The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1889-11-06

both Christ ana Tor CaInollcltJ. Inc
last two words uttered in the old church |
on Friday night, some OF you may re-
member, were '..Hallelujah! Amen?'
The two words that utter now as
most expressive Of my feelings in this
our first service after the baptism OF
fire, are Hallelujah! Amen! "None OF
these things move me-"
| We are kept in this mood by two or
! three considerations. The first is, that
God rules. In what way the church took
fire do not know. 1t has been charged
on the. lightnings. Well, the Lord con-
trolls the lightnings. de managed them
several thousand years before our cleo
tricians were born. The Bible lndlcates
that, though they fash down the sky
recklessly, God builds for them a road
to travel. .t.....s ....,.-
In the Psalms it is said: "He made
way for the lightning and the thunder.
Ever since the time Of BENJAMIN Frank
lin the world has been trying to tame
the lightnings, and they seem to be quite
we'll harnessed, but they occasionally
kick over the traces But though we
can not master GREAT natural forces, God
can and does, and that Godi our Father
and best friend, and this thought gives
us confidence. ~
We are alsoreinforcedb by the increased
consolation thaticomes from confratern-
ity of sorrow. The people who, during
the last sixteen wears Sat on the other
side of the aisle, whose faces were IA
miliar to you, but to whom you had
never spoken-you greeted them this
week with smiles and tears as you said:
"Well, the old place is gone" You did
not want to seem to cry, and SO you
swept the sleeve near the corner OF the
eve, and pretended it was the sharp wind
made your eyes weak. All! there was
nothing the matter with your eyes; it
was your soul bubbling over. tell you
that it is impossible to sit for years
around the same church Preside and not
have sympathies in common. Somehow
you feel that you would. like those peo-
Die on the other side of the aisle, about
whom you know but little, prOspered,
and pardoned, and blessed, and saved.
You feelIas f.you are in the same boat,
and you want to glide up the same .har-
Dor, and want to disembark at the same
wharf. LIZ TX isls 3 l3tJ b.5l s
If you put gold and iron and lead and
, zinc in sufficient heat, they. will melt
into q conglomerated mass; and l really
, feel that last Sabbaths fire has fused us
, all, grosser and finer natures, into one.
, 1t seems as if we all had our hands on q
wire connected with an; electric battery,
and when this church sorrow Started 1t
thrilled through the whole circle, and
we all felt the shock. The Oldest man
and the youngest child could join hands
, in this misfortune. Grandfather said,
81 expected from those affairs to be
J buried;'' and one Of the children last
Sabbath cried, .'Grandpa, that place was
next to our own house." Yea, we are
supported and confident in this time by
} the cross of Christ.
: That is used to the fire. On the dark
: day when Jesus died, the lightning
: struck 1t from above, and the flames Of
( hell dashed up against it from beneath
, That fearful, painful, tender, blessed
I cross still stands. On it we hang all oul
, hopes; beneath it we put down all oul
! sins; in the light Of it we expect make
| the rest of our pilgrimage. Within sigh
of such sacrifice, who can feel he has
3 it hard? In the sight of such symbol
D who can be discouraged, however, great
8 the darkness that may come down upoI
/, him? Jesus livesY The loving, patient
r sympathizing, mighty Jesus! 1t shall
s not be told on earth, or in hell, or II
i. Heaven, that three Hebrew children hal
t the Son of God beside them in the fire,
s and that whole church was forsake1
Q by the Lord when they went through ;
1 furnace about two hundred feet wide.
< o Lord Jesus! shall we take out of Tn,
n hand the flowers and the fruits, and thu
/, brightness and the joys, and then turf
), away because Thou dost give us one cul
Q of bitterness to drink? 0, no, Jesus! WI
t will drink it dry. But how it is changed
s Blessed Jesus, what hast Thou put int
t the cup to sweeten it? Why, it has be
k come the wine of heaven, and our soul
Q grew strong. come now, and plac'
g both of my feet deep down into the black
@ ened ashes of our consumed church, ant
J. | cry out with an exhilaration tina
v | never felt since the day of m,
$ souls emancipation. "Victory! victory
Q through our Lord Jesus Christi" q
Your harps, We trembling saints,
j Down from the willows take,
~ Loud to the praise of love divine
4 Bid every string awake.
. We are also reinforced by the catho
9 Lefty that have already referred to
=, We are in the Academy to-day, not be
- cause we have no other place to go. Las
- Sabbath morning at nine o'clock we ha
q but one church; now we have abou
% thirty, all at our disposal. Their pas
:, tors and their trustees say: "You ma
4 take our main audience rooms, you ma
!, take our lecture rooms, you may tax
:, our church parlors, you may baptize i
!, our baptisteries. and sit on our anxiou
- Seats" o! if there be any larger hearte
!, ministers or larger hearted churche
- anywhere than in Brooklyn, tell m
A. where they are, that may go and Sc
= them before die. The millennium ha
! come. People keep wondering when
70 is coming. 1t has come. The lion an
a. the lamb lie down together, and tn
" tiger eats straw like an OK. l Shout
{, like to have seen two of the old-tim
- bigots, with their swords, fightin
a through that great fire on Schermerhor
IN street last Sabbath. am sure the sword
o. would have melted. and they who wielde
10 them would have learned war no more
4 l can never say word against an
Vi other denomination of Christians.
II thank God | never have been tempted I
70 do it. ] can not be sectarian. hav
n. been told ought to be, and have trie
IL to be, but have not enough material i
4 me to make such a structure. Ever
n. time get the thing most done ther
"a comes a fire or something else, and>a
10 is gone. The angels Of God shake Oh
n. on this air, "Glory to God in the highes
re and on earth peace, good will tOwar
70 men, do not know but. l see on tn
,e horizon the first CLEAN Of the mornin
Va which shall unite al denominations
ID one organization. distinguished only b
ne the locality as in apostolic times.
20 was then the Church ofNrhyatira, an
the Church of; ThessAlonica, and I'll