The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1886-08-13

gate on the other side, beat the surges OF
eternal glory. o, the gate! the gate II
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
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 peaHy gates behold.
Thy buIwarks with salvation strong,
And streets OF shining gold?
o, heaven is not dull placed! Heaven
Is not contracted place. Heaven is not
q 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 loraiy 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 it,
all the earth and all the Heavens! Twelve
gates!
admit this is rather hard on sharp
sectarianisms. II q Presby terrain is
bigoted he 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"
II Methodist is bigoted he plants two
nosts n nd he saws.
Snow you crowd in between those two
posts or stay out"
Or perhaps an Episcopalian may say:
"Here is a liturgy out of which I
mean to make. q gate; go through it or
stay out"
Or Baptist may say:
Here is water gate; you 60 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 60 through it,
ahhor this contractedness in religious
views. o, small-souled man, when did
God give you the contract for making
gates? I tell you plainly. viii not go in
that gate. I win go in at any one of the
twelve gates l choose. Here is man who
says:
sI can more easily and more closely APP
proach God through prayer-book."
i say: "My brother, then us~ the
pray er-book."
Here Is q man who says:
'I 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.
A man comes down to Q 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
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.
"What," say you, "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?n
o, NO! You might as we'll 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 surroun Iings,
win decide whether you go to this or that
church, and adopt this or that polity.
One church win best get rne man to Heav-
en-, and another cLurcl, another man. / do
not care which one Of the gates you go
through. il 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 ini"
sI came through the third gate"
"Cranmer, how did you get IMP"
II came through the eighth gate"
"Adoniram Judson, how did you get
through"
81 came through the seventh gate.n
"Hugh McKail, the martyr, how did You
get throughs"
81 came through the twelfth gate"
Glory to God, twelve gates, but one
Heaven.
In the third place, notice the points Of
the compass toward which these gates
look. They are not on one side or on two
sides, or on three sides, but on four sides.
This IL no fancy of mine, but a distinct
On the north. three gates;
on the south, three gates; on the east, three
gates; on the west, three gates. What
does that mean: Why, it means that all
nationalties are included, and It does not
make any difference from what quarter of
the earth man comes up; il his heart 10
right there 10 gate open before him. On,
the north, three gates. That means
mercy for Lapland, and Siberia, and
Norway, and Sweden. On the south,
three gates. That means pardon
for Hindostau, and Algiers, and
Ethiopia. On the east, three gates. That
means salvation for China, and japan.
and Borneo. On the west. three gates.
That means redemption for America Il
does not make any difference how dark