St. Landry democrat., 1885-11-14

NAS
then and there becomes q servant OF the
Lord God. She is overwhelmed. She be-
gins to think that all the spices she
brought, and all the precious woods which
are intended to be turned into harps and
psalteries and into ratings for the cause
way between the temple and the palace,
and the $3.50, 900 in m~oney-she begins to
think that all these presents amount to
nothing in such a place, and she is almost
ashamed that she had brought them, and
she saws within herself: 81 heard a great
deal about this place and about this won
derful religion of the Hebrews, but l find it
far beyond my highest antieipations. l
must add more than fifty per cent. to what
has been related. It exceeds everything
that I could have expected. The half-the
half was not told me-"
Learn from this subject what a beautiful
thing it is when social position n wealth
surrender themselves to God. When re-
ligion comes to a neighborhood the first to
receive it are the women. Some men say
it is because they are weak-minded. l say
it is because they have quicker perception
Of what is right, more ardent affection and
capacity for sublimer emotion. After the
women have received the Gospel, then all
the distressed and the poor Of both sexes,
those who have no friends, accept Jesus.
Last of all come the people of afiuence and
high social position. Alas, that it is so!
If there are those here to-day who have
been favored of fortune, or, as ! might
better put it., favored of God, surrender all
you have and all 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. / am glad that
Christ has had his imperial friends in all
ages-Elizabeth Christina, Queen of Prus-
STA; Maria F~eodorovna, Queen of Russia;
Marie, Empress of France; Helena, the
imperial mother of Constantine; Arcadia,
from her great fortunes building public
baths in C~onstantinople and toiling for the
alienation of the masses; Queen ClotlIda,
leading her husband and 5000 of his armed
warriors to Christian baptism; Elizabeth,
of Burgundy, giving her jeweled glove to
a beggar and scattering great fortunes
among the distressed: Prince Albert, sing
ing crock of Ages" in Windsor Castle,
and Queen Victoria incognito reading the
Scriptures to a dying pauper. l bless God
that the day is coming when royalty will
bring all it's thrones and music, all its har-
monies and painting, all its pictures and
sculpture, all it's 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 Abys-
sinia, or some say in the southern part OF
Arabia Felix. In either easel 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 a soul
worth 10000 kingdoms like Sheba, and,
she wanted a robe richer than any
woven by Oriental shuttles, and she
wauted a crown set with the jewels of
eternity. Bring out the eamels. 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 cameIs. When I see that caravan
dust-covered, weary and exhausted, trudg-
ing on across the desert and among the
bandits, until it reaches Jerusalem, ]
say: HThere is an earnest seeker after
the TRUTH But there are a great many
of you, my friends, who do not act In
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: q
am ready to become a Christian any time
If / am to be saved I shall be saved
| and if I am to be lost I shall be lost.o A
man who says that and keeps on saying il
will be lost. Jerusalem will never come
to you; you must go to Jerusalem
The religion of the Lord Jesus Chris
win not come to you; you mus
go and get religion. Bring out the camels
put on all the sweet spices, all the treasures
Of the hearts affection. Start for thu
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 O
the heavenly Eshcol, the angels Of Got
the cup-bearers. Goad on the camels
Jerusalem will never come to you; yol
must go to Jerusalem. The Bible declares
it: s'The Queen Of the S~outh"-that is, thii
very woman / am speaking of-"Th'
Queen of the South shall rise up in judg
ment against this generation and condemn
it; for she came from the uttermost part
of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solo
mon, and 10 a greater than Solomon i