Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-08-14

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Saviour who presides over all. You want
bread at noon. You may find no place
In which to kneel amid the cotton
bales and the tierces Of rice; but II Jonah
could find room 10 pray I'm the whales
belly, most certainly you will never be In
such crowded place that you cannot
pray. Bread at noonl When the even
ing hour comes, and your head is buzzing
with the days engagements, and your
whole nature is sore from the abrasion
Of rough life, and you see great many
duties you have neglected, then COM
mune with Christ, asking His pardon,
thanking Him for His love. That would
be o queer evening repast at which there
was no bread. !.
This is the nutriment and life Of the
plain gospel that recommend you.
do not know how some of our ministers
make 1t so intricate and elaborate and
mystifying thing. 1t seems as II they
had sort Of mongrelism in religion
part humanitarianism, part spiritualism,
part nothingarianism; and sometimes
you think they are building their tenn
pie out Of the "Rock Of Ages" but you
find there Is no rock in 1t at all. 1t is
stucco. The gospel is plain. 1t is
bread. There are no fogs lowering
over this river of life. All the fogs
hover over the march of human specu-
lation. If you cannot tell, when you
hear man preach, whether or not he
believes in the plenary inspiration Of the
Scriptures, it is because he does not be-
lieve In it. If, when you hear man
preach, you cannot tell whether or not
he believes that sin is inborn, 1t Is be-
cause he does not think it congenital.
If, when you hear man talk in pulpit
or prayer meeting, you cannot make up
your mind whether or not he believes in
regeneration, it is because he does not
believe in it. If, when you hear man
speak on religious themes, you cannot
make up your mind whether or not he
thinks the righteous and the wicked will
come out at the same place, then it is
because he really believes their destinies
are conterminous.
Do not talk to me about a man being
doubtful about the doctrines of grace.
He is not doubtful to me at all. Bread
is bread, and know it the moment see
it. had cOrnfeld which l cultured
with my own hand. did not ask once
in all the summer, SIS this corn?" did
not hunt up the Agricultitrtst to get a
picture of corn. was born in sight of o
cornfield, and know all about 1t. When
these Israelites came to Canaan and
looked off upon the fields the cry was
''Cornl corn" And If man has once
tasted of this heavenly bread he knows
it right away. He can tell this corn of
the gospel Canaan from ''the chaff which
the wind driveth away" / bless God so
many have found this gospel corn. 1t is
the bread of which if a man eat he shall
never hunger. / set the gladness Of your
soul to the tunes of 'Ariel'' and
"Antioch." ring the wedding bells, for
Christ and your soul are married, and
there is no power on earth or in hell to
get out letters of enforcement.
But alas for the famine struck!
Enough corn, yet it seems you have no
sickle to cut it, no mill to grind it, no
fire to bake it, no appetite to eat it.
Starving to death when the plain is
golden with magnificent harvest!
l rode some thirteen miles to see the
Alexander, a large steamship that was
beached near Southampton, Long Island.
1t was splendid vessel. AS / walked
up and down the decks and in the cabins
/ said, "What pity that this vessel
should go to pieces or be lying here idle!"
The coast wreckers had spent thirty
thousand dollars trying to get her off,
and they succeeded once, but she came
back again to the old place. While was
walking on deck every part Of the vessel
trembled with the beating of the surf on
one side. Since then heard that that
vessel, which was worth hundreds of
thousands of dollars, was sold for three
thousand FIVE hundred, and knocked to
pieces. They had given up the idea
of getting her to sail again. How sug-
gestive all this is to me! There are those
here who are aground in religious things.
Once you started for Heaven, but you are
now aground. Several times it was
thought you had started again heaven
ward, but you soon got back to the old
place, and there is not much prospect
you will ever reach the harbor of the
blessed. Gods wreckers, 1 fear, will
pronounce you hopeless case. Beached
for eternity! And then it will be written
in Heaven concerning some one of your
size and complexion and age and name
that he was invited to be saved, but re-
fused the offer, and starved to death
within sight of the fields and granaries
full of the old corn of Canaan.