Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1890-01-17

the greatly prospered. Alas, that it is sol
Ii there are those who have been favored
Of fortune, or, as might better put it, favored
! OF God, surrender all you have and ali you ex-
pect 70 he to the Lord, who blessed this Queen
Of She5a. Certainly you are not ashamed TO
be found in this Queens company am glad
that Christ has had His imperial friends
in all ages-E!izabeth Christina, Queen of
sIa; Marie, Empress of France; Helena the
imperial mother of Constantine; Area
dia, from her great fortunes, building
public baths in Constantinople and toiling
Tor the alienation of the masses; Queen
Clotilda, leading her husband and three
thousand of his armed warriors to Christian
baptism; Elizabeth, OF Burgundy. giving her
1eWeled glove to beggar and scattering
great fortunes among the distressed; Prince
Albert singing Rock Of Ages in Windsor
Castle, and Queen Victoria, incognita, read
ing the Scriptures to dying pauper
] bless God that the day Is coming when
royalty will bring all its thrones, and music
all its narmonies, and pain ting all its pict-
ures. and sculpture all it's statuary and
architecture ell its pillars, and conquest all
its scepters, and the Queens of the earth in
long line of advance, frankincense filling
the air and the camels laden with gold shall
approach Jerusalem, and the gates shall be
h-oisted, and the great burden Of splendor
shall be lifted into the palace of this greater
than Solomon
Again, my subject teaches me what is earn
estness IN the search Of truth. Do you know
where Sheba was? It was in Abyssina or
some say in the southern Part of Arabia
Felix. In either case it was great way off
from Jerusalem. To get from there to Jeru-
salem she had to cross country infested
with bandits, and go across blstering
deserts. Why did not the Queen of Sheba
stay at home and send a committee to III
qntre about this new religion, and have the
delegates report in regard to that religion
and wealth Of King Solomon? She wanted
to see for herself, and hear for herself. She
could not do this by work of commit
tee. She felt she had soul worth ten thou
sand kingdoms like Sheba, and she wanted
robe richer than any woven by Oriental
shuttles, and she wanted a crown set with
the jewels Of eternity. Bring out the camels.
Put on the spices. Gather up the levels OF
the throne and put them on the caravan.
Start now; no time to be lost. Goad on tie
camelS. When | see that caravan, dust COW
cred, weary and exhausted, trudging on
across the desert and among the bandits
until it reaches Jerusalem, I say: ''There is
an earnest seeker after the truth"
But there are great many who do nOt'act
in that way. They all want to get the
truth, but they want the truth to come to
them; they Go not want to go to it. There
are people who fold their arms and say: Il
am ready to become Christian at any time;
if | am to be saved | shall be saved, and if [
am to be lost shall be lost" But Jerusalem
will never come to you; you must go to Jeru-
salem. The religion of the Lord jesus Christ
will not como to you. you must go and get
religion. Bring out the canels; put on all
the sweet spices, all the treasures of the
hearts affection. Start for the throne Co
IN and hear the waters of salvation dashing
in fountains all around about the throne.
Sit down at the banquet-the wine pressed
from the grapes of the heavenly Eshco1, the
angels of God the cup bearers. Goad OIL the
camels. The Bible declares it: THE
Queen of the south"-that is, this
very woman | am speaking of-"tke
in judgment against this generation and con-
denim it; for she came from the uttermost
parts of the earth 10 hear the wisdom of
Solomon; and behold greater than Sol
ONION is here" What infatuation the sitting
down in idleness expecting to be saved
"Strive to enter il at the strait gate.
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and We
shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to
you" Take the Kingdom of Heaven by vlo-
lence. Urge on the camels!
Again, my subject impresses me with the
fact that religion is a surprise to any ono
that gets it. This story of the new religion
in Jerusalem, and of the glory of King Solo
mon, who was type of Christ-that story
rolled on and on and was told by every trav-
eier coming back from Jerusalem. The news
gees on the wing of every ship and with
every caravan, and you know story en-
larges as it is retold and by the time that
story gets down into the southern part Of
Arabia Felix and the Queen of Sheba hears
it, it must be a tremendous story. And yet
this Queen declares in regard to it, although
she had heard SO much and Lad her antici-
pations raised so high, the half-the half was
not told her.
So religion is always a surprise to any one
that gets it. The story of grace-an old story.
Apostles preached it with rattle of chain;
martyrs declared it with arm of fire; death
beds have affirmed it with visions of glory,
and ministers Of religion have sounded it
through the lanes, and the highways and
the chapels, and the cathedrals- It has been
cut into stone with chisel and spread on the
canvas with pencil; and it has been recited
in the doxology Of great congregations. And
yet when a man first comes to look on the
palace of Gods mercy, and to see the royalty
of Christ, and the wealth of this banquet, and
the luxuriance of His attendants, and the
loneliness Of His face, and the JOY Of His ser
vice. he exclaims with prayers, with tears,
with sighs with triumphs: The half-the
half was not told mop
appeal to those who are Christians Com
pare the idea you had Of the Joy of the
Christian life before you became Christian
with the appreciation of that JOY you have
now since you have become Christian, and
you are willing to attest before angels and men
that you never, in the days of your spiritual
bondage had any appreciation of what was
to come. Y on are ready to-day to answer
have made of the mercy and the grace and
the goodness Of God: The half-the half
was not told mer
Well, we hear a great deal about the good
time that is coming to this world when it is
to be girded with salvation. Holiness on the
by the hand of a babe. Ships of L ~shish
bringing cargoes for Jesus, and the hard,
dry, barren, winter bleached storm SCARED,
thunder split rock breaking into floods of