The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1882-02-16
caURcH NOTES.

/ I'M MN <NOA1<os
Review of the Services OF Yesterday, An
nouneemenfs for the Week, Sc.
Rev. Zacheus Powell, of New York,
preached at the Friends church. Sun
day morning to a large congregation.
The Baptist church was crowded SUM-
day at the morning and evening ser.
vices. The revival meetings will be re.
sumed after this evening and continue
through the week.
Rev. John Kirby, of the NJ. E. church,
preached a powerful discourse at the Con.
gregational church last Sunday, from
the text: ELI sat upon seat by the
wayside watching; fer his heart trem.
bled for the ark of God,"--I Sam, "
ID.
The following is an outline of the ser
mon, which has elected much flattering
comment:
With Eli, the second great drama in
Jewish history closed. His age was one
of apostacy. Israel was at war with
Philistla and the ark of the covenant was
captured and became the sport of the
wOrshipers of Dagon and Ashtaroth.
w urn LtdIu Oi 1911 OH HIS
seat stiff and cold in death.
Subject-'The Perils of the Ark, and
the Duty of the Church in Relation to it,"
The Bible is to us what the ark was TO
| ancient Israel. Its peFils in this age are
not from heathenism proper. The false
| faiths Of the world are themselves on the
defensive. Neither is it endangered by
the intellectual enlightenment of our
| era. The learning OF every great age
has helped to carry it forward while the
ignorance Of every dark age has retarded
it. The transformations which religion
itself are undergoing in this age are not
necessarily perilOus to it. These are bat
a repetition of all history. Every living
form of truth fOrgets the things which
are behind and reaches forth unto the
things which are before. The very earth
itself is progressive. From the begin
ming it has cast off old forms and con-
structed other and higher organisms
Religion in this age is simply changing
the garments with which other ages
have enrobed it. These shall perish but
it remaineth.
The actual perils of The ark are those
forces which would either rob US of the
truth on the one hand or cool the arSior
of our affection for il on the other
From the frat of these consequences we
permeqted all literature, inspired all
genius, liberaliZed all laws and given
birth to every form of benevolence can
not easily be lost. Still, almost equally
unlocked for events have transpired.
Nations that have made thousand years
of history have persisted. The builders
of the Pyramids have been forgotten
Languages spoken by one hundred mil
hons of people have died. Arts rival
ling those of our era have been lost.
There have also been lost bibles. Ira
ditiOns of deluges and incarnations still
float in the minds of oriental peoples,
aud the rude outlines of Edenic imagery
found on Assyrian slabs point to lost
revelationS-tO some fountain of prime.
val truth. The Judean annals record
the recovery of the lost Book of the
Law"-the bible of that age-whose
very teachings had persisted from the
memory and passed out Of the traditions
of the kingdom. The age of Luther had
likewise lost the ark. The great re-
ormer him self was ignorant of it until
he stumbled upon copy of the Bible in
the University of Erfurth, while the very
truths and promises of Scripture were
no longer current in the Vernacular of
the people. And today one of the dark
| est districts upon earth is the region
where once stood the seven Asiatic
| churches. christianity has there given
place to the falsehoods of the Arabian
impostor," and the crescent has taken
| the place of the cross. In the light of
these facts, who can say the ark of our
modern Israel cannot be lost?
Romanism and rationalism are the
Philistines Of this age. But the real
dangers are within the church ITSELF
Those who carried the ark in Ellis time
had no heart sympathies with it. They
had apostatiZed from the purity of the
ancient faith. They wanted the ark to
| fight for them not they for the ark, and
right here is our danger. We may take
the best things in our possession into
the battle but they will be powerl6ss to
protect it our hearts are not right. Do
we tremble for the interests of the cause
| we have espoused and cling with the
tenacity of life TO the ark of endangered
truth? Do we feel like men in some
great emergency of battle? Or have we
no strong convictions? Nothing for
which We are willing to die? 1t is the
heartlessness of the professed friends of
| the ark that is the imreriling horror of
our modern christianity. 1t is the fact
| that the members of our churches are
more ready to recreate in the theatre
than fight for Christ IN the open field.
The duty of the church in this age is
| to put the sacramental host of Gods
elect on war footing. This age de-
mands leaders-not like Eli who have
no grasp upon the public mind but men
'cOmpacted of positives." Moses, JOSH
ua, Elijah and Paul were of this type.
Earnest men make earnest men. Sheri-
dan rode into the Shenandoah valley and
transformed fugitives into fighting men
and converted defeat into victory, Again
the church must put her forces actually
into the field. Her roll of names repre-
sents nothing. Let her put the last man
into the battle, and swear every soldier
for the right.