The Iola register., 1889-04-12

gloria in excelsia Mighty camp meetings
Mighty Ocean 0rovea Mighty Chautan-
quaa Mighty conventions Of Christian
workers. Mighty general assemblies Of
the Presbyterian Church Mighty con.
ferences Of the Methodist Church. Mighty
associations of the Baptist Church. Mighty
conventions Of the Episcopal Church. ]
think before long the best investmeots
will not be in railroad stock or Western
Union, but in trumpets and eymbals and
festal decorations, for we are on the eve
Of victories wide and world-uplifting.
There may be many years Of hard work
yet before the contamination, bat the
signs are - me 90 encouraging that
would not be unbslieving II saw the
wing of the Apocalyptic angel spread for
its last triumphal fight in this days sun
set; or il tomorrow morning the ocean
Christ the Lord had slighted on Mount
Olivet or Mount Calvary to proclaim uni
versal dominion.
Oyou dead churches wake upi Throw
back the shutters of stiff ecclesiaticism
and let the light Of the spring morning
come in. Morning for the land. Morning
for the sea. Morning Of emancipation.
Morning of light and love and peace.
Morning of a day in which there shall Be
no chains to break, no sorrows to assuage,
no deception to shatter, no woes to COM
passionate. o Christ, descend! Scared
temple, take the crowni Bruised hand,
take the scepter! Wounded foot step the
throne! thine is the kingdom"
These things I say because I want you
to be alert Iwant you to be watching all
these wonders unrolling from the heavens
and tie earth. God has classified them.
whether calamitous or pleasing Tho di-
vine purposes are harnessed in traces that
can not break, and in girths that can not
slip, and in buckles that can not loosen
and are driven by reins they must answer.
l preach no fatalism. A swarthy en-
gineer at one OF the depots in Dakota
said: 'When will you get on the loco
motive and take ride with us!" "Wsil "
said, "now IL that suits you" So ]
got on one side the locomotive. and .
Methodist minister, who was also invited,
got on the other side, and between us
were the engineer and the stoker. The
train started. The engineer had his hand
on the agitated pulse Of the great engine.
The stoker shoveled in the coal and shut
the door with loud clang. A vast plain
slipped under us and the hills swept BY,
and that great mouster on which we rode
trembled and bounded and snorted and
ragged as it hurled US on. said to the
Methodist minister on the other side tho
Locomotives: my brother why should
D-o.h-<a-;o-. o.I <a rial
about the decrees and free agency? You
see that track, that iron track; that Is the
decree. You see this engineers arm.
That is free agency. How beauti-
fully they work together. They ars
going to take us through. We could
not do without the track. and we could
not do without the engineer" So l
rejoice day by day. Work for US all to do.
and we may turn the crank Of that Christ
ian machinery this way or that, for We
are free agents; but there is the track laid
so long ago no one remembers it, laid BY
the hand of Almighty God in sockets that
no terrestrial or satanic pressure can ever
affect And along that track the car OF
the worlds redemption will roll and roll
to the Grand Central depot Of the mllen-
ium. l have no anxiety about the track.
/ am only afraid that for our indolencs
God will discharge us and get some other
engineer. The train Is going through,
with us or without us. So, my brethren,
watch all the events that are going by.
II things seem to turn out right give
wings to your Joy. II things seem to turn
out wrong, throw out the anchor OF faith
and hold fast
.
When Titans play quoits they pitch
mountains; but who owns these gigantic
forces you have been reading about the
last two months? Whose hand is on the
throttle valve Of the volcanoes? Whose
foot suddenly planted on the footstool
makes the continents CULVER? God! God
He looketh upon the mountains and they
tremble. He toucheth the hills and they
smoke God! God! must be at peace
with Him. Through the Lord Jesus Christ
this God is mine, He is yours. put the
earthquake that shook Palestine at the
crucifixion against all the down rockinga
of the centuries. This God on our side,
we may challenge all the centuries Of time
and all the cycles Of eternity,
Those Of us who are in mid-life may we'll
thank God that we have seen SO many
wondrous things; but there are people
here to-day who will see the twentieth
century. Things obscure to US will b
plain to you yet The twentieth century
will be as far ahead Of the nineteenth a
the nineteenth Is ahead Of the eighteenth,
and as you carcature the habits and Gus
toms and ignorance of the past, Others
will caricature this age. Some OF you
NAV live to see the shimmering vail be-
tween the material and the spiritual world
lifted Magnetism, q word with which we
cover up our ignorance, will yet be an ex-
plored realm. Electricity, the fiery coursel
of the SKY that Benjamin Franklin
Iassoed and Morse and Bell and Edison
have tried to control will become
completely manageable, and locomotion
will be swiftened and world Of practical
knowledge thrown in upon the race
| Whether we depart in this century Of
whether we see the open gates Of more
| wonderful century, we will see these
things. 1t does not make much difference
where we stand, but the higher the stand.
| point the larger the prospect. We will
see them from Heaven il we do not see
them from earth. I was at Fire Island
Long Island, and went up in the cupols
from which they telegraphed to New
York the approach Of vessels hours before
they come into port There is an opening
in the wall, and the operator puts his tele-
scope through that opening and looks on
and sees vessels far out at sea- While
was talking with him he went up and
looked out He said: I'VE are ex
pecting the Arizona tonight"
said: .Is it possible you know al
those vessels? Do you know them as yo'
know a mans face" He said: "Yes,
never make a mistake; before l see th,