The Russellville Democrat., 1889-09-19

great contest between sin and righteous messy Which is going to prove himself
 the stronger, God or Diabolus? Is the
 world going to be all garden or all des-
 ertf N ow let us have that matter settled | If we believe Isaiah and Ezekiel and Ho- | sea, aud Micah and Malachi, and John l and Peter, and Paul and Christi we
 believe that 1t is going to be all garden. 1 But let us have this settled. Let ms know whether we are working on toward suc-
 cess or toward dead failure. If there is
 a child in your house sick, and you arc i sure he is going to get well, you sympa- 1 thize with present pains, but all the fore- boding is gone. If you are in cyclone l off the Florida coast and the captain as- sures you the vessel is stanch and inc
 winds are changing for better quarter,
 and he Is sure he will bring you safe into
 tho harbor, you patiently submit to pres-
 ent distress with tho thought of safe arr rival.
 Now, I want to know whether we are
 coming on toward a dismay, darkness and defeat, or on toward light and
 blessedness. You and believe the lat ter, and if so, every year we spend is one year subtracted from the worlds woe,
 and every eyent s4;st Easses, whether | :.oarer happy consummation. and by | all that is inexorable in chronology and
 mathematics, commend you to good cheer and courage. If there is any thing 1 in arithmetic, If you subtract two from 1 five and leave three, then by every roll ing sun we ars coming on toward magnificent terminus. Then every winter passed is one severity less 1 for our poor world. Then every summer gone by brings us nearer unfad- ing arborescence. But your algebra down on the top ot your Bible and rejoice. If 1t is nearer morning at three o'clock than 1t is st two, if it is nearer morning atfour o'clock than it is at three, then we are nearer the dawn of thesworld's deliver ance. Gods clock seems to go very slow ly, but the pendulum swings and the hands move, and it will yet strike noon. The sun and the moon stood still once; they will never stand still again until they stop forever. If you believe arith
 metic as we'll as your Bible, you must be- lieve we are nearer the dawn. 'The day is at hand.n
 There is a class of phe nomena which makes me think that the spiritual and the heavenly world may, after awhile, make demonstration in this world which will bring all moral and spiritual things to a climax. Now l am no spirit ualist; but every intelligent man has noticed that there are strange and mys- terious things which indicate to him that perhaps the spiritual world is not so far off as sometimes we conjecture, and that after awhile from the spiritual and heavenly " orld there may be demonstra- tion upon our world for its betterment. We m Yf1a lati tiSr wa al i efe,ar ism, or we call it electricity, because we want some term to cover up our igno- rance. I do not know what that is. J never heard an audible voice from tho other world. I am persuaded of this, however, that the vail between this world and the next is getting thinner and thin. ner, and that perhaps after awhile. at the call of God-not at the call ef the Dav. enport brothers or Andrew Jackson Da. vis-some O. the old scriptural warriors,
 some of the spirits of other days mighty for G God-a Joshua, or Caleb. or David, or Paul-may come down and help us in this battle against unrighteousness.
 Oh, how I would like to have them here Him of the Red Sen. Him of the Valley of Ajalon. Him of Mars Hill. History says that Robert Clayton, of the English cavalry, at the close of a war, bought up all the old cavalry horses least they be turned out to drudgery and hard work and bought piece of ground at Naversmire Heath and turned these old war horses into the thickest and richest pasture to spend the rest of their days for what they had done in other days. One day thunderstorm came up. and these war horses mistook the thunder of the skies for the thunder of battle, and they wheeled into line-no riders ou their backs--they wheeled into line ready for the fray. And l doubt me whether when the last thunder of this battle for God and truth goes booming Through the Heavens, the old scriptural warriors can keep their places on their throne. Me- thinks they will spring into the fight and exchange crown for helmet and palm branch for weapon, and come down out of the Kings galleries into the arena, crying: Make rooml 1 must fight in this great Armageddon."
 My beloved people, I preach this ser mon because want you to toll with the sunlight in your faces. l want you old men 10 understand before you die that all the work you did for God while yet your ear was alert and your foot fleet is go- ing to be counted up in the final vic tories. want all these younger people to understand that when they toil for God they always win the day; that all prayers are answered and all Christian work is in some way effectual, and that the tide is setting In the right direction, and that all Heaven is on our side saintly. cherubic seraphic, archangelic. omnipotent chariot and throne, doxology and procession, priucipalitiss and do- miaion. He who hath ths moon under His feet and all the armies of Heaven on white horses.
 Brother. brother. all am afraid of is. not that Christ will lose the battle, but that you and I will not get into it quick l enough to do something worthy of our ! blood bought immortality. On, Christ! ! how shall I meet Thee, Thou of the scared 1 brow and the scared back and the scared 1 hand and the searsed foot and the scared ! breast if have no sears or wounds got 1 ten in Thy serviees IL shall not be so. l I step out to-day in front of the battle. 1 Come on. you foes of Goa, l dare you 1 to the combat. Come on with peus dip ped in malignancy. Come on. with l tongues forked and viperins and ad- | derous. Come OF, with types soaked ia | the scum of the eternal pit I defy you. | Come or bare my brow. l uncover my l AcaEI StFAAcs taA A2A see ny lstT0 4 until have been hurt for Christ Ii we l do not suffer with HIm on earth we can | not glority with Him in Heaven. Take | good heart. On On, Ol! Ssel the skies 1 have frightened, Sse. the hour is about | to come. Pick out all the eheeriest of 4 the anthems. Let the orchestra string i their best instruments. The night is far ! spent; the day is ai hRud. "
 
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