The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-08-22

a good many years ago CHRISTIAN
mother sat teaching lessons of religion to
her child, and he drank in those lessons.
She never knew that Lamphier would
come forth and establish the Fulton street
prayer meeting, and by one meeting rev.
olutiOnize the devOtiOns of the whole
earth and thrill the eternities with his
Christian influence. Lamphier said it
was his mother who brought him to Jesus
Christ. She never had an idea that she
was leading forth such destines. But,
oh, when I see a mother reckless of her
influence, rafting on toward destruc-
ton, garlanded for the sacrifice with
unseemly mirth and godlessness, gayly
tripping on down to ruin, taking her chill
dren in the same direction, | can not help
but say: There they go, there they go
Hagar and IshmaelW [ tell you there are
wilder deserts than Beer sheba in many
of the domestic circles of this day. Dis
sipated parents leading dissipated chill
dren. AVaricious parents leading avar.-
cious children. Prayerless parents lead
ing prayerless children. They go through
every street, up every dark alley, into
every cellar, along every highway. Hagar
and Ishmaell and while pronounce their
names, it seems like the moaning of the
death wind-Hagar and Ishmael!
Blessed be God that there is in every
wilderness a well, if you only know how
to find it-fountains for all these thirsty
souls to day. "On that last day, on that
great day Of the feast, Jesus stood and
cried: "If any man thirst, let him come
to me and drink" All these other fount-
aims you find are mere mirages of the
desert. Paracelsus, you know, spent his
time in trying to find out the elixir of life
"a liquid which, if taken, would keep one
perpetually young in this world, and
would change the aged back again to
youth. OF course, he was disappointed;
he found not the elixir. But here 1 tell
you to-day of the elixir of everlasting life
bursting from the "Rock of Ages,D and
that drinking that water you shall never
get old, and you will never be sick, and
you will never die. F'Ho every one
that thirsteth, come We to the waters. "
All, here is a man who says: II
have been looking for that fountain a
great while, but can't find it." And here
is some one else who says: 81 believe
all you say, but 1 have been tradgiug
along in the wilderness, and can't find the
fountain" Do you know the reason? [
will tell you. You never looked in the
right direction. co." you say, I have
looked everywhere. | have looked north,
south, east and west, and I haven't found
the fountain" Why, you are not looking
III the right direction at all. Look up,
where Hagar looked. She never would
have found the fountain at all, but when.
she heard the voice of the angel she
looked up, and she saw the finger point
ing to the supply. And o, soul, if to- dav
with one earnest, intense prayer, You
would only look up to Christ He would
point you down to the supply in the will
derness. "Look unto me all We ends of
the earth and be We saved, for 1 am God,
and there is none else" Look! look! as
Hagar looked.
Yes, there is well for every desert of
bereavement. Looking over the audience
to-day notice signs of mourning. Have
you found consolation? o, man bereft!
o, woman bereft? have you found conso-
lation? Hearse after hearse. We step
from one grave hillock to another grave
hillock. We follow corpses, ourselves
soon be like them. The world is in mourn
ing for its dead. Every heart has become
the sepulcher of some buried ioy. But sing
ye to God, every wilderness has a well in
it; and l come to that we'll to-day, and I
begin to draw water from that we'll. If
you have lived in the country, you have
sometimes taken hold Of the rope of the
old well sweep, and you know how the
bucket came up dripping with bright,
cool water. And lay hold of the rope
of Gods mercy to-day, and 1 begin to
draw on that Gospel we'll sweep, and be-
gin to see the buckets coming up. Thirsty
souls here is one bucket of life come and
drink of it: "Whosoever will, let him
come and take of the water of life
freely" I pull away again at the
rope, and another bucket comes
up. 1t is this promise: "Weep-
ing may endure for night, but joy
cometh in the morning" 1 lay hold
of the rope again, and 1 pull away with
all my strength, and the bucket comes up
bright, and beautiful, and cool. Here is
the promise: tCome unto me all ye who
are weary and heavy laden, and | will
give you rest" The old astrologers used
to cheat the people with the idea that they
could tell from the position of the stars
what would occur in the future, and if a
cluster of stars stood in one relation, that
would be prophesy of evil; if cluster
of stars stood in another relation, that
would be a prophesy of good. What su-
persutlon!
But here is new astrology in which
put all my faith. BY looking up to the
star of Jacob, the morning star of the
Redeemer, L can make this prophesy in
regard to those who put their trust in
God: ''All things work together for good
to those who love God" | read it out on
the sky. l read it out in the Bible. I read
it out in all things. "All things work to-
gether for good to those who love God"
Do You love Him? Have you seen the
NYetanthes? 1t is a beautiful flower, but
it gives very little fragrance until after
sunset. Then it pours its richness on the
air. And this grace of the Gospel that
commend to you this day, while it may be
very sweet during the day of prosperity,
it pours forth its richest aroma after sun
down, and it viii be shutdown with you
and me after awhile. When you come to
go out of this world, will it be desert
march or will it be fountain for your
soul?
A Christian Hindoo was dying and his
heather comrades came around him and
tried to comfort him by reading some Of
the pages of their theology, but he
waved his hand as much as to say:
81 don't want to hear it." Then
they called in heather priest,
and he said: eff you will only recite
Al.