The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-07-11


that have ever known have laughed the loud
est. Religion was intended to brighten up al
our character. Take out the sprig Of cypress
from your coat and put in "a cluster OF cara
phire from the vineyards of En-gedi" R6lig-
ions ways are ways of pleasantness and all heF
paths are peace / have found it So There ara
hundreds in this house who have found it so.
remark again that the camphire-plant Of the
text was symbol of Jesus Christ because it 10
a mighty restorative. You know that there II
nothing that starts respiration so soon in ona
who has tainted as camphor rs we have it. Put
upon sponge or handkerchief, the effects are al
most Immediate. Well, this camphire-plant OF
the text, though somewhat different from thak
which we have, was purgent aromatic and in
that respect it becomes a type of our Lord Jesus
Christ who Is the mightiest of all restoratives.
/ have carried this camphire-plant into the sick
room after the doctors had held their consultar
ton and said there was no hope and nothing mora
could be done, and the soul frightened UP un-
der the spiritualk restorative. There is No
fever, no marasmus, no neuralgia, no consump-
ton, no disease of the body that the grace az
God will not help. wish that over every bed
of pain and through every hospital of distress wo
might swing this ''cluster of campfire from tho
vineyards of En-Gedi" Christs hand is the
softest pillow, Christ's pardon is the strongest
stimulus, Chrst's comfort is the mightiest an0
dyne. Christ's salvation is the grandess restora-
tive 1t makes man mightier thar his physi-
cal distress.
distressed
Come to me-" saith one--"and coming, be at rest
1t / ask Him to receive me- will He say nays
Not till earth and not till heaven pass away.
Finding following, keeping struggling, is He sure b
blssss
Saints, apostles, prophets, martyrs answer yes"
Nero tarred and put pitch upon the Christiana
of his day. and then set them on fire, that they
might illuminate the night round about the pal
aces; but while they were burning and the crowd
beneath were jeering, louder than all the noise
went up the song of praise and triumph from
the dying martyrs. John Bradford came out IN
the presence of the instrument of torture than
was to put him TO death and said: Il am
Christian now / have never been before
And so. again and again, the Lion of Judaha
tribe has torn to pieces the wild beasts of mar.
tyrdom.
This grace is also a restorative for the back
slider. Who do you mean by that2 you say. !
mean you who used to frequent the house OF
God. but seldom go there now; you who ones
once sat at the holy communion, bus
take not the Lords cup now; l mean you
who once rejoiced in Christian society, but now
sit amid scoffers. Backslider! Oh, what sug-
gestive word Backslider From what have
you slid back9 You have slid back from your
fathers faith. from your early good habits. You
have been sliding back from Christ. from the
cross--sliding back from heaven. When man
begins to slide he knows not where he will 60.
You have been sliding back toward darkness.
You have been sliding back toward an unblesssd
grave, toward a precipice the first 10, 900, O00
miles of which downward are only small part
of the eternal plunge You were perhaps, pro-
fessors il the country; you have made shipwreck
in the town. 1t may be that the club blasted
you; it may be that fashionable society destroyed
you; it may be the kind OF wife whom you mar
ried. You have no more hope of heaven now
than if you had lived in Central Asia and never
heard of Christ and the judgment. Oh whers
is that Bible you used to read? Where
is that room where you used 20
pray2 What have you done with that
Jesus whose voice You once heard9 Oh muir
dered hours! Oh, massacred privileges! Oh,
dead opportunities Wake up now and shrek Ia
that mans ear until he shall rouse himself from
the horrible somnambulsm, walking as he does.
fast asleep, within an inch of hell Oh. that ha
back! Communion seasons, come back! Wooings
of the Holy Ghost. come back" But they will
not come. Gone, gone, gone! Sorrow will come,
but not they. Oh, that you might save the feu
remaining years of your life and consecrate them
to Christ. have seen sad sights, have heard
sad sounds; but, l tell you, the ghastlest thing
outside the gates of the damned is backsliders
death-bed Do you not feel like having applied
to your soul this divine prerogative9 Do you
not feel like crying out with David: Restore
unto me the joys of thy salvation" For great
sin, great pardon. For deep wounds, omnipo
tent surgery. For deaf ears, divine aurise
For blind eyes. heavenly oculist For the dead
in sin, the upheaval or great resurrection.
chief restorative power Of religion This is
planet of weeping we are living on. We entea
upon life with a cry and leave it with a long
sigh If l could gather up the griefs of THU
audience and put them in one sentence, and
then utter it, it would make everything between
here and the throne of God shudder and howl.
The earth is gashed deep with graves. AS at ths
close of the war, sometimes we saw q regiment
of $50 men, tho fragment of the thousand men
that went out; so, as stand before you, can
not but realize the fact that you are the frag-
ments representing hundreds Of regiments Of
joyful associations that have been broken up
forever Oh. this is a world OF sorrow! But,
blessed be God, there will be no sorrow in
heaven! The undertaken will have to
have some other business there. In
the summer time our cities have bills
of mortality which are NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. in
New York thousand deaths in a week; some
times it has been two thousand III London--buE
in that great heavenly city there will be not
single case of sickness or death. not one black
dress of mourning, but plenty OF white robes OF
joy; hand shaking or welcome, but none OF seps
araton. Why, if one trouble should attempt TO
enter heaven the shining police OF the city would
put it under everlasting arrest. If all the sor-
rows of life, mailed and sworded under Apollyon,
should attempt to force that gate one company
from the tower would strike them back bowling
to the pit Room IN heaven for all the raptures
that ever knocked at the gate but room for
the smallest annoyance, though slight as sum-
mer insect. Doxology, but no dirge; banquet
ing. but no funeral baked meats"
No darkness at all; no grief at all; no sick
ness at all; no death at ALL A soul waking up
in that place will say "Can it be that am
here? Will my head ever ache againf Shall
never stumble over grave again? Will never
say ood-by to loved ones sgain2 Can it be pos
sible that the stream is past that the bank ID
gained that the glory is begun? Show me
Jesus, that / may kiss His feet When the
clock of Christian suffering has run down, it will
never be wound up again. Amid the vineyards
of the heavenly En-gedi, that will be restora-
ton without any relapse. That will be day
without any succeeding night. That will DO
'the saints everlasting rest"
The Next Craze.
Philadelphia Times.
Waainctnn Is thrAatAnAd with a nrnfasainnai