The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-10-03

is an arched bridge blasted from the
Crock of Ages" and built by the arch
| itecture of the whole universe, spanning
the dark gulf between sin and righteous
ness, and all God asks you is to walk
across it; and you start, and you come TO
| it and you stop, and you go little way on
and you stop. and you fall back, and you
experiment.
You say, 'How do know that bridge
will hold me?" instead of marching on
with firm step, asking no questions, but
feeling that the strength of the eternal
God is under you. Oh, was there ever
prize proffered so cheap as pardon and
Heaven are offered to you? For how
much? A million dollars? It is certainly
worth more than that But cheaper than
that you can have it. Ten thousand dol
lars2 Less than that. Five thousand
dollars? Less than that One dollar!
Less than that. One farthing? Less than
that. without money and without
price," No money to pay. No journey
to take. No penance to suffer. Only just
one decisive action Of the soul:
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou
shalt be saved.
Shall 1 try to tell you what it is to be
saved? 1 can not tell you. No man, no
angel can tell you. But / can hint at it.
For my text brings me up to this point.
'ThOu shalt be saved" 1t means hap
Ply life here and peaceful death and
blissful eternity. 1t is a grand thing to
go to sleep at night and to get up in the
morning, and to do business all day feel
ing that all is right between my heart and
God. No accident, no sickness, no perse-
cution, no peril, no sword can do me any
permanent damage. l 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 hurricane; but life and death,
things present and things to come, are
mine. Yea, further than that-it means
peaceful death.
Mrs. Hemans, 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, and they give no
answering pressure of the hand and no
returning kiss of the lip, we do no. want
any body poetizing around about US.
Death is loathsomeness, and midnight,
and the wringing of the heart until the
tendrils snap and curl in the torture, I'M
! less Christ should be with us. 1 confess
to you an Infinite fear, consuming hor.'
ror OF death, unless Christ shall be with
me. would rather go down into cave
of wild beasts or jungle of reptiles than
into the grave unless Christ goes with
me. VIII you tell me that l am to be
carried out from my bright home and put
away in the darkness? l can not bear
| darkness. At the first coming of the
evening must have the gas lighted, and
the further on in life 1 get the more
like to have my friends about me.
And am to be put off for thousands of
, years in dark place with no one to
speak to? When the holidays come and
the gifts are distributed, shall add no
joy to the Merry Christmas" or the
, ''Happy New Year?" All, do not point
down to the hole in the ground, the grave,
and call it beautiful place. Unless
there be some supernatural illumination
l shudder back from ii. Ny whole nat
! ure revolts at it. But now this glorious
] lamp is lifted above the grave, and all
the darkness is gone, and the way is
clear. l look into it now without single
: shudder. Now my anxiety is not about
death; my anxiety is that I may live
+ Alright, for l know that if my life is con-
, sistent when 1 come to the last hour, and
these hands with which beg for your
, eternal salvation to day are folded ovei
the still heart, then l shall only begin tC
live.
To be saved is to wake up in the pres.
ence of Christ. You know when Jesus
was upon earth how happy He made every
), house He went into, and when He brings
: US up to His house in Heaven how great
shall be our glee. His voice has more
: music in it than is to be heard in all the
: oratorios of eternity.
Talk not about banks dashed with eff.
; forescence. Jesus is the chief bloom Of
Heaven. We shall see the very face tina
L beamed sympathy in Bethany. and taxi
: the very hand that dropped its blood from
. the short beam of the cross. Oh, wan
, to stand in eternity with Him. Toward tina
harbor 1 steer. Toward that goal run
/ shall be satisfied when l awake in His
, likeness.
Oh, broken hearted men and women
=, how sweet it will be in that good land t.
u pour all of your hardships and bereave
:, ments and losses into the loving ear o
Z Christ, and then have Him explain why i
. was best for you to be widowed, and VIII!
: it was hest for you to be tried, and hav,
} him point to an elevation proport onat
q to your disquietude here saying:
= ''You suffered with me on earth; COM
up now and be glorified with me il
. Heaven"
Some one went into house where Their,
It had been good deal of trouble and sai'
to the woman there:
"You seem to be lonely"
4 EYES," she said, II am lonely"
;. chow many in the family?"
= "Only myself"
= 'Have you had any children?"
81 had seven children"
= "Where are they?"
'Gone."
i "An gomez"
"AuE~
- "AIl dead?"
- GALL"
Is Then she breathed long sigh into tn
loneliness, and said: ooh, sir, I hav
ia been good mother to the grave"