Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1886-06-30
1TANA. WEDNESDAY,, JUNE 80, 1885
AN ISLAND VISION,

AN ISLAND VISION.
sermon by Rev. Dewitt Talmage Te
terday.
ALEXANDRA BAY, NY, June 27, 1885,
The congregation OF the Brooklyn Tabe
nacle this year have made pilgrimage t
this place, accompanied by the Rev. T. D.
Witt Talmage. d., their pastor. Man
hundreds Of them left Brooklyn on Satu1
day. June &c, arriving here the evening I
day. Special trains of cars were provide
Tor them. A multitude from the surround
log villages joined them to-day, and d,
| ralmage preached the folio. ing sermon
His subject was IAN Island Vision," an
his texts, Revelations I. 8: Il, John, was i
the isle that is called Patmos;" and Reve
/ 'a,ions Xxi. Il, ''And the twelve gates wer
twelve pearls" The preacher said:
SAbbath morning finds us amid tn
thousand isles of the st. Lawrence. Ami,
the enchantment OF the scenery som
OF rs are like Paul when he said: "Whe:he
in the body or out Of the body I canno
tell" Not having read the biologists &C
cou.t OF how this region was formed,
may surmise that after the St. Lawrenc
began its majestic roll these islands wer
landscape. lslands above US, island
below us, islands all around lis, / am re
minded how much the islands OF the worlt
have had to do with sacred and profan
history. Elba. from which Napoleo,
started for his last struggle, and St. Helene
where he ended it; leland of Guernsey
where the gre It soul of Victor Hugo chafei
in exile until Republicanism in Franc,
drove back despotism: Isle OF Borneo
where Adoniram Judson stood, a famin.
evangel; the Mediterranean island, wher,
Garibaldi rested after the emancipation ol
Italy: Island Of Cyprus. where Barnabat
preached; Island OF Melita, on which Pau
was shipwrecked; and last OF all, bat
mightiei than all and more impressive thar
all, the island OF Pa tmos. of which my text
speaks and from which st. John, the
exiied Ephesian gespelizer, saw the twelve
pearlin. gates ii God will help us, we car
from these Thousand isles, on this Sabbath
morning, see the same glittering portals.
After referring at length to the twelve
gates, the speaker said: Iwant you tn
count the number of those gates. Imperial
parks and iordly manors are apt to have
one expensive gateway and the others are
ordinary; but look around at these en-.
frances 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 heayens Twelve gates!
i admit this is rather hard on sharp sec
tarianism. If a Presbyterian is bigoted he
brings his Westminster Abbey Catechisn,
and he makes gateway out Of that, and
he says to the world: "You 60 through
there or stay out" If Methodist is
bigoted he plants two posts and says:
" "Now you crowd in between those two
posts or stay out" Or perhaps an Episco-
palian may say: ''Here is liturgy out OF
which mean to make a gate; 60 through
it or stay out" Or Baptist may say:
Here is a water gate; you SO through there
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
gates? I tell you pluin'y, 1 will not 60 in
that gate. will go in at any one of the
twelve gates choose. Here is man who
says: II can more easily and more closely
approach God through a prayer book" /
ray: "My brother, then use the prayer
book" Here is man who says: II be-
lieve there is only one mode OF baptism and
that is immersion" Then say: "Let me
the gate OF rough panel and rotten posts
aud rusted latch, when there are twelve
gates and they are twelve pearls.
The fact is that q great many OF the
churches of this day are being doctrined to
death. They have been trying to find out
all about Gods DEGREES, and they want to
know who are elected to be saved and who
are reprobated to be damned, and they
keep on discussing that subject when there
are millions OF souls who need to have the
truth put straight at them. They sit
the number Of teeth in the jaw
hone with which Samson destroyed the
Philstines. They sit O. the beach and see
al veseeteoing t. pieces in the offing, and
instead OF getting into q boat and pulling
away fl the wreck, they sit discussing the
different styles OF oarlocks. God intended
us to know some things and intended us
not to know others. have heard scores
OF sermons explanatory Of God DEGREES,
but came away more perplexed than when
went. The only result OF such discussion
is great fog. Here are two truths which
are to conquer the world: Man, q sinner;
these two theories In his religious belief
shall have my right hand in warm grip OF
brotherhood.
There will be a password at the gate OF
heaven Do you k ow what that pass
word is? Here comes crowd OF souls up
to the gate, and they say, "Let me in; let
me in: was very useful on earth. l en-
dowed colleges. l built churches and was
famous for my charities, and having done
20 many wonderful things for the world,
now come up to get my reward" A voice
from within says: 81 never knew YOU"
Another great crowd comes up, and they
try to get through. They say: I'VE were
highly honorable on earth, and the earth
bowed very lowly before us. We were hon
ored on earth, and now we come to get our
honors in heaven" And Il voice from
within says, II never knew YOU" Another
crowd advances and says: I'VE were very
moral people on earth, very moral indeed,
nition" A voice answers, II never
knew you.'' After awhile 1 see
another throng approach the gate,
and one seems to be spokesman for
all the rest, although their Voices for ever
and anon cry "Amen! Amen! This one
stands at the gate and says, "Let me in.
I was wanderer from God, deserve to
die. have come up to this place not be-
cause | deserveit, but because have heard
that there is saving power in the blood
Of Jesus" The gate-keeper says: THAT
is the password, Jesus Jesus! " and they
pass in and they surround the throne and
the cry is: "Worthy is the lamb that was
slain to receive power, and riches, and
wisdom, and strength, and honor, and
glory, and blessing. o, when heaven is all
done and the troops OF God shout, "the
castle taken" how grand it will be if you
and are among them! Blessed are all
they who enter in through the gates into
the city"
THE RAILROAD TROUBLES.
Strike of tho Lake Shore Switchmen-Ar.
resfa Made