The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1885-11-13

better put it, favored Of God, surrender al
| you have and al you expect to be to the
Lord who blessed this Queen Of Sheba.
Certainly you are not ashamed to be found
in this Queens company. l am glad that
Christ has had his imperial friends in all
ages-Elizabeth Christina, Queen of Prus-
sia; Maria Feodorovna, Queen Of Russia;
Marie, Empress of France; Helena, the
imperial mother of Constantine; Arcadia,
from her great fortunes building public
baths in Constantinople and toiling for the
alienation of the masses; Queen Clotilda,
leading her husband and 5000 of his armed
warriors to Christian baptism; Elizabeth,
Of Burgundy, giving her jeweied glove to
. beggar and scattering great fortunes
among the distressed; Prince Albert. sing
ing "Rock of Ages" in Wind ,or Castle,
and Queen Victoria incognito reading the
Scriptures to dying pauper. bless God
that the day is coming when royalty win
bring all its thrones and music, all its har-
monies and painting, all its pictures and
sculpture, all its statuary and architecture;
and the queens of the earth, in long line of
advance, frankincense filing the air and
the camels laden with gold, shall approach
Jerusalem, and the gates shall be hoisted,
and the great burden of splendor shall be
lifted into the palace of this greater than
| Solomon.
| Again, my subject teaches me what is
| earnestness in the search of truth. Do you
know where Sheba was? 1t was in Abyss
sinia, or some say in the southern part of
Arabia Felix. In either case it was a great
way off from Jerusalem. To get from
there to Jerusalem she had to cross. a coun-
| try infested with bandits, and go across
| blistering deserts. Why did not the
Queen of Sheba stay at home and send
a committee to inquire about this
| new religion, and have the dele
| gates report in regard to that re-
ligion and the wealth of King Solomon:
She wanted to see for herself, and hear
for herself. She could not do this by work
of committee. She felt she had soul
worth 10000 kingdoms like Sheba, and,
she wanted q robe richer than any
woven by Oriental shuttles, and she
| warted a crown set with the Jewels Of
eternity. Bring out the camels. Put on
the spices. Gather up the jewels of the
throne and put them on the caravan.
Start now; no time to be lost. Goad on
the camels. When I see that caravan,
dust-covered, weary and exhausted, trudg-
ing on across the desert and among the
bandits, until it reaches Jerusalem. I
say: "There is an earnest seeker after
the truth" But there are a great many
of you, my friends, who do not act ia
that way. You all want to get the truth,
but you want the truth to come to you;
you do not want to go to it. There are
people who fold their arms and say: 81
am ready to become a Christian any time.
If am to be saved I shall be saved,
and if / am to be lost I shall be lost" A
man who says that and keeps on saying it
will be lost. Jerusalem will never come
to you; you must go to Jerusalem.
will not come to YOU: you must
go and get religion. Bring out the camels;
put on all the sweet spices, all tbs treasures
of the hearts affection. Star. for the
throne. Go in and hear the waters of SAL
walton dashing in fountains all around
about the throne. Sit down at the BAN
quet-the wine pressed from the grapes Of
the heavenly Eshcol, the angels of God
the cup-bearers. Goad on the camels;
Jerusalem will never come to you; you
must go to Jerusalem. The Bible declares
it: 'SThe Queen of the South"-that is, this
very woman l am speaking of-"The
Queen of the South shall rise up in judg-
ment against this generation and condemn
it; for she came from the uttermost parts
of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solo |
mon, and 10! a greater than Solomon is
here" God help me to break up the in
fatuation of those people who are sitting
down in idleness, expecting to be saved. |
"Strive to enter in at the straight gate;
ask and it shall be given you; seek and We |
shall find; knock and it shall be opened
to you" Take the kingdom of Heaven by !
violence. Urge on the camels.
Again, my subject impresses me with the |
fact that religion is a surprise to any one |
who gets it. This story of the new relig zion !
in Jerusalem, and of the glory of King |
Solomon, who was q type of Christ-.hat |
story rolls on and on, and is told by every i
traveller coming back from Jerusalem. TIE |
news goes on the wing of every ship and !
with every caravan, and you know a story |
enlarges as it is retold, and by the time
that story gets down into the southern part !
of Arabia Felix and the Queen of Sheba |
hears it, it must be tremendous story. |
Aad yet this Queen declares in regard to |
it, although she has heard so much, and |
had her anticipations raised SO high, the
half-the half was not told her. So religion !
is always q surprise to any one that gets
it. The story of grace-an old story.
Apostles preached it with rattle of
chains; martyrs declared it with arm
of fire; death-beds have affirmed It
with visions of glory, and ministers of re-
igion have sounded it through the lanes
and highways and the chapels and the
cathedrals. It has been cut into stone with
chisel, and spread on the canvas with pen
Gil; and it has been recited in the doxology
of great congregations. And yet when .
man first comes to look on the palace of
Gods mercy, and to see the royalty Of
Christ and the wealth of this banquet, and
the luxuriance of his attendants, and the
loVeliness Of his face, and the joy Of his
service, he exclaims, with prayers, with
tears, with songs, with triumphs: 1.-THE
haif-the half was not told mew I ap-
peal to those in this house who are Chris
tiaks. Compare the idea you had of tAe
joy of the Christian life before you be-
came q Christian with the apprecia-
ton of that joy you have now since yoa
have become q Christian, and yol
are vsilling to attest before angels and men
that you nerer in the days of your
spiri&nal bondage had any appreciation Of
what Eas to GENE. You are ready to-day
10 answer, and if 1 gave you an opportuni-
~ in the midst of this assemblage, you
would speak out and say in regard to the /:
discoveries you have made of the mercy
and the grace, sad the goodness of God:
The half-the half was not tad me.'