The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1888-07-06


troubles win be with thee. Iwfll see thee
through" Look out how you try 10 corner
or trample on q man who IL backed up by the
Lord God Almighty. Look out how you
trample on him o, there Is hnancier that
many Of our business men have not found
out Christ owns all the boards Of trade, all
the insurance companies and all the banking
houses. They say that the Vanderbilts own
the railroads; but Christ owns the Wander
bilts and the railroads, and all the plottings
Of stock gamblers shall be put to confusion,
and God with his little finger shall wipe out
their infamous projects How often it has
been that We have seen men gather up riches
by fraud, In q pyramid Of strength and
beauty, and the Lord came and blew on 1t
and 1t was gone; while there are those here
today who, IL they could speak ont In this e.
semblage, or dared to speak ont, would say:
"The best friend 1 had In 1887; the best friend
had in 1857; the best friend ] had at the
opening of the war; the best friend ever
had has been the Lord Jesus Christ. Iwould
rather give up all other friends than this
onan
But we have also family friends. They
come In when we have sickness In the house
hold Perhaps they say nothing, but they
sit down and they weep as the light goes out
from the bright eyes and the white petals of
the lily are scattered in the blast Of death.
They watch through the long night by the
dying couch, and then, when the spirit has
gone, sooth you with great comfort. They
say: "Don't cry. Jesus pities you. All Is
well You will meet the lost one again"
Then, when your son went of, breaking your
heart, did they not come and put the story in
the very best shape and prophecy the return
Of the prodigalf We're they not in your
house when the birth angel tapped its wings
over your dwelling7 And they have been
there at the baptisms and at the weddings.
Family friandsi But have to tell you that
Christ Is, the best family friend Oh,
blessed Is that cradle over which Jesus
bends Blessed is that nursery where Jesus
walks. Blessed IL that sick brow from which
Jesus wipes the dampness. Blessed Is that
table where Jesus breaks the bread. Blessed
Is that grave where Jesus stands with his
SCARED feet on the upturned sod, saying: ~
am the resurrection and the life; he that be-
lieveth In me, though he were dead, yet shall
he live" Have you q babe in the housed
Put It into the arms of the great Child
Lover. Is there sick one In the housed
Think Of him who said: "Damsel, arise
Are you afraid you VIII come to wantl Think
Of him who fed the five thousand Is there
little one In your house that you are afraid
win be blind or deaf or Iamei Think of
him who touched the blinded eye and
matched back the boy from epileptic con-
vu1don. Oh, he Is the best friend. Look
over your family friends today and find an
other that can be compared to him. When
we want our friends they are sometimes
out of town. Christ is always In town.
G,,A ID ~ III 30 -,
prosperity who will not in adversely.
But Christ comes through darkest night,
and amid CHASTITY sorrow, and across
toughest sea, to comfort you. There are
men and women here who would have been
dead twenty years ago but for Jesus. They
have gone through trial enough to exhaust
ten times their physical strength. Their
property went, their health went, their FAINT
lies were scattered God only knows what
they suffered They are an amazement to
themselves that they have been able to stand
It They look at their once happy home,
surrounded by all comfort. Gonel They
think Of the time when they used to rise
strong In the morning and walk vigorously
down the street, and had experienced
health they thought inexhaustible. Gonel
Everything gone but Jesus. He has pitied
them. His eye has watched them. His om-
impotence has defended them. Yes, he has
bean with them. They have gone through
disaster, and he was pillar offire by night.
They have gone across stormy Galilee, but
Christ had his foot ON the neck Of the storm
They felt the waves of trouble coming up
around them gradually, and they began to
climb into the strong rock Of Gods de-
Tense, and then they sang, as they looked
over the waters: 'God Is our refuge and
strength, an ever present help In time Of
trouble; therefore we will not fear though
the earth be removed, though the mountains
be carried into the midst Of the sea, though
the waters thereof roar and be troubled,
though the mountains shake with the swell
ing thereof Selah" The other day there
was sailor who came into the Bethel in New
York, and said: 'sMy lads Che was standing
among sailors, don't know what's the
matter with me- used to hear good deal
about religion and about Jesus Christ. I
don't know that have any religion, or that
I know anything much about Christ; but
when was in mid-Atlantic looked up one
day through the rigging, and there seemed to
come light through my soul Ihave felt diff
ferent ever since, and love those once
hated, and / feel a Joy can't tell you. I
really don't know what Is the matter Of me-"
A rough sailor got up and said: "My lad, I
know what's the matter Of you. You have
found Jesus. It is enough to make any man
happy"
his worth Il all the nations knew.
Sure the whole earth would love him too.
I remark again: Christ Is precious to the
believer as final deliverer. You and I
must after awhile get out of this world.
Here and there, one perhaps may come on to
eighty, to ninety years Of age, but your COM
mon sense tells you that the next twenty-five
years win land the majority Of this audience
In eternity. The next ten years will thin out
great many Of these family circles This
day may do the work for some Of us Now.
why do say thisi To scare youi No; but
just as would stand in your Office, II were
business man, and talk over risks You
do not consider 1t cowardly 10 talk In your
store over temporal risks Is it base In rs
this morning to talk little while over the
risks of the soul, that are for eternityi In
every congregation death has the last
year been doing great deal OF
work. Where is your fatheri Where
Is your motheri Your childf Your brotheri
Your sisteri o, how cruel does death seem
to bel win he pluck every floweri win he
poison every fountaini VIII he put black on
v
stringi Can / keep nothingi Are there no
charmed weapons with which to go out and
contend against hint Give me some keen
sword, sharpened In Gods armory, with
which I may stab him through. Give me
some battle ak that may clutch 10, and hew
him from helmet to sandal Thank God,
thank God. that he that rideth on the pale
horse hath more than a match In him who
rideth on the white horse. St. John heard
the contest, the paving Of the steeds, the
rush, the battle cry, the onset, until the pale
horse came down on his launches, and his
rider bit the dust, while Christ, the con-
queror, with uplifted voice, declared It; 80
death, win be thy plague; o grave, win
be thy destruction"
The sepulcher Is q lighted castle on the
shore Of heavenly seas, and sentinel angels
walk up and down at the door to guard IL.
The dust and the dampness of the grave are
only the spray of the white surf Of celestial
seas, and the long breathing of the dying
Christian, that you call his gasping, Is only
the long inhalation of the air of heaven Oh,
bless God for what Christ is to the Christian
soul, here and hereafteri
heard q man say some time ago that they
never laugh in heaven. I do not know where
he got his authority for that. I think they
do laugh in heaven. When victors come
home, do we not Taught When fortunes are
won In day, do we not Taught After we
have been ten or fifteen years away from
our friends and we greet them again, do we
not Taught Yes, we win laugh In heaven.
Not hollow laughter, not meaningless
laughter, but full, round, clear,
deep, resonant outbreak of eternal
gladness Oh, the glee Of that moment when
we first see Jesusi think we win take the
first two or three years In heaven to look at
Jesus; and II, in ten thousand years, there
should be q moment when the doxology
paused, ten thousand souls would cry out: