Daily Yellowstone journal., 1889-11-17

The mightiest intellect of the ages
was the author Of my text, and,
il for the Christian religion he
was willing TO labor and suffer
and die, there must be something
exalted and sublime and tremendous
in il; and show me every place he
visited. and show me if you can where
he was tried, and which of your roads
leads Quito Ostia, that | may see where
he went out to die. We expect before
we finish this journey TO see Lake Gal
lice and the places where Simon, Peter
and Andrew fished, and perhaps we
may drop a net or a hook and line into
those waters ourselves, but when fol-
lowing the track of those lesser apos-
ties | will learn quite another lesson.
| want while in this city of Rome TO
study the religion of the brainiest of
the apostles. | wantto follow, rs far as
we can trace it. the track Of this great
intellect of my text who wanted To see
Rome also. He wasa logician, he wasa
mctaphysician, he was an all conquer
ing orator, he was "A poet OF the highest
type. He had a nature that could
swamp the leading men Of his own
day, and, hurled against the Sauhc-
drim, he made it tremble. He learned
all he could get in the school Of his
native village, then he had gone TO a
higher school, and there had mastered
the Greek and the Hebrew aud per-
fected himself in bellies %lettres, until,
in after years, he astounded the Gre
tans, and the Corinthians, and the
Athenians, by quotations from their
W authors. | have never found
anything in Carlyle, orr Goethe, or Her
bert Spencer that could compare in
strength or beauty with Paul's epistles.
| do not think there is anything in the
writings of Sir William Hamilton that
shows such mental discipline as you
find in Paul's argument about iustili-
cation and resurrection. / have not
found anything in Milton finer in the
way of Imagination than | can find in
Paul's illustrations drawn from the
amphitheatre. There was nothing in
Robert Emmett pleading for his life,
or in Edmund Burke arraigning War
rem Hastings in Westminster Hall,
that compared with the scene in the
court room when, before robed Off
cials, Paul bowed and began his
speech, saying: II think myself hap
Ply, King Agrippa, because | shall
answer for myself this day." | re-
peat, that a religion that can capture
a man like that must have some power
in il. II is time our wiseacres stopped
talking rs though all the brain Of the
world were opposed TO Christianity.
Where Paul leads, we can afford TO
follow. | am glad TO know that
Christ has. in the different ages of the
world. had in his discipleship a Mozart
and a Handel in music; a Raphael and
a Reynolds in painting; an Angelo
and a Canova in sculpture n Rush and
a Harvey in medicine; Il Grotius and
a Washington in craftsmanship; "A
Blackstone, n Marshall and a Kent in
the law; and the time will come when
the religion of Christ will conquer all
the observatories and universities, and
philosophy will, through her tele-
scope. behold the morning star of
Jesus, and in her laboratory sec that
''all things work together for good. y
and with her geological hammer dis
Germ the Rock of Ages" Oh, in
stead of covering and shivering when
the skeptic stands before us, and talks
Of religion as though it were a pusil-
luminous thing-instead Of that, let
us take out our New Testament and
read the story of Paul at Rome, or
come and see this city for ourselves,
and learn that it could have been no
weak Gospel that actuated such a man,
but that it is an all c~onquering Gospel.
Ayel for all ages the power of God
and the wisdom of God unto salvation.
Men, brethren and fathersl thank
you for this opportunity OF preaching
the gospel 10 you that are at Rome
also. The churches of America salute
you. Upon you who are, like Va,
strangers in Rome, | pray the protect
ing and journeying care Of God. Upon
you who are resident here, ] pray
grace, mercy and peace from God our
Father and. the Lord Jesus Christ.
After tarrying here a few days we re-
sumo our journey for Palestine, and
we shall never meet again. either in
Italy, or America, or what is called
the Holy Land, but there is a holier
land. and there we may meet, saved
by the grace that in the same way
saves Italian and American. and there
in that supernal cline, terembracing
him who, by his suiferings on the hill
back of Jerusalem. made our heaven
possible, and given ~salutation to our
own kindred whose departure broke
our hearts on earth, we shall, i think,
seek out the travelling preacher and
mighty hero Of the text who marked
out his journey through Macedonia
and Achaia TO Jerusalem, saying:
after | have been there, | must also
see Rome"