The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-06-25

! morning take one glauco at the ceiling.
notice what must be the feeling of safety
among the people of heaven. Have you ever
seen a cloud burst? There have been days
when it rained as il it would never stop.
| You knew if it kept on in that way long all
the nations would be drowned; yet you had
no apprehension, for you remember the Bow
of Promise painted on the cloud in Noah's
time. So the glorified have but to look
| to the arch around the throne of the King
! to be reassured that the deuge of trial is for
ever past.
On earth the deluge of sin covers the tops
| of the highest mountains. I heard an AL
| pine guide, amid the most stupendous evil
| dences Of Gods power, swear at his mule as
he stumbled in the pass. Yes, the deluge Of
sin dashes over the top Of the highest mount
ain ranges. Revenge, drunkenness, i'm
| pety, falsehood, blasphemy are but different
waves of q flood that has whelmed nations
| New York is drowned in it, Brooklyn is
drowned in it, Boston is drowned in it, Lon
don is drowned it it, ST. Petersburg is
drowned in 1.-two great hemispheres arc
drowned in it. But the redeemed, looking
unto the rainbow round about the throne"
see the pledge that all this is ended for them
forever. They have committed their last
sin and combated their last temptation. No
suicide leaps into those bright waters; no
profanity DSlOulS Gu1b pure dlT, uO Fllldu
| torch shall Ere those temples; no murjerers
hand shall strike down those sons of God.
They know that for them the deluge Of sin
is assuaged, for "there is rainbow round
about the throne"
Now the world is covered with deluge Of
blood. The nations are all the time either
using the sword or sharpening 1t. The fac
tories of the world are night and day manu-
featuring the weaponry Of death. Throne
against throne. Empire against Empire. The
spirit of despotism and freedom at war IN
every land; despotic America against free
America, ,despotic England against free Eng
land, despotic Germany against free Ger
many, despotic Austria against free Austria.
The great battle of earth is being fought
the Armageddon of tho nations. The song
that unroled from the sky on the first
Christmas night. of "peace and good will to
men, is drowned in the booming OF the great
| siege guns. Stand back and let the long line
of ambulances pass. Groan to groan. Un-
cover, and look upon the trenches of the dead.
Blood! blood "a deluge Of blood!
But the redeemed of heaven, looking upon
5he glorious arch that spans the throne, shall
see that the deluge is over. No batteries are
planted on those hills; no barricades blocking
;hose streets; no hostile flag above those
walls; no smoke OF burning villages; no
hrieks of butchered men: but peace! Ger
nan and Frenchman, who fell with arms in
;erlocke in hate on the field Of death, now,
through Christ in heaven stand with arms
nterlocked in love. Arms stacked forever;
shields of battle hung up. The dove instead
of the eagle; the lamb instead Of the lion.
There shall bs nothing to hurt or destroy in
all Gods holy mount, for there is rainbow
:ound about the throne.
Now the esrth is covered with the deluge
Of sorrow. Troubled Trouble! The very
first utterance when we come into the
world is cry. Without any teaching, we
learn to weep. What has so wrinkled that
mani face? What has so prematurely
whitened his hair? What calls out that
sigh? What starts that tear? Trouble!
and far up among the heights on the top
Of the crags; for this also hath gone over
the tops Of the highest mountains. No es.
cape from it. You go into the store, and
it meets you at your counting desk; YOU go
into the street, and it meets you at the
corner; you go into the house. and it meets
you at the door. Tears Of poverty! tears
of persecution tears Of bereavement!-a
ieluge Of tcars Gathered together from
all the earth, they could loat an ark larger
than Noah's.
But the glorifed, looking up to the bow
that spans the throne, shall see that the de-
luge is over. No shivering wretch on the
palace step; no blind man at the gate Of the
heavenly temple, asking for aims; no grind
ing of the screw driver on coffin lid They
look up at the rainbow, and read, in lines of
yellow, and rcI and green, and blue, and
orange, and indigo, and violet: "They shall
hunger no more, neither thirst any more;
neither shall the sun light on them, nor any
heat, for the Lamb which is in the midst of
the throne shall feed them, and shall lead
them unto living fountains of waters, and
God shall wipe away all tears from their
eyes," Thank Col for the glory spanning
tho throne
In our boyhood we had superstition that
at the foot Of the rainbow there was casket
of buried gold; but have to announce that
ut the foot of this rainbow OF heaven there
is box made out of the wood Of the cross.
Open it, and you find all the treasures OF
heaven.
Oh that our eyes may all look upon this
bow of promise, lifted by Christ's own hand!
We shall trase the separate lines Of beauty
across the armament. In the line Of red l
shall see the blood OF my Lord; in the blue,
the bruises that colored His cheek; in the
green, the freshness of His grace; in the vic.
let, His humility in all that curve OF beauty,
the bend of His right arm OF love swung
over all the redeemed.
But mind what I told you at the begin.
ming, and what tell you at the close-that
none but Noah's family in the ark saw the
rainbow, and only those who are at last
in Christ shall discover it amid the glories OF
heaven.
Except man be born again, he cannot
see the kingdom of God"