St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1886-07-17

y
ger will flash under the gaslight. But U
the brightness when the great gate OF
heaven swings, struck through and drip
ping with the light Of eternal monday!
Julius Caesar paid 125, 900 crowns for one
pearl. The Government of Portugal boast
ed of having pearl larger than pear.
Cleopatra and Philip III. dazzled the
worlds vision with precious stones. But
gather all these together and lift them,
and add to them all the wealth of the pearl
fisheries, and set them in the panel CT one
door, and it does not equal this magni-
ficent gateway. An Almighty hand hewed
this, strung this, polished this. Against
this gateway on the one side, dash all tne
splendors of earthly beauty. Agalnstthls
gate on the other side, beat the surges OF
eternal glory. o, the gate! the gate! 1t
strikes an infinite charm through every
one that passes it. One step this side OF
that gate, and we are paupers. One step
the other side of that gate, and we are
kings. 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 bulwarks with salvation strong,
And streets of shining gold?
o, heaven is not dull place! Heaven
is not contracted place. Heaven is not
stupid place. 81 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 1t,
all the earth and all the Heavens! Twelve
gates!
I admit this is rather hard on sharp
sectarianisms. If a Presbyterian is
bigoted he brings his Westminster
Assembly Catechism, and he makes
gateway out of that, and he says to the
world:
ssYou 60 through there or stay out"
If Methodist is bigoted he plants two
posts and he says:
s>-~S>
posts or stay out"
Or perhaps an Episcopalian may say:
"Here is liturgy out of which 1
mean to make a gate; go through it or
stay out"
Or Baptist may say:
Here is water-gate; you go 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 go through it, 1
abhor this contractedness in religious
views. O, small souled man, when did
God give you the contract for making
gates? 1 tell you plainly, will not go in
that gate. I will go in at any one of the
twelve gates choose. Here is a man who
says:
81 can more easily and more closely ap-
,proach God through prayer-book."
I say: "My brother, then use the
prayer-book."
Here is man who says:
81 believe there is only one mode OF
baptism, and that is Immersion
Then say: "Let me plunge you."
rough panel and rotten posts and rusted
latch, when there are twelve gates and
they are twelve pearls.
A man comes down to a river in time Of
freshet. He wants to get across. He has to
swim. What does he do? The first thing
is to put of his heavy apparel and drop
everything he has in his hands. He must
go empty handed il 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.
'sWhat,n say yon, "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
forms?"
o, moi You might as well decide that
all people shall eat the same kind of food,
without reference to appetite, or wear the
same kind of apparel without reference to
the shape Of their body. Your ancestry,
your temperament, your surroundings,
will decide whether you go to this or that
church, and adopt this or that polity.
One church will best get one man to Heav-
en-, and another church another man. do
not care which one of the gates you go
through, If you only go through one of the
twelve gates that Jesus lifted.
Looking out at the one hundred and
forty and four thousand. and you can not
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 in?"
81 came through the third gate. :"
"Cranmer, how did you get in!"
"Icame through the eighth gate"
"Adoniram Judson, how did you get
through?"
81 came through the seventh gate"
"Hugh McKall, the martyr, how did you
- L