News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1891-06-18


battle axes like that.
Our theological seminaries are doins
glorious work, but if ever such thee
logical seminaries shall cease to prepare
young men for this plain Gospel advo
cacy, and shall become mere philo
and guessing about the Bible ant
guessing about the soul, they will cease
their usefulness and young men, as il
olden time, when they would study fol
the Gospel ministry, will put themselves
under the care of some intelligent anC
warm hearted pastor, and kneel witt
him in family prayer at the parsonage
and go with him into the room of the
sick and the dying, and see what vic
tories the grace of God can gain wher
the couch of the dying saint is the
Marathon.
That is the way the mighty ministers
of the Gospel were made in olden times.
Oh, for great wave of revival to roll
over our theological Summaries and oul
pulpits, and our churches, and our &c
clesiastical courts and over all ChriSten
doml That would be the end of con
troversy While such deluge would
float the ark of God higher and higher
it would put ali the bears and tiger.
and reptiles of raging ecclesiasticism
fifteen cubits under
| WORK FOR CHRIST BRINGS PEACE.
Now, what is the simple fact that you
in the pew and Sabbath school class
and reformatory association and we in
! the pulpits have to deal with2 1t is
this: That God has somewhere, and it
matters not where, but somewhere,
provided a great heaven-Great for
quietness for those who want quiet,
great for vast assemblage for those who
like multitudes, great for architecture
for those who like architecture, great
for beautiful landscape for those who
like beautiful landscape, great for mu-
sic for those who like music, great for
professions for those who like armies
on white horses, and great for anything
that one especially desires in such a
rapturous dominion-and through the
doings of one who was born about five
miles south of Jerusalem and died
about ten minutes walk from its eastern
gate all may enter that great heaven
for the earnest and heartfelt asking.
Is that all? That is ALL What then
Is your work and mine? Our
work 70 to persuade people to face
that way and start thitherward and
finally go in. But has not religion
something to do with this world as well
as the next9 Oh, yes; but do you not
see that if the people start for heaven,
on their way there they will do all the
good they can3 They will at the very
start of the journey get so much of the
spirit of Christ, which is a spirit of
kindness and self sacrifice and gene
rosity and burden bearing and helpful
ness, that every step they take will re-
sound with good deeds. Oh, get your
religion off of stiltsl Get it down out
of the high towersl Get it on a level
with the wants and woes of our poor
human race Get it out of the dusty
theological books that few people read
and put it in their hearts and lives.
Good thing is it to profess religion when
you join the church, but every day,
somehow, we ought to profess religion.
A peculiar patchwork quilt was, dur
ing the civil war, made by lady and
sent to the hospitals at the front. She
had a boy in the army, and was natur-
ally interested in the welfare of sol
diers But what patchwork quilt she
sentl On every block of the quilt was
a passage of Scripture or verse of a
hymn. The months and years of the
war went by. On that quilt many a
| wounded man had lain and suffered
and died. But one morning the hos
pital nurse saw patient under that
blanket kissing the figure of leaf in
the quilt, and the nurse supposed he
was only wandering in his mind. But
no, he was the son of the mother who
had made the quilt, and he recognized
that figure of a leaf as part of a gown
his mother used to wear, and it re-
minded him of home DO you know
where this quilt came from?' he asked
The nurse answered, II can find out,
for there was a card pinned fast to it,
and l will find that"
Sure enough, 1t confirmed what he
thought. Then the nurse pointed to a
passage of Scripture in the block of the
quilt, the passage which says, "When
he was yet great way off his father
saw him, and ran and fell on his neck
and kissed him" Yes" said the dy-
ing soldier, Il was a great way off, but
God has met me and had compassion
on me-" ''Shall write to your mother
and tell her that the lost one is found
and the dead is alive again?' He an
swered, Il wish you would, if it would
not be too much trouble" Do you
suppose that woman who made that
quilt and filled it with Scripture pas
sages had any trouble about who Mel
chlsedec was or how the doctrine of
Gods sovereignty can be harmonized
with mans free agency, or who wrote
the Pentateuch, or the inconsistencies
of the Nicene creed? No, no; go to
work for God and suffering humanity,
and all your doubts and fears and mys-
teries and unbeliefs put together will
not be heavy enough to stir the chem
lists scales, which is accustomed to
weighing one-fiftieth part of grain of
chamonile flowers
Why stop a moment to understand the
mysteries when there are so many GER
titudes2 Why spend our time explor-
ing the dark garrets and coal holes of a
great palace which has above ground
one hundred rooms flooded with sun
shlne5 1t takes all my time to absorb
what has been revealed, so that have
no time to upturn and root out and
drag forth what has not been revealed.
The most of the effort to solve mys-
teries and explore the inexplicable and
harmonic things is an attempt to help
the Lord out of theological difficulties.
Good enough intention, my brother. no
doubt; but the Lord is not anxious to
have you help him. He will keep his
throne without your assistance. Don't
be afraid that the Bible will fall apart
from Inconsistencies. 1t hung together
many centuries before you were born,
and your funeral sermon will be
preached from a text taken from its
undisturbed authenticity.
CHRIST COMES WHEN WE MAKE READY.
Do you know that think that if all
ministers in all denominations would
stop this nonsense of ecclesiastical strife
and take hold the word of God, the
only question with each of us being
how many souls we can bring to Christ,