Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1889-02-22
have reason to cry out with the psalnist:

have reason to cry out V it'll the psalnist: !
VINO can stand before his cold?'
Again, let US look around and see how
we may serve cor generation. What
shortsighted morsals we would be if We
were anxious to clothe and feed only
the most insignificant part of man,
namely, his body, while we put forth no
effort to clothe and feed and save his
soul. Time is little piece broken off
great eternity. What are we doing for
the souls of this present generation?
Let me say it is generation worth saw
ing. Most magnificent men and women
are in it. We make q great ado about
the improvements in navigation, and in
locomotion, and in art and machinery.
We remark what wonders of telegraph,
and telephone, and stethoscope. What
improvement is electric light over tai
low candle! But all these improvements
are insignificant compared with the inn
provement in the human race. In olden
times, once in a while, great and good
man or woman would come up and the
ever since, but now they are SO numer-
GUS we scarcely speak about them. We
put q halo about the people of the past,
but 1 think if the times demanded them
in this year 1889 fifty Martin Luthers,
fifty George Washingtons, fifty Lady
Huntingtons, fifty Elizabeth Frys. Dur
ing our civil war more splendid warriors
in North and South were developed
in four years than the whole
world developed in the previous
twenty years; challenge the
food and the Ell ghteen centuries after
the food, to show me the equal of
charity on large scale of George Pea
body. This generation Of men and
women is more worth saving than any
of the one hundred and eighty genera
lions that have passed off.
But where shall we begin? With our
selves. That is the pillar from which
we must start. Prescott, the blind his
torian, tells US how Pizarro saved his
army for the right when they were about
deserving him. With his sword he made
a long mark on the ground. He said:
My men, on the north side are desertion
and death, on the south side is victory;
on the north side is Panama and pow
erty, on the south side Peru with all its
riches; Choose for yourselves; for my
across the line one by one, his troops fol-
lowed and finally his whole army. The
sword of Gods truth draws the dividing
line to- day. On one side of it are sin
and ruin and death, on the other side
are pardon and usefulness and happi-
ness and heaven. You cross from the
wrong side to the right side and your
family will cross with you and your
friends and your associates. The way
you go they will go. If we are not
saved we will never save any one else.
How to get saved? Be willing to &C
cept Christ, and then accept Him in
simultaneously and forever. Get on the
Rock first and then you will be able to
help others upon the same Rock. Men
and women have been saved quicker
What, without prayer? Yes. What,
without time deliberately to think it
over? Yes. What, without tear? Yes,
believe! That is all. Believe what?
That Jesus died to save you from sin
and death and hell. Will you? Do
you? You have. Something makes me
think you have. New light has come
into your countenance. Welcome!
Welcome! Hail! Hail! Saved your
selves, how are you going to save others?
By testimony. Tell it to your family.
Tell it to your business associates. Tell
it everywhere, We will successfully
preach no more religion and will sue
cessfully talk no more religion than
we ourselves have.
The most of that which you do to
benefit the souls of this generation, you
will effect through your own behavior.
to go wrong. Go right, and that will
induce others to 60 right. When the
great centennial exhibition was being
held in Philadelphia, the question came
up among the directors as to whether
they could keep the exposition open on
Sundays, when q director who was o
man of the world, from Nevada, arose
and said, his voice trembling with emo
tion and tears running down his cheeks:
II feel like returned prodigal, Twenty
years ago went West and into region
where we had no Sabbath, but to- day
old memories come back to me, and 1
remember what my glorified mother
Taught me about keeping Sunday, and
seem to hear her voice again and feel
as did when every evening 1 knelt by
for the observance of the Christian Sab
BATH" And he carried everything by
storm, and when the question was put,
Shall we open the exhibition on Sab
bath?" it was almost unanimous, No."
NO" What one man can do if he does
right, boldly right, emphatically right.
What if we could get this whole gen
eraticn saved! These people who are
living with us the same year and amid
the same stupendous events and flying
toward the future swifter than eagles to
their prey. We cannot stop. They can
not stop. We think we can stop. We
say, Come now, my friend, let us stop
and discuss this subject" but we do not
stop. The year does not stop, the day
does not stop, the hour does not stop.
The year is great wheel and there is
band on that wheel that keeps it revolv-
ing, and rs that wheel turns, it turns
three hundred and sixty five smaller
wheels, which are the days, and then
each OF these three hundred and sixty
five wheels turns twenty-four smaller
wheels, which are the hours, and these
twenty-four smaller wheels turn sixty
smaller wheels, which are the minutes,
and these sixty smaller wheels turn sixty
more smaller wheels, which are the Sec
onds, and they keep rolling, rolling,
rolling, mounting, mounting, mounting g,
and switching, switching, switching.
Oh, God! if our generation is going
like that and We are going with them,
!.