The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-03-08
rROM JEREMIAH TO JONES.
rouc Look Back On the Horizon of
Time When the World Was Young.
M. Hairy Man Who Was Born of Calamity
Sermons on the. Shores of Galilee-
Modern Preaching in Chicago.
in Chicago Times.
The First Preacher.

r:u.,v through the centuries, in the obscure
'n;.ht Of times morning, far down on the
'..a-r horizon, one may see region and peo-
alas unique bizarre, sensational in their char
ir.so,;stica They are ill-defned, they are dis
.e.,od as their reflection passes through the in
-.r.srable years which separate them from the
--o.sut as the rays from an object are bent in
.s.ir movement through water. The curious
=. who stands on the summit of the nineteenth
..r.urv and chances back through the intermina-
i. distance sees what resemble the disturbing
l-;siops of broken slumber. There are trees
:. man walking; there are giants and dwarfs
= oreat smoke lies over the area through which
-.nstrate the red flames OF burning cities. A
rSariot Of fire rises into the air and blazes re-
,snendent pathway athwart the sky and disap-
'sesrs in the zenith. Fierce combats. rage over
his region, and hot lightnngs fall from the
.sinuds and blast myriads of human victims
Kissing serpents, fanged and deadly, crawl
arnonp the people. and the old and the young
men women and children fly shrieking and dying
before them.
The mountains tremble in terror, and the
earth shudders convulsively in the grasp of the
ssrthouake the lakes, seas and rivers rise and
swell above their beds to the mountain tops, and
then subside, leaving the slopes and valleys
turned into blood; dense darkness, which can BIZ
fst rests for days over the landscapes burning
bnsh With a fame that sears the eye lights up
the sky and is not consumed. Armed hosts
struggle in the mountains and on the low lands
and litter the ground with their slain; populous
and fertile areas are devastated by the overflow
of foods of war and are left desert
II is wonderland, full of mystery destruc-
4ion. war; turmoil, death, and sublime confusion
The dead come forth st the bidding of some po-
tspt genius the arid rocks, smitten by the wand
of an enchanter gush cool torrents of water;
men with blood on their garments. and with the
not breath of the avenger scorchine them like
Che blasts of furnace flee to the cities of ref
nce Interminable trains Of captives march
across the borders and disappear forever.
II.
II was in this region of wrath, enchantment,
dread agencies, and terrifying manifestations of
unknown powers that the first preacher the
first prophet originated. He was born of the
flames the smoke, the mystery, the idolatry,
the wars, the anarchy. He was not the devel-
Dpment OF mere conventionality, but of neces-
sity. The nation was imperiled, religion was
endangered, idolatry menaced the altars-and he
was born.
This creation had no chameleon-lke qualities;
be did not reflect the hues of his surroundings.
OF one of them it is said ''He was hairy
man. and grit with cirdle OF leather about his
lOins.' Neither purple, nor fine linen, nor lux
urious surroundings were his. Simplicity char
acterzed every moment of his life. The Shuna-
unite woman understood this. for when she in
Vited him to visit her she made him 'lttle
chamber on the wall and set for him there bed
and table, and q stool and candlestick, and
gave him some bread"
The parsonages of these men were in the re-
eesses Of the hills their theological tones the
stars, the skies, the uneasy winds, the swelling
buds and blossoming plants In the dense solitude
Of the inner wilderness they communed with ma
sure's hidden forces and believed that they
stood close to the abiding place of the
great Jehovah: They dwelt apart "a
nation became fragrant they reused themselves
sRd went in search of the offenders. The RI
vines the highways, the streets of the cities, the
palaces of the great, were their auditoriums.
Cad in a single garment of black horsehair stuff
which enveloped him like mantle, with belt.
and scrip and staff, the original preacher strobe
through the land wherever there were people to
hear aud sins to be denounced With long, I'M
kempt, struggling locks, bleached by sun and
wind, and brawny. hirsute limbs and emac;ated
features, ne was the simpersonation of rude and
effective strength. His eyes flashed with fire.
his nostriIs were afame with righteous wrath,
and his voice smote like sledge hammer the air
aud t ne consciences of his hearers.
A specimen of one of these early sermons,
Numbered among the broken heights of Sama-
xn, or reverberating through the streets of Je
may be Of interest.
Return. We backsliding children and will
heal your backslidings
Hear now this, o foolish people. and without
understanding; which have eyes and see not, and
ears and hear not Fear we not me? saith the
Lord; will We not tremble ct my presence, which
have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by
aperpetual decree that they cannot pass it, yet
can they not prevail; though they roar. yet can
they not pass over it? But this people hath
revolving and rebellious heart they are re-
VOTED and gone.
obey my voice and I will be your God. and
70 shall De my people; and walk We in all the
ways have commanded you, and that it may be
we'll unto Won
Oh, that my head were waters and my eyes
fountains OF tears, that might weep day and
Sght for the slain of the daughters of my people
cor The hurt of the daughter of my people am |
nurc am black; astonishment hath taken hold
0fme
is there no balm in Gileadf Is there no health
s ssyslclan therei Why is not the health of the
SsAugnter OF my people recovered Give glory to
.As LORD your God before He cause darkness.
ana before your feet stumble on the dark mount
aes' ana while We look on the light; He will turn
s ainIO the shadow of DEATH and make it great
s SsSrKness But if We will not hear it my soul
snall weep in secret places, and mine eyes shall
weep sore, and run down with tears
A., I nave seen thy adulteries and thy neighings,
Se ieWdness of thy whoredoms. and thy abomi-
yIa.lohs on the hills in the fields. Woe unto
eeanl
~ bshold, the days will come, saith the Lord,
s ~aen Ihey shall teach no more every man his
senr'gaeor saying. know the Lord; for they shall
~ snow me, from the least to the greatest for
ai forgive their iniquity, and l will remember
Ssir sins no morer
".
irAs oeep silence prevails as he closes his burn
words. His awed listeners, with throbbing
ann n.s and prcked consciences. scatter and dis
psstna, aad the hairy preacher with farewell
fhIse OF warning, turns away and is lost in the
'A'OAets Of the mountain slopes.
The Second Preacher.
sas or ten centuries later quiet rests over
- same regions. The colliding spearmen and
'aefs' the singers, the smoke Of incsssant
asrations, the devastated fields. and the
tsSApSeS OF the ciaiu y, no oil There