The Brookhaven leader., 1886-05-20

And I said 10 others:
"when did 700 give your heart 70
Godi"
And they said,
"To-nights
And I said 10 sim others.
"whsn did you resolve to serve the Lord
all the days Of your lifes"
And they said:
Tonight"
I saw by their apparel that when the
grace Of God struck them they were de-
vouring the prey but saw also in the food
Of joyful tears and In the kindling rap
lures on their brow, and in their exhil-
arant and transporting utterances, that
thew were dividing the spoil. At night,
with one touch Of electricity. all these
lights blaze. Oh, would 20 God that
the darkness of your souls might be
broken up, aud that by one quick, over
whelminZ, instantaneous fash of illum-
ination you might be brougt into the
light and Che liberty Of the sons Of God
You see that religion is different thin g
from what some Of you people supposed.
You thought il was decadence: you
thought religion was emacistion; you
thought il was highway robbery; that it
struck one down and left him half dead /;
that it plucked out the eyes; that it
plucked OFT the plumes Of the soul; that it
broke the wing and crushed the beak as it
came clawing with its black talons through
the air. No, that is not religion. What is
religion II is dividing the spoil. II is
taking a defenseless soul and panoplying
il for eternal conquest. II is the distribu-
ton Of prizes by the kings hand, every
medal stamped with a coronation. 1t is
an exhilara ton, an expansion. II is i'm
paradisation. IL Is enforcement Re-
ligion makes q man master Of earth, and
death. and hell. IL goes forth 20 gather
the medals of victory won by Prince En-
manuel, and the diadems of heaven and
the glories OF realms terrestrial and celes
tial, and then, after ranging all worlds for
everything that is Respondent, it divides
the spoil.
What was II that James Turner, the
famous English evalgelist, was doing when
in his diving moment be said; Christ is
all Christ is all" Why, he was enter
ing into light; be was rounding the Cape
of Good Hope, be was dividing the spoil.
What was the aged Christian Quaker ss
doing when at eighty years of age she
arose in the meeting one day and said:
"The time Of my departure is come. Ny
grave clothes are falling off," She was
dividing the spoil.
She lon2ed with wings 70 ny away,
And mix with that eternal day.
What is Daniel now doing, the lion.
tanner: and Elijah. who was drawn by the
flaming coursers: and Paul, the rafting of
whose chains made kings quake: and all
the other victims of food, and fire, and
wreck, and guillotines Where are theyi
Dividing the spoil.
Ten thousand times ten thousand,
In sparkling raiment bright,
The armies CT the rans0med saints
Throng up the sleeps OF iight
IT'S finished, all is finished.
Their fight with death and sin;
LIT high your golden gates
And let the victors in
Oh, what a grand thing 1t is to be a
Christian. We begin on earth to divide
the spoil, but the distribution will not be
completed TO all eternity. There is pow.
erty struck soul, there is a business de
spoiled soul, there is sin struck soul, there
is bereaved soul-why do you not come
and get the spoils Of Christian character,
the comfort, the joy, the peace, the saliva
ton that am sent to offer you in my
masters name: Though your knees
knock together in weakness, though
your hand tremble in fear, though your
eyes rain tears of uncomfortable weeping
come and get the spoils. Rest for all the
weary. Pardon for all the guilty. Labor
for all the bestormed. Life for all the
dead. / verify believe that there are some
who have come in here outcast because the
world is against them, and because they
feel God is against them, who will go
away to-day saying:
came to Jesus as l was,
Weary, and worn, and sad;
found in him a resting place,
And He has made me glad:
Though you came in children OF the
world, you may go away heirs of Heaven.
Though you were devouring tbe prey, now,
all worlds witnessing, you may divide the
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