Dodge City times., 1889-06-06
down, sad the cavalcade Aill crowd all
the bouleyards of Heaven.

| OACcb SAIl5S 4Ox th0 RICSSAS 00tlo>
faction of religion. 1t makes a man all
right with reference to the past; it makes
a man all right with reference to the
future. Oh these neither springs OF
comfort! They are perennial. The
foundation of God standeth sure havin g
this seal, The Lord knoweth them that
are his. The mountains shall depart
land the hills be removed, but my kind
ness shall not depart from thee, neither
shall the covenant of my peace be re-
moved, saith the Lord, who hath mercy
upon them Oh. cluster of diamonds
set in FURNISHED gold. Oh. nethe,
springs of comfort bursting through all
the valleys of trial and tribulation.
When you see, You of the world, what
satisfaction there is on earth in religion,
do You not thirst after it as the daughter
of Caleb thirsted after the water springs?
1t is no stagnant pond, scummed over
with malaria, but springs of water leap
ing from the Rock of Ages! Take up
one cup of that spring water, and across
the top of the chalice will float the deli
cate shadows of the Heavenly wall, the
yellow of jasper, the green of emerald,
the blue of sardonyx, the fire of jacinth.
| wish l could make you understand
the JOY religion is to some of US. 1t
makes a man happy while he lives, and
| glad when he dies. With two feet upon
a chair and bursting with dropsies, 1
heard an old man in the poor house cry
out: Bless the Lord, oh my soulr' 1
| looked around and said: What has this
man got to thank God for?" 1t makes
the lame man leap like the hart, and the
dumb sing. They say that the old Puri-
| tan religion is juiceless and ioyless
religion; but remember reading of DIR.
Goodwin, the celebrated Puritan, who
in his last moments said: is this dy-
ing? Why, my bow abides in strength!
am swallowed up in God" Her ways
are ways of pleasantness, and all her
paths are peace" Oh, you who have
been trying TO satisfy yourselves with
the south land" of this W, rid, do you
not feel that you would, this morning,
like to have access to the neither springs
of spiritual comfort? Would you not
like to have Jesus Christ bend over your
cradle and bless your table and heal
your wounds, and strew flowers of con-
ISOLATION all up and down the graves of
your dead?
Tis religion that can give
Sweetest pleasures while we live;
Tis religion can supply
Sweetest comfort when We die.
But l have something better to tell
you, suggested by this text. 1t seems
that old father Caleb on the wedding
day of his daughter wanted to make her
Just as happy as possible. Though
Othniel was taking her away, and his
heart was almost broken because she
was going, yet he gave her a south
land;" not only that, but the neither
springs; not only that, but the upper
springs. o God, my Father, thank thee
that thou hast given me south land"
in this world, and the neither springs OF
spiritual comfort in this world; but,
more than all, thank thee for the up
per springs in Heaven.
1t Is very fortunate We cannot see
Heaven until we get into it. Oh, Chris
tian man, if you could see what place
it is, We would never get you back again
to the office or store or shop, and the
duties you ought to perform would go
neglected. l am glad 1 shall not see
that world until enter it. Suppose We
were allowed to go on an excursion into
that good land with the idea of return
ing. When We got there, and heard the
song, and looked at their raptured faces,
and mingled in the supernal society, We
would cry out: Let us stay! We are
coming here anyhow. Why take the
trouble of going back again to that old
world? We are here now; let us stay"
put us out of that world, if once We got
there. But as people who cannot afford
to pay for an entertainment sometimes
come around it and look through
tine door ajar, or through the openings
in the fence, SO we come and look
through the crevices in that good land
which God has provided for us. We can
Just catch a glimpse of it. We come
near enough to hear the rumbling of
the eternal orchestra, though not near
enough to know who blows the cornet
or who fingers the harp. My soul spreads
out both wings and claps them in tri-
umph at the thought of those upper
springs. One of them breaks from be-
meath the throne; another breaks forth
from beneath the altar of the temple;
another at the door of @the house of
many mansions" Upper springs of
gladness! Upper springs OF light! Up
per springs of love! 1t is no fancy of
mine. The Lamb which is in the midst
of the throne shall lead them to living
fountains of water" Oh, Saviour di-
vine. roll in upon our souls one of those
anticipated raptures! Pour around the
roots of the parched tongue one drop of
that liquid life! Toss before our vision
those fountains of God. rainbowed with
eternal victory. Hear it. They are
never sick there; not SO much as n head
ache, or twinge rheumatic, or thrust
neuralgia. The inhabitant never says:
Il am sick" They are never tired
there. Flight to farthest world is only
the play of a holiday. They never sin
there. 1t is as easy for them to be
holy as it is for us to sin. They never
die there. You might go through all the
outskirts of the great city and find not
one place where the ground was broken
for grave. The eyesight of the re-
deemed is never blurred with tears.
There is health in every cheek. There
is spring in every foot. There is ma
jesty on every brow. There is JOY in
every heart. There is hosanna on every
lip. How they must pity us as they look
over and down and see us, and say:
Poor things away down in that world.
And when some Christian is hurled into
q fatal accident, they cry: Good! he is
coming" And when We stand around
tine couch OF some loved one Whose
strength is going away and We shake
our heads forebodingly, they 'cry:
am glad he is worse; he has been down
there long enough. There, he is dead!
Come home! Come home!' Oh, if we
could only get our ideas about that
future world untwistcd our thought of
transfer from here to there would be as
pleasant to us as it was to little child
that was dying. She said: Papa, when
will 1 go homer And he said: To day,
Florence" To-day? So soon? l am
so glad"
Let me tell you, my dear brother. that
the silliest and wickedest thing a man
ever does is to reject Jesus Christ. The
loss of the soul is mistake that cannot
be corrected. 1t is downfall that
known no alienation; it is a ruin that
is remediless; it is sickness that has
no medicament; it is q grave into which
a man goes k1t never comes out. There
fore, putting my hand on your shoulder
rs one brother puts his hand on the
shoulder of a brother, say this day, be