The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1886-07-14

gate on the other side, beat the surges Oh
etornal glory. o, the gatel the gate 1t
strikes an infinite charm through every
or,s that passes 1t. One step this side OF
that gate, and we are paupers. One step
the other side of that gate, and we are
iings. The pilgrim of earth going through
sees in the one huge pearl all his earthly
tears in crystal. o, gate Of light, gate OF
heaven, for our weary souls at last swing
open!
When shall these eyes thy heaven built wall
And pearly gates behold,
Thy bulwarlts with salvation strong,
And streets OF shining gold?
o, heaven is not dull place! Heaven
Is not contracted place. Heaven is not
a stupid place. ~ saw the twelve gates
and they were twelve pearls"
In the second place, want you to count
the number of those gates. Imperial
parks and lordly manors are apt to have
one. expensive gateway and the others
are ordinary; but look around at these
entrances to Heaven and count them.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven,
eight, nine ten, eleven, twelve. Hear it,
all the earth and all the Heavens! Twelve
gates!
/ admit this Is rather hard on sharp
sectarianisms. If a Presby terrain is
bigoted he brings his Westminster
Assembly Catechism, and he makes
gateway out of that, and he says to the
world:
"You go through there or stay out"
If a Methodist is bigoted he plants two
posts and he says:
Snow you crowd in between those two
posts or stay out"
Or perhaps an Episcopalian may say:
"Here is liturgy out of which l
mean to make a gate; go through 1t or
stay out"
Or a Baptist may say:
''Here is a water gate; you 60 through
that or you must stay out"
And so in all our churches and in our
| denominations there are men who make
one gate for themselves and then demand
that the whole world 60 through it,
abhor this contractedness in religious
views. o, small-souled man, when did
God give you the contract for making
gatess l tell you plainly. will not go in
that gate. will go in at any one of the
twelve gates l choose. Here is man who
says:
II can more easily and more closely ap.
proach God through n prayer-book."
I say: my brother, then use the
prayer.book."
| Here is a man who says:
81 believe there is only one mode of
baptism, and that is immersion"
Then say: "Let me plunge you"
Anyhow say, away with the gate of
rough panel and rotten posts and rusted
latch, when there are twelve gates and
they are twelve pearls.
man comes down to river in time Of
frsshet. He wants to get across. He has to
swim. What does he do? The first thing
y to put of his heavy apparel and drop
everything he has in his hands. He must
20 empty handed if he is going to the
other bank. And tell you when we have
come down to the river of death and find
it swift and raging, we will have TO put of
all our sectarianism and lay down our
cumbrous creed, and empty handed put
out for the other shore.
"What," say you, "would you resolve
all the Christian churches into one kind OF
church! Would you make all Christendom
worship in the same way, by the same
formsp"
o, mol You might as we'll decide that
all people shall eat the same kind OF food
without reference to appetite, or wear the
same kind of apparel without reference tc
the shape of their body. Your ancestry
your temperament, your surroundings
will decide whether you 60 to this or thai
church, and adopt this or that polity
One church will best get one man to Heav
en-, and another church another man. DE-
not care which one of the gates you e
through, IL you only go through one Of thu
twelve gates that Jesus lifted.
Looking out at the one hundred ant
forty and four thousand, and you can no
tell at what gate they came in. One Lord
One faith. One baptism. One CLASSY sea
One doxology. One triumph. One Heaven
"Why. Luther, how did you get iny"
~ came through the third gate"
"Cranmer, how did you get IMP"
~ came through the eighth gate"
"Adoniram Judson, how did you &c
throughW
~ came through the seventh gate"
"Hugh McKall, the martyr, how did yol
get through"
~ came through the twelfth gate"
Glory to God, twelve gates, but on
Heaven.
In the third place, notice the points o
the compass toward which these gate
look. They are not on one side or on tw'
sides, or on three sides, but OIL four sides
This is no fancy of mine, but distinc
announcement. On the north, three gates
on the south, three gates; on the east, tire
gates; on the west, three gates. Wha
does that mean? Why. it means that al
nationalties are included, and it does no
make any difference from what quarter o
the earth man comes up; il his heart |
right there is gate open before him. On
the north, three gates. That mean
mercy for Lapland, and Siberia, an
Norway, and Sweden. On the south
three gates. That means pardo
for Hindostan, and Algiers, an
Ethiopia. On the east, three gates. Tha
means salvation for China, and Japan
and Borneo. On the west, three gates
That means redemption for America.
does not make any difference how dark
skinned or how pale.faced men may b
they will find gate right before then
Those plucked bananas under a tropics
sun. These shot across Russian SHOWS be
hind reindeer. From Mexican plateau
from Roman campagna, from Chinese tea
: field, from Holland dixie, from Scotc
highlands, they come, they come. Heave
| g., Co., so,,ls