Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1889-08-10

his passengers, but you believe ii with
love, with tears, with hot and long con
tinued exclamations, with griet at his
ioes, and Joy at your deliveranCe. That
is saving faith. In other words, what
you believe with all the heart, and be-
lieve in regard 10 yOurSell. On this
hinge turns my sermon; aye, the saliva
ton Of you. immortal soul. You often
60 ocr0ss a bridge yOu know nothing
about. You DO not know who built the
bridge, you do not know what material
ii is made of: but you come TO il and
walk over ii and ask no questions. And
here is an arched bridge blasted
from the Rock OF Age" And built
by the architect Of the whole universe,
spanning the dark gulf between sin
and righteousness, and al God asks
you is TO walk across It; and you start,
and you come TO it, and you stop, and
you go a little way on and you stop and
you fall back, and you experiment. You
say, How do l know that bridge Wi!
hold met" instead OF marching or with
firm step, asking no questions, but fee
ing that the strength of the eternal God
is under you. Oh, was there ever q
prize proffered so cheap as pardon and
heaven are offered to you! For how
much? A million dollars2 1t is certainly
worth more han that. But cheaper
than that you can have il. Ten thousand
dollars? Less han that. Five thousand
dollars? Less than that. One dollar?
Less than that. One faTtbing? Less
than that. Without money and VIII
out price" No money 10 pay. 80
journey 10 take. No penance 10 su,}yr
Only just one decisive action OF The
soul: believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and thou shalt be saved" Shall
| try to tell you what it is 10 be saved?
| cannot tell you. No man, no angel
can tel you. But | can hint at il. For
my text takes me up TO this point. Thou
shalt be saved" II means a happy life
here, and a peaceful death and a blissful
eternity. 1t is a grand thing 10 90 10
sleep at night and 10 get up in the morn
ing, and TO do business al day feeling
that all is right between my heart and
God. No accident, no sickness, no per-
secution, no peril, 10 sword can
do me any permanent dam
age. am a forgiven child Of God, and
he is bound to see me through. The
mountains may depart, the earth may
burn, the light Of the stars may be blown
out by the blast Of the judgment hurri-
cane; but life and death, things present
and things TO come, are mine. Yea,
further than that-it means q peaceful
death. Mrs. Hemape. Mrs. Sigourney,
DR.. Young, and almost all the poets have
said handsome things about death. There
is nothing beautiful about it. When we
stand by the white and rigid features Of
those whom we love, ana they give no
answering pressure of the hsnd and no
returning kiss of the lip we do not want
any body poetizing around about II.
Death is loathsomenese and midnight
and the wringing Of the heart, until he
ter lrils snap and curl IN tue torture, IN
less Christ shall be with as. J confess TO
You an infinite feer, a consuming horror
Of death, unless Christ shall he with me-.
| would rather go down into q ave Of
wild beasts or a jungle Of reptiles than
into the grave, unless Christ goes with
ne. VIII you tell me that ! am TO he
carried out from my bright home and put
away in the darkness? ! cannot bear
darkness. AT the first coming OF the
evening ! muet have the gas lighted, and
the further on in life | get the more ]
like to have my friends round about me.
And an | TO be put off for thousands
Of years in a dark place with no one 10
speak to? When the holidays come and
the gifts are distributed. Shall ! add No
Joy to the Merry Christmas" or the
Happy New Iear?' All, do not point
down to the hole IN the ground, the
grave, and call it a beautiful place. I'm
less there be some supernatural illumi'
nation I shudder back from it. My whole
nature revolts at it. But now this GO.
rious lamp is lifted above the grave, and
all the darkness is gone, and the way ii
clear. look into it now without Il sin.
gle shudder. Now my anxiety is MOI
above death; my anxiety is that may
live Alright, for ! that if my life il
consistent when | come to the last hour
and this voice is silent, and these eyes arr
closed, and these hands with which bel
for your eternal salvation today ART
folded over the still heart, that then
ehall only begin to live. What power il
there in anything to chill me in the las
hour if Christ wraps around me the Skin
of his own garment? What darkness
can fall upon my eyelids then amid til,
heavenly daybreak? Death, | will no
fear thee then. Back TO thy cavern o
darkness thou robber OF all the earth
Fly! thou despoiler OF families. Will
this battle ak ! hew thee ia twain from
helmet to sandal, the voice OF Chris
sounding all over the earth and through
the heavens: 20 Death ] will be tn,
plague. o Grave, will be thy destruc
ton.
To be saved is to wake up in the pres
ence of Christ. You know when Jesu
was upon earth how happy he mad
every house he went into, and when b
brings us up to his house in heaven, nos
great shall be u glee' His voice ha
/ more music in it than is to be heard in a.
the oratorios of eternity.
Talk not about banks dashed with ei
florescence. Jesus is the chief bloom Q
heaven. We shall see the very face tina
beamed sympathy in Bethany, and TAX
the very hand that dropped lis bloc
, from the short beam Of the cross. OF
! want to stand in eternity with hin
Toward that harbor 1 steer. Towar
: that goal | run. l shall be satisfied whe
awake in his likeness.
r Oh, broken-hearted men and wome
G how sweet it will be in that good land
pour all Of your hardships and bereav,
V ments and losses into the loving ear {
e Christ, and then have him explain VII
S it was best for you 10 be sick, and why
4 was best fer you TO be widowed, and wh
Y it was beat for you to be p~ersecuted, 40