St. Landry democrat., 1885-10-10

/ Wet or thaG 6hey were busy cooking ras
tions. My friends, this is the morning of
the day of God Almighty's battleI Do
you not see the troops? Hear you not all
the trumpets of heaven and the drums of
hell? Which side are you on?
May the eternal God rouse us all to &C.
tionI AS for myself, feel would be
ashamed to die now and enter Heaven un
til 1 have accomplished something more
decisive for the Lord tha5 bought me.
would like to join with you in an oath,
with hand high uplifted to Hen ven,
swearing new allegiance to Jesus Christ,
and to work more for his cause and king
dom. Oh! brethren, how swiftly the
time does go by It seems to me l never
saw such a swift summer-never sum-
mer that had such nimble feet. It seems
to me as if the years had gained some new
power of locomotion-a kind of speed
electricI
The Temple of Berth is very broad, and
it is very high. It has been going up by
the hands of men and devils, and no hui
man en- yinery can demolish it; but il
the $1,000 ministers of Christ in this
country should each take a branch of
the tree Of life, and all their congrega.
tions should do the same, aud we should
march on and throw these branches
around the great temples of sin, and
worldllness and folly, it would need
no match or coal or torch of ours to
touch off the pile, for, as in the days
of Elijah, fire would fall from heaven and
kindIe the bonfire of Christian victory
over demolished sin. 1t is kindling now.
HuzzahI The day is oursi
Still further, learn from this subject
the danger of false refugees. AS soon as
these Shechemitas got into the tens
pie they thought they were safe.
They said 'Berith will take care
of US. Abimelech may batter down
everything else, he can not batter down
this temple, where we are now hid" But
very soon they heard the timbers crack
ling, and they were smoth red with
smoke, and they miserably died. And
you and are just as much tempted to
false refugees. The mirror this morning
may have persuaded you that you have
comedy cheek; your best friends may have
persuaded you that you have elegant
manners; Satan my have told you that
you are all right, but bear with me if
tell you that if unpardoned you are ell
wrong, have no clinometer by which to
measure how steep is the inclined plank
you are descending, but know it is very
steep. SWELL" you say, IF the Bible is
true I am a sinner. Show me some
refuge; will step right into it." sup-
pose every person in this audience this
moment is stepping into some kind of
refuge. Here you stop in the tower of
good works. You say: 81 shall be
safe here in this refuge" The battles
ments are adorned; the steps are varnish.
ed; on the walls are pictures of all tue
suffering you have alleviated, and all the
schools y on have established, and all the
fine things You have ever done. Up in
that tower you feel you ara safe. But bear
you not the tramp of your unpardoned
sins all around the tower? They each have
a match. They are kindling the combus-
tible material. You feel the heat and the
suffocation. Oh! may you leap in time,
the gospel declaring: SPY the deeds of
the law shall no flesh living be justified"
swell, " you say: ~ have been driven
out of that tower; whore shall go?"
Step into this tower of indifference. You
say: "If this tower is attacked, it will be
great while before it is taken" You
feel at ease. But there is an Abimelech
with ruthless assault coming on. Death
and his forces are gathering around, and
they demand that you surrender every
thing, and they clamor for your immortal
overthrow, and they throw their skeleton
arms in the windows, and with their iron
fists they beat against the door, and
while you are trying to keep them out you
see the torches of judgmenr kind
ling, and every forest is torch,
and every mountain torch, and every
sea torch, and while the Alps, and Py-
renees, and Himalayas turn inGo 1--we
coal blown redder and radders by the
whirlwind breath of God omnlpotent,
what will become of your refuge Of lies?
But" says someone. ''you are en-
gagged in a very mean business, driving
us from tower to tower" On, no! wans
to tell you of Gibraltar THAI never has
been and never will be taken; Of wall
that no Satanic assault can scale; of a
bulwark that the Judgment earthquake
can not bulge. The Bible refers to it
when it says In God is thy refuge, and
underneath thee are the everlasting
arms" Oh! fling yourself into it. Tread
down unceremoniously everything thai
you. Wedge your way there.
There are enough hounds Of death and |
peril after you to make you hurry. Many
a man has persisted just outside the tow
er, with his foot on the step, with his
hand on the iatch. OhI get inside. Not |
one surplus second nave you to spare.
Quick, quick, quickl
Great God, is life such an uncertain
thing? If bear little too hard with my
right foot on the eartn, does it break
through into the grave? Is this world
which swings at the speed of thousands |