The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1888-06-29

wrought II saved we are all the captivee Of
some earnest prayer. Would God that, In
the desire for the rescue Of souls, we might In
prayer lay hold of the resources Of the Lord
Omnipotent
We may turn many to Righteousness by
Christian admonition. Do not wait until
you can make q formal speech. Address the
one next to YOU. You will not 60 home alone
today. Between this and your place Of stop
ping you may decide the eternal destiny Of
an immortal spirit. Just one sentence may
do the work. Just one question. just one
look The formal talk that begins with q
sigh, and ends with canting shuttle, Il not
what is wanted, but the heartthrob Of q man
in dead earnest There IL not . soul
to God If you rightly 60 at it. They said
/ Gibraltar could not be taken. It is q rock,
sixteen hundred feet high and three miles
long But the English and Dutch did take
it Artillery, and sappers, and miners, and
fleets pouring out volleys Of death, and thou
sands Of men, reckless Of danger, can do any
thing. The stoutest heart Of sin, though IL
be rock, and surrounded by an ocean Of
transgression, under Christian lombard
ment may be made to hoist the flag Of 70
demp6on.
But is all this admonftior, and prayer, and
Christian work for nothingi Ny text
promises to all the faithful eternal luster.
''They that turn many to Righteousness shall
shine as the stars forever"
As stars the redeemed have q borrowed
light. What makes Mars and Venus and
Jupiter so luminousl When the sun throws
down his torch in the heavens the stars pick
up the scattered brands and hold them In
procession az the queen Of the night adj
vances; 30 all Christian workers. standing
around the throne, will shine In the light Dor
rowed from the Sun of Righteousness-Jesus
in their faces, Jesus In their songs, Jesus in
their triumph Christ left heaven once for q
tour of redemption on earth, yet the
glorified ones knew he would come back
again But let him abdicate his throne,
and go away to stay forever, the music
would stop; the congregation disperse; the
temples Of God be darkened; the rivers of
light stagnate, and every chariot would be-
come hearse, and every bell would toll, and
there would not be room on the hill sides to
bury the dead Of the great metropolis, for
thsre would be pestilence In heaven. But
Jesus lives, and so all the redeemed live
with him. He shall recognize them as his
comrades in earthly toll, and remember what
they did for the honor Of his name and
for the spread of his kingdom All their
prayers and tears and work will rise before
him as he looks into their faces, and he viii
| divide his kingdom with them; his peace
their peace; his holiness-their holiness; his
| joy-their joy. The glory Of the central
throne reflected from the surrounding
| Christian orb, and the entire nature a-trem
and Oh Iieyhf fIox, obon
| the stars forever and ever
Again: Christian workers shall be like the
stars in the fact that they have light indie
pendent of each other. Look up at the night,
and see each world shows its distinct glory
1t is not like the confagration, In which you
cannot tell where one fame stops and another
begins. Neptune, Herschel and Mercury are
as distinct as If each one Of them were the
only star; so our individualism will not be
lost In heaven. A great multitude yet
each one as observable, as distinctly recog-
nized, as greatly celebrated, as If in all the
space, from gate to gate, and from
hill to hill, he were the only In
habitant; no mixing up-no mob-no indis-
criminate rush; each Christian worker
standing out illustrious-all the story of
earthly achievement adhering to each one;
bis self denials and pains. and services, and
victories published Before men went out to
the last war, the orators told them that they
would all be remembered by their country,
and their names be commemorated In poetry
and in song; but go to the graveyard In Rich
mond and you will find there six thousand
graves, over each one of which is the inscrip-
ticn, unknown" The world does not re-
member its heroes; but there will be no un-
recognized Christian worker In heaven
Each one known by all; gyandly known;
known by reclamation; all the past story Of
work for God cleaning in cheek. and brow,
and foot, and palm. They shall shine with
distinct light as the stars, forever and ever.
Again: Christian workers shall shine like
the stars in clusters In looking up, you find
the worlds in family circles Brothers and
sisters-they take hold Of each others hands
and dance in groups Orion in group.
The Pleiades in a group. The solar system
is only company of children, with bright
faces, gathered around one great fireplace
The worlds do not straggle of. They go In
squadrons and fleets, sailing through i'm
mensity.
So Christian workers in heaven will dwell
in neighborhoods and clusters l am sure
that some people will like in heaven q great
deal better than others Yonder Is con-
stellation of stately Christians They lived
on earth by rigid rule They never laughed.
They walked every hour, anxious lest they
should lose their dignity. But they loved
God, and yonder they shine in brilliant con-
stellation. Yet shall not long to get into
that particular group. Yonder is a constel
lation of small hearted Christians
in the eternal astronomy. While some souls
60 up from Christian battle and blaze like
Mars, these asteroids dart feeble ray like
Vesta- Yonder is a constellation of martyrs,
of apostles, Of patriarchs. Our souls, as they
60 up to heaven, will seek out the most con-
genial society. Yonder Is constellation
almost merry with the play of light On
earth they were full Of sympathies and songs,
and tears and raptures and congratulations
When they prayed, their words took fire,
when they sang, the tune could not hold
them; when they wept over a worlds woes,
they sobbed as if heart broken; when they
worked for Christ, they famed with enthu
siasm- Yonder they are-circle of light
Constellation of ioyi galaxy of frei Dh,
that you and |. by that grace which can
transform the worst into the best, might at
last sail in the wake of that feet and wheel
In that glorious group, as the stars, forever
and owes.
Again: Christian workers win shine like
the stars In swiftness of motion. The worlds
10 not stop to SHINE There are no Rxed
stars save as &c relative position The star
most thoroughly fixed flies thousands Of miles
minute The astronomer, using his tele
scope for an Alpine stock, leaps from world
crag to world crag. and finds no star stand
ing still The channels hunter has to Fly to
catch his prey, but not so swift Is bis game
as that which the scientist tries to shoot
through the tower OF observatory Like
petrels mid Atlantic, that seem to come
from no shore, and be bound t.
no landing place - flying. flying - 20
these great Aocks Of worlds rest not
as they go. wing and wing, age after age.
forever and ever The eagle hastes to Its
prey, but we shall in speed beat the eaglea
You have noticed the velocity of the swift
horse, under WHOSE feet the miles slip like a
smooth ribbon, and as he passes the fou
hoofs strike the earth In such quick beat
your pulse: take the same vibration. But all
these things are not swift In comparison
with the motion of which speak. The moon
moves ffty-four thousand miles In a day
Yonder. Neptune flashes on eleven thousand
miles in an hour Yonder, Mercury goes one
hundred and nine thousand miles In an hour
So, like the stars, the Christian worker shall
shine In swiftness of motion You hear
now of father or mother or child sick
one thousand miles away. and 1t takes
you two days to get to them You hear
OF some case Of suffering that demands
your immediate attention, but Il takes
you an hour to get there Oh, the joy when
you shall, in fulfllment of the text, take
starry speed, and be equal to one hundred
thousand miles an hour Having on earth
got used to Christian work, you will not quit
when death strikes you. You win only take
on more velocity There is dying child in
London, and its spirit must be taken up to
God: you are there in an instant to do It.
ho..c ic