The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1890-01-16

u y
ye shall find; ,fnock, and it shall be
opened to you. Take the kingdom
OF heaven by violence. Urge on the
camelsl
Again, my subject impresses mo
with the fact that religion is sur.
prise to any one that gets it. This
story Of the new religion in Jerusa.
lem, and of the glory of King Solo
mon, who was u type of Christ-that
story rolled on and on, and was told
by every traveller coming back from
Jerusalem. The news goes on the
wing of every ship and with every
caravan. and You know story en-
Hlarges as it is retold, ;ir;! by the time
that story gcts down into tho southern
part Of Arabia Felix, and tho udecn
OF Sheba hears it, it must be a tremen-
dous story. And yet this queen de-
clarcs in regard to it, although she
had heard SO n,,cll and had her antici-'
pations raised SO high, tho half-the
half was not told her.
So religion is always surprise to
any one that gets it. The story of
grace AN old story. Apostles preach
cd it Wi tn rattle of Chain; martyrs de-
cl;rcd it with arm Of fire; ,leathbeds
lave affirmed it with visions Of glory,
and ministers OF religion have sound
cd 1t through the lanes, and the high
ways. and the chapels, and the cathe-
ditlls: 1t has been cut into stone with
chisel, and spread on tho canvas with
Dercil; and it has been rccited in the
d"NoloGy OF great congregations. And
yet when uan first comes to look on
the palace of Gods mercy, and to SEQ
the royalty OF Christ, and the wealth
OF this banquet, and the luxuriance of
his attendants, and the loveliness of
his lace, and the joy of his service, he
eXclaims with prayers, with tears,
with signs, with triun!phs: ''Tho half
tho half was not told mel"
appeal to those who are Chris
tianS: Compare the idea you had of
the JOY OF the Christian life before
you became u Christian with the ap-
prcclatIon of that JOY you have now
since you have become a Christian,
Had you are willing to attest before
angels and men that you never, in the
days Of your spiritual bondage, had
aAy appreciation of what was to come.
You are ready today to answer and
say in regard to the discoveries YOU
have made of the mercy and the grace
and the goodness of: God: 1.-THE half
the half was not told mel"
ZION SHALL BE THE JOY OF THE EARTH.
Well, we hear Il great deal about
the good time that is coming to this
world when it is to be girded with
salvation. Holiness on the bells of
the horses. The lions name patted
by the hand of babe. Ships Of Tar
shish bringing cargoes for Jesus, and
the hard, dry, barren, winter blcached,
storln SCARED. thunder split rock
brc''f'.Hg into floods Of bright water
Dc -.olto which dromedaries thrust
u 'trils, because they were
bIoomingo :,o,,n. carnation roses and
silver tipped lilies.
1t is tho old story. Everybody tells
it. Isaiah told it, John told it, Paul
lold it, Ezekiel told it, Luther told it,
Calvin told it, John Milton told it
everybody tells it; and yet--and yet
when the midnight shall fly the hills,
and Christ shall marshal his great
army, and China, dashing her idols
into the dust shall hear the voice OF
God and wheel into line; and India,
destroying her Juggernaut and snatch
ing up her little children from the
Ganges, shall hear the voice of God
and wheel into line; and vine covered
Italy, and wheat crowned Russia, and
all the nations of the earth shall hear
the voice of God and fall into line;
then the Church, which has been toll.
ing. and struggling through the cen
turies, robed and garlnnded like
bride adorned for her husband, shall
put aside her veil and look up into the
duce of her Lord the King and say:
The half-thc half was not told mew
We'll. there is coming greater sur
prise to every Christian-a greater
surprise than anything 1 have depict
ed. Heaven is an old story. Every
body talks about it, There is hardly
hymn in the hymn book that does
not refer to it. Children read about
1t III their Sabbath school books. Aged
men put on their spectacles to study
1t. We say it is a ,harbor from the
storm. We call it home. We say it
Is the house of many mansions. We
weave together all sweet, beautiful.
delicate, cxhilarant words; we weave
them into letters, and then we spell it
out in rose and lily and amaranth.
And yet that place is going to be a
surprise to the most intelligent Chris
tian. Like the queen Of Sheba, the
report has come to us from the far
country, and many of us have started.
1T IS desert march, but we urge on
the camcls. What though our feet be
blistered with the way2 We arc has
tcning to tho palace. We take all our
loves and hopes and Christian ambi-
tons, rs frankincense and myrrh and
cassia, to the great King. We must
not rest. We must not halt. The
night is coming on, and it is not safe
out here in the desert. Urge on the
caniels. / see the domes against the
sky, and the houses of Lebanon and
the temples and the gardens See
tho fountains dance in the sun and
the gates fas h as they open to let in
the poor pilgrims,
Send the word up to the palace that
we are coming. and that we are weary
of the march Of the desert The King
will come out and say: "Welcome to |
the palace; bathe in these waters; re-
cline on these banks. Take this Gin
namon and frankincensc and myrrh
and put it upon a censer and swing it |