The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1886-07-08


Cleopatra and Philip ii. dszzled 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 of one
door, and it does not equal this magni-
ficent gateway. An Almighty hand bewed
this, strung this, polished this. Against
this gateway on the one side, dash all the
splendors Of earthly beauty. Against this
gate on the other side, beat the surges of
eternal glory. o, the gate! the gatel 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 Ii ht, 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 a contracted place. Heaven is not
a 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 nanors 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 Presbyterian is
bgoted be brings his Westminster
Assembly Catechism, and he makes a
gateway out of that, and he says to the
world:
"You go through there or stay out"
If a Methodist is bigotei he plants two
posts and he says
Now 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 it or
stay out"
Or a Baptist may say:
Here is a water gate; you go through
that or you must stay out"
And so in all our churches and in our
denominations Jhere are men who make
one gate for themselves and then demand
that the whole world go through 1t, |
abhor this contractedness in religious
views. o, smail-souled man, when did
God give you the contract for making
gates: l tell you plainly, will not go in
that gate. | will go in at any one of the
! I -. ,l,y
saws:
II can more easily and more closely ap.
proach God through prayer book"
say my brother, then use the
| prayer-hook."
| 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
| The fact is that great many of the
/ churches in this day are being doctrined
to death. They have been trying to find
] out all about Gods DEGREES, and they want
j to know who are elected to be saved and
!
! they ere keeping on discussing that sub
! ject when there ara millions of souls who
need to have the truth put straight at
! them. They sit counting the number oil
teeth in the jawbone with which Samson
| slew the Philistines. They sit on the
/ beach and sea a vessel going to pieces in
/ the otting, and instead of getting into q
! boat ami pulling away for the wreck, they
81 discussing the various styles of oar
I locks. God Intended us to know some
things and intended us not to know others
! ] have heard scores of sermons explanatory
/ of Gods DEGREES, but came away more
perplexed than when | went The only
result of such a discussion is great fog
| Here are two truths which are to conquer
the world: Man, a sinner; Christ, &
Saviour. Any man who adopts these two
| theories in his religious belief shall have
my right hand in warR grip OF Christian
| brotherhood
! A man comes down to river in time OF
freshet. He wants to get across. He has tC
swim. What does he do? The first thing
is to put Off his heavy apparel and DROP
everything he has in his hands. He mus
go empty handed if he is going to the
other bank. And tell you when we have
| come down to the river of death and fine
it swift and raging, we will have to put of
all our sectarianism and lay down oul
cumbrous creed, and empty handed pu
out for the other shore.
What" say you. would you resolve
all the Christian churches into one kind Of
church? Would you make all Christen ION
| in th hu tho
forms?"
o, no! You might as well decide tina
all people shall eat the same kind of food
without reference to appetite, or wear thu
same kind of apparel without reference tt
the shape of their body. Your ancestry
your temperament, your suroun nngs
will decide whether you go to this or tina
church, and adopt this or that polity
One church will best get one man to Heav
en-, and another church another man. l d.
not care which one of the gates you g
through, if you only go through one of tn
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 in!"
81 came through the third gate"
"Cranmer, how did you get in?"
81 came through the eighth gate"
"Adoniram Judson, how did you ge
through"
81 came through the seventh gate"
Hugh McKal, the martyr, how did yol
get through"
81 came through the twelfth gate"
Glory to God, twelve gates, but on
Heaven.