But The more he cried
out: Jesus, thou son of David, have
mercy on me-" Jesus turned to him and
said: Thy faith hath made thee whole"
Oh that today from this audience there
might 90 up such deep, all.Compellirg
prayer for light, that would turn Jesus
upon us with the response: THY faith
hath made thee whole"
But l learn also from this subject that
the soul needs a movable light. These
torches coming out of the door are in
motion. These torches of the bride
groom's party on the hill are in motion,
hoisted, lowered; glanCing in and out
from among the leaves-always nova
BILE. The soul needs a movable light,
and in the Gospel of Christ we have it.
The Gospel is not lamp-post standing
in one street. 1t is not chandelier hung
in one room; it is not lighthouse set at
one harbor; it is hambeau-a movable
| light-something to be Carried-and we
need to take into our homes, and into
our stores and shops, into our our schools
and churches, into the garrett where the
fevered languish, into the cellars where
poor freeze, and into the hospital where
the wounded die, and far out into the
wilderness where the emigrant struggles
Do you know that the lights of this
world are stationary; and that you and |
will have to start on a road where all
these lights will fail us2 The lights of
earthly amusen ent are stationary, and
all those that are kindled in the most
brilliant halls on earth can not fl, sh one
spark Of cheer on that path which you
and l will have to travel. The lamps Of
our churches are stationary; all the chan
deliers of Christian sanCtuaries in one
flame of light could throw a glow.worm
spark upon the path upon which you and
l will soon have to travel. The domestic
light is stationary. If you should take
it to the door on windy night it would
be Immediately blown out. And all the
| lights that cheer us in the home circle
will cast on that pathway on which you
and | will soon travel. Oh, Godl when
we rurn our back upon our amusements,
and our churches, and our homes, give
us the fambeau of the Gospel-a nova
BILE light That will show us where to
step; that will make our wolfsh fears
hide; that will kindle up the sepulcher,
as the hunters torch changes the noun.
tain cavern from hole of gloom to
place where ceiling and wall are all a
glitter with spar-stalaCite above, stalag'
mite beneath--the dungeon of the grave
having become the col queror's palace.
This movable light, like Paul, carried
down in the dungeon until that pestilen-
tial cell became an amphitheater where
all the hosts of heaven stood watching
his sutferings. And he took on the
deck of the convict ship, where the crew
were bowling with terror, and the wind
was blowing as the sai.or say. great
guns" and it famed on his pathway to
the last, when the Roman Jurors wro'o
on the tablet their verdict of "Condem.
no." and on the E9th of June, '66, on
the road to Ostia, Paul was fastened to
the stake, and the officer of the law
drew the sword from the sCabbard, and
with one keen, sharp, strong stroke the
blood spurted and the soul flew That
fambeau John Howard carried down
into the prisons, until they glowed with
the light of heaven. Lady Rae ell Rus
sell was Comforted by that light while
she was arranging the papers as her hus-
band was preparing for martyrdom
That light John Bunyan held up until
he saw the Celestial City, 1t famed on
the blind eyes of John Milton until he
saw the battle of the angels. Oh, mon.
arch light, glorious 1ambeau of the Cos.
pei, pass it up and down through all
hands, through sll ages, pass it from hand
TO hand, and from mountain to noun
tain, and from SEA to sea, until it shall
te told everywhere that to those who
sat in darkness a great light was up. 1t
must have been brilliant scene when
the first morning dawned on the world.
Our planet had been great black bulk
there was not even the gleam of a star
or the flash of a FREELY. But the COM
mand came forth: Let there be ght,"
and flashes of brightness quivered thro'
the gloom, and the darkness YVES lighted |
and the mist arose, and there was snow
on the crest of the wave, and the rem
nants of the night rolled off the sky in
splendor, and the bridegroom of the
light appeared in the heavens, and all |
the glories of the earth with lighted tor
ches went forth to meet him. "And the |
evening and the morning were the first
day." But more glorious will be the
time when Christ shall confront the |
worlds moral darkness, and he shall |
cry: "Let there be light" and the dark.
ness shall flee, and the bridegroom of
the church shall appear in the heavens;
and redeemed notions, with torches of |
victory and gladness, go forth to meet
him, "And the evening and the morning
are the last day."
next learn from this subject that no
man has any light to spare. l suppose
il some of these obliging bridesmaids |
had taken the linen from the top of the
fambeaux, and wrung them out on the
lamps of the improvident ones, that af.
ter awhile they themselves would have
been in darkness. So they did not lend
it. There was no olive oil to spare. Nei.
ther has one any grace to spare. "0h,"
says some one in this house, II had
very good father and a very good moth
er. If there ever was a good woman,