Omaha daily bee., 1891-03-23
Err. PHELPS SERMON.


Gentle Johns Alteration of the Saw
ior and Its Lesson.
At the Presbyterian church yesterday
morning DR. Phelps took us his text the fol-
lowing; unto him that loved us and
washed us in his own blood and made US
kings and priests unto God and His father
10 Him be glory and dominion forever and
ever. Amen.'' Rev. l., >, G..
"These words" said the speaker, ''were
not spoken by the impulsive Peter nor the
impetuous James, as one might be led to
think by their warmth and enthusiasm; they
come from the lips of the gentle John who
while lying on the Isle of Patmos, in his
feeble lonliness and starving condition,
banished from Ephesus by the fury of the
Roman persecution, was caught up into
heaven in the spirit and saw all the things
that are described with such matchless
beauty and unearthly splendor in the book
from which my text is taken. No wonder,
after seeing and hearing such things. that
the gentle soul should be all aglow with what
he had seen, and that this glow should be
communicated TO the book he was writing
the book which forms so fit Il close of tho
bible
''It is easy to see that John had a great
love for Christ 1t is no more than natural
that after his long and intimate companion
ship with Christ he should be filled with love
for the divine hand that had saved him,
when he was utterly without hope and with
out any claim on the mercy of God. We are
all in the same condition rs John was; Christ
was under no obligation to save US. He
saved us from the great love He bore to the
human race. To Him be glory forever and
ever. All His works do praise HIM. When tho
flowers bloom on the prairies IN all their
beauty aud fragrance that no human eve can
see, it is for him. The old poet could not
have known what he was talking about when
he said,
"Full many flower was born to blush
unseen,
To waste its fragrance on the desert air
''Their beauty and fragrance are for the
eyes and nostrils of him who made them
The fountain, as it leaps down the noun
tains into the valleys. Is 1t noiselessl The
creek, gliding between its banks, the river
flowing TO the ocean, are they voiceless! The
bl eeze, tanning the forest leaves, the wind
sweeping around the corners and signing
through the crevlces, the ringing of
they all voicelessl Worlds rushing along
their orbits at the rate of ninety miles a sec
ond-the music of the spheres. Turn on the
little gas Jet; you can her its music all over
the room. What think YOU of the comet that
throws of from itself a sheen of splendor
81, 900, 900 Of miles long. II there is sound
Of music in the little gas Jet, what think you
of the cometf Was II made for man TO look
att Not particle of it. What is meant by
the music of the spheresl Comets suns,
rushing worlds, with their vibrating powers,
What is iti It's Gods great harp tuned by
His own creative hand, swept by His own
providental hand. Hear the sons of God
shouting for JOY at the creation. All His
works do praise Him. Are you stills The
physical universe may say, BE glory and do
minion 10 Him forever The angels NAV
add to IL, Unto Him that loved US be glory
forever But only man can say. Unto Him
that loved us and washed us from our sins in
His own bloodand hath made us kings and
priests unto God and His Father, to Him be
glory and dominion forever and ever, amen.
''Man, Of all should not be silent"