Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1891-06-25

WOFK. OuI III ever kuCu kubQiOklClA heInluHr
ries shall cease to prepare young men for
this plain Gospel advocacy and shall be-
come mere philosophical schools for guess
ing about God and guessing about the
Bible and guessing about the soul, they
will cease their usefulness, and young
men, as 10 olden time, when they would
study for the Gospel ministry, will put
themselves under the care Of some inteili-
gent and warm hearted pastor and kneeI
with him in family prayer at the parson-
age, and 60 With him into the room of the
sick and the dying. and see what victories
the grace Of God can gain when the couch
of the dying saint is the marathon.
VITAL RELIGION Is THE REMEDY
That is the way the mighty ministers OF
the Gospel we're made in oldsn times. Oh,
for a great wave Of revival to roll over our
theological seminaries and our polpits and
our churches and our ecclesiastical courts,
and ever all Christendoml That would be
the end of controversy. While such del
uge would float the ark of God higher and
higher, it would put all the beaps and
tigers and reptiles Of raging eoeleSiRsbicism
fifteen cubits under.
Now, what is the simple fast inst yOu in
the pew and Sabbath sd1sSi Sl|in. .aAA %
formstory association and we in ese. .pdl
pits have to deal withi 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 music 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 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 east.
ern gate all may enter that great heaven
for the earnest and heartfelt asking Is
that all3 That is all. What, then, is your
work and miner Our work is to persuade
people to face that way and start thither-
ward and finally go in. But has not reli-
gion something to do with this world as
well as the next2 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 cam 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 generosity and burden
bearing and helpfulness, that every step
they take will resound with good deeds.
Oh, get your religion off of stills! Get it
down out of the high towersl Get it on a
level with the wants and woes of our poor
human racel Get it out of the dusty theo-
logical 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, during
the civil war, made by lady and sent to
the hospitals at the front. She had boy
in the army, and was naturally interested
in the welfare of soldiers But what
patchwork quilt she sentl On every block
of the quilt was passage of Scripture or
verse of hymn. The months and years of
the war went by. On that quilt many
wounded man had lain and suffered and
died. But one morning the hospital nurse
saw a 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 leaf as part of q
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, 81 can find out, for there was a
card pinned fast to it, and will find that"
Sure enough, it 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 a
great way off his father saw him and ran
and fell on his neck and kissed him."
"Yes," said the dying soldier, 81 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
answered, II wish you would, if it would
not be too much trouble" Do you sup
pose that woman who made that quilt and
filled it with Scripture passages had any
trouble about who Melchizedek was, or
how the doctrine of Gods sovereignty can
be harmonized with mans free agency, or
who wrote the Pentateuch or the incon-
sistencies of the Nicene creed? No, no; go
to work for God and suffering humanity
and all your doubts and fears and mysteries
and unbeliefs put together will not be heavy
enough to stir the chemists scales, which
is accustomed to weighing one-iftieth part
of grain of chamomile flowers. Why stop
q moment to understand the mysteries
when there are so many certitudes? Why
spend our time exploring the dark garrets
and coal holes of great palace which has
above ground one hundred rooms flooded
with sunshine? 1t takes all my time to
| absorb what has been revealed. so that
have no time to upuurn and root out and
drag forth what has not been revealed.
| The most of the effort to solve mysteries
and explore the inexplicable and harmonic
things is an attempt to help the Lord out
of theological difficulties. Good enough in
tention, my brother, no doubt; but the Lord
is not anxious to have you help him. He
will keep his throne without your assist
ance. 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 undis-
turbed authenticity.
LAY HOLD ON GODS WORD.
! Do you know that think that if all
F., ministers in all denominations would STOP
| this nonsense of ecclesiastical strife and
F.! take hold the word of God, the only ques
ton with each of us being how many souls
we can bring to Christ and in how short q
time, the Lord would soon appear for the
salvation of all nationsf When the young
queen of England visited Scotland many
years ago great preparations were made
for her reception. The vessel in which she
sailed was far out at sea, but every hill in