Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1891-05-08

| Is TO come into their house with nose elc-
waited In disgust, rs much ss TO say: 81
| don't see how you live here In this neigh
borhood. 1t actually makes ne sick. There
Il that hundle-take II, you poor, miserable
| wretch, and make the most OF IT," Another
| way is to 70 into the abode of the poor I'm
| manner which seems to say: "Jhe blessed
| Lord sent me. lie was poor himself. IL
l. not more for the good am going to do
| you than IL Is for the good you can do me-
| Coming in that ,pirit, the gift will be as aro-
matte rs the spikenard OH the feet OF Christ,
| and all the novels in that alley will bc
! fragrnt with the spice.
We need moro spice and enlivenment In
| our church music. Churches sit discussing
! whether they shall have choirs, or precent-
| ors. or organs, or bass-yiols. or comets;
| say. take that which will bring out the most
inspi ring music. IL we had half as much
zeal anu spirit IN our churches as we nave
in the songs OF our sabbath schools u
would not he long before the whole earth
would quake with the coming God. Why.
| in most churches, nine-,enths OF the people
! do not sing, or they sing so fcebly hat The
| people ut their elbows do not know they
are singing. People mouth and humble
| the praises OF God; but there Is not moro
than one out OF a hundred who makes ~
| joyful noise" unto the Rock of our Saliva
! ton, Sometimes when the congregation
| forgets itself aud IL all absorbed in the
goodness of God, or the glories OF heaven. |
|
| he = hundred years from now, when the
coming generation shall wake up TO Its
| duty.
promise high spiritual blessing to any
one who will sing IN church, aud who VIII
sing so heartily that the people all around
cannot help but sing. Wake up! all the
churches from Bangor To San Francisco,
| and across ChristendOm. 1t il not u matter
| OF preference; ~ IL II matter OF religious
duty. Oh, for fifty times more volume OF
| sound. German rhorIls In German cathe-
drals surpass us, and yet Germany has re-
| celved nothing AT the han IL OF God COM
! pared with America; and ought the acclaim
| IN Berlin be louder than that In Brooklyny
| Soft. Ion g-drawn-Out music IS appropriate
| Tor Tue drawlng-room aud appropriate for
the concert; but ~. john gives IN idea OF
the SOu0rotIs and resonant congregational
singing appropriate for churches WIEN, IN
listening to the temple service OF Heaven,
be says: IL heard great voice rs the voice
| of u great multitude, and Is the voice OF
many waters and rs the voice OF many
| thunderings. llallelulHh, for the Lord God
! omnlpOtent Teigncih.'
Join with me In crusade, giving me not
! only your hearts. but the mighty uplifting
o.! your voices, and ! belieye we can,
| through Christ's grace, sing nifty thousand
| souls into the kingdom of Christ An ar
gumcnt, they can laugh at; sermon, they
may talk down; but vast audience joining
| in one anthem l. Irresistible. Would that
Queen Bal>Is would Dive all her spice-la-
dcu drOmedarics INTO our church Music.
! "Ncither WAS there any such spice a. tue
Queen OF Sheba gave King SOlomor."
widowed mother. with her little child.
| went West, hoping 10 get better wages
there; and she WAS taken sick, and died.
The overseer OF the poor got her body
and put It in box, AMI put it in wagon.
and started down the street toward the
cemetery ut full trot. The little child
the only chlid--tan after IL through the
streets. barc-headed, crying: Bring me
back my mother bring me back my
muther!' And it was said that rs the people
looked OH aud saw her crying after that
which lay in The box IN The wagon-all she
loved on earth--it il said that tho whole
village was IN tears. And that is what a
great many OF you are doing--chasing the
dead. Dear Lord, is there no appeasemont
for all this sorrow that | zee about mcy
Yes, the thought OF resurrection and
reunion far beyond this scene
of struggle and tears. "rhey
shall hunger no more. neither thirst any
more, neither shall the sun light on them.
nor any heat; FOR the Lamb which is in the
IN dst II the throne shall lead them TO lIv-
ing fountains OF water, and Go shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes" Across
the Couches OF your sick, and across the
graves OF your dead, fling this shower OF
sweet spices. Queen Balkls driving up to
the uillared portico OF the house OF cedar,
cNhales today from the Lords garden. Ii
is peace. II is sweetness. 1t is comfort.
| 1t Is infinite satisfaction, this Gospel COM
mend to you. Some one could not under
stand why an old German Christian scbo lar
used to lie always 20 calm, and happy, and
hopeful. when he had ~ many trials, and
sickuesses. and ailments. A man secreiet
him,e in the house. lie said
IL mean to watch this old scholar and
Christian" and he saw the old Christian
man go To his room and sit down on the
chair beside the stand and open the Bible
and begin TO read. He read on and on,
chapter after chapter. hour after hour un-
til his face was all aglow with the tidings
from heaven, and when the clock struck
twelve, he arose. and shut his Bible and said,
"Blessed Lord, we are on the same old terms
yet. Goodnight, Goodnight" oh, you
sin-parched and you trouDle-pounded, here
is comfort, here is satisfaction. W i'll you
come aud get Il? | cannot tell you what the
Lord offers YOU hereafter so well as i can
tell you now. ut doth not yet appear what
we shall be.
Through obduracy on our part, and
through the rejection Of that Christ who
makes heaven possible, wonder il any OF
u, viii miss that specia ley | fear! fear
The queen OF the South will rise up in
Judgment against this generation and con-
denim il, because she came from the utter
most parts Of the earth 10 hear the wisdom
OF Solomon, and behold, greater than Sol
ONION il here. May God grant that through
your own practical experience you may
find that religions ways are the ways 81
plraSantness aud that all her paths are
paths OF peace-that 1t is perfume now and
perfume forever. And there IL an abund-
nncc OF spire; neither was there any such
spice ~ the Queen OF Sheba gave To King
Solomon"