Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-06-15
| launched in the thickest fog that ever set
| tied on the coasts.

|
is sick to reorganization with the modern
Quacks in religion. The world has been
| swinging off from the old gospel but it will
swing back, and by the time you young men
| go into the pulpits the cry will be coming up
| from all the millions of mankind, "Give us
| the bread of life: no sweetened bread, no
| bread with sickly raisins stuck here and
| there into it, but Old-fashioned bread as God
| our Mother mixed it and baked it,!
Our theological seminaries are doing glor-
iOus work, but il ever such theological semi
| naries 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 in
| olden time, when they would study for the
| gospel ministry, will put themselves under
| the care OF some Intelligent and warm
| hearted pastor and kneel with him in fam
| lily prayer at the parsonage, and go 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
| All the Creed That's Necessary.
Now, what is the simple fact that you in
| the pew and sabbath school class and re-
| formatory association and we in the pulpits
| have to deal WITH 1t is this: that God has
| somewhere, and it matters not where, but
somewhere, provided great heaven, great
| for quietnesS for those who want quiet, great
for vast assemblage for those who like null
| titudes great for architecture for those who
| like architecture, great for beautiful land
| scape 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 any
thing that one especially desires in such Il
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 heart
felt asking.
Is that all? That is ALL What, then, is
your work and mine? Our work Is to per-
suade people to face that way and start
thitherward and finally go in. But has not
religion something to do with this world as
see that if the people start for heaven, on
their way there they will do all the good
they can? 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-sacri-
flee and generosity and urden-bearing and
helpfulness, that every step they take will
resound with good deeds.
Get of Your Theological Stills.
Oh, get your religion Off of stills! Get it
down out of the high towers. Get it on a
level with the wants and woes of our poor
human race! 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.
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 q patch
work quilt she sent! On etery block of the
quilt was passage of Scripture or a verse of
a hymn. The months and years of the war
went by. On that quilt many wounded
man had lain aud suffered and died.
But one morning the hospital nurse saw a |
patient under that blanket kissing the figure
of a leaf in the quilt and the nurse supposed
!, .Nr,1x ,f1A,r 1Ni
he was the son of the mother who had made |
the quilt and he recognized thar figure of a |
leaf as part of a gown his mother used to |
wear and it reminded 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 vet great way off his father saw him |
and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him."
'Yes,'' said the dying soldier, II was great |
way off, but God has met me and had COM |
passion on me-"
Needless to DeIve in Hidden Mysteries.
DO you suppose that woman who made
that quilt and filled it with Scripture pas
sages had any trouble about who Melchiz-
edek 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; 90 to work for God and suffering hu-
manity 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-f1ftieth part of grain of chamomile
flowers.
Why stop moment to understand the
nv Steries when there are so MANY certi-
dark garrets and coal holes of great palace
which has above ground one hundred rooms
flooded with sunshine? 1t takes all nv 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 mysteries
and explore the inexplicable and harUonize
things is an attempt to help the Lord out of
theological difficulties. Good enough inten-
tion, 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 authen-
ITCHY.
Time to Stop Religious Strife.
Do you know that think that if all min
listers 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 and in how short time,
a. |
tion of all nations?
DO you know that 1 think that our King
would land if VIC were only ready to receive
him? Why not call to him from all our |
from all our hospitals, from all |
our homes? Why not all at once light all the
torches of gospel invitation? Why not |
ring all the bells of welcome? Why not |
light up the long night of the worlds sin
and suffering with bonfires of. victory? | !
Why not unlimber all the gospel batteries,
and let them boom across the earth, and
boom into the parting heavens.
Before we die let us behold thy hands that | ,
were spiked, spread out in benediction for .
a lost race. And why not let us, with our ;
mortal ears, hear that voice that spoke
peace Thou didst go up, speak pardon
and emancipation and love and holiness and ,
10y to all nations Thou comeSt down?
But the skies do not part hear no rum ,
bling of chariot wheels coming down over
he sapphire There is no swoop of wings. :
see no flash OF angelic appearances. All is
)wn heart as L pause between these utter :
tnces. The King does not land because the !
world is not ready, and the church is not
'eady.
Christos! Sympathy and Cheer. !
To clear the way for the Lords coming let
Is devote all ouEenergies of body, mind and
oul 4 Russi;M general riding over the !
battlefield, his horse treading amid the {
lying and dead, wounded soldier asked s
lim for water, but the officer did not under
tand his language and knew not what the t
)OOr fellow wanted. Then the soldier cried | t
,ut ''Christos - and that word meant sylnna- 4
hy and help and the Russian officer dis y
mounted and put to the lips OF the sufferer S
cooling draught. L
BE that the charmed word with which we S