Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1891-04-30

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the latter days of the world. God will
take the best parts of all denominations
of Christians, and weave them into
one great ecclesiastical harmony, broad
as the earth and high as the Heavens,
and that will be the church of the future.
Or, as mosaic is made up of jasper and
agate and many precious stones cemented
| together-mosaic a thousand feet square
in st. Marks. or mosaic hoisted in colos-
sal scraphin in st. Sophio-so l suppose
| God will make, after awhile, one great
blending of all creeds. and all faiths, and
| all Christian sentiments, the amethyst,
and the jasper, and the chalcedony OF all
different experiences and belief, cemented
| side by side in the great mosaic OF the
| ages; and while the nations look upon
! the columns and architraves of that stu
pendous church of the future, and cry
out, what mean we by these stones?'
there shall be innumerable voices to re-
spond, eve mean the Lord God omnipo-
tent reigneth,'
Still further, you mean by these stones
the salvation of the people, We did not
build this church for mere worldly re-
FORMS or for an educational institution,
or as platform upon which to read es-
says and philosophical dsquisitions, but
saving. Oh, had rather be the means
in this church of having one soul pre-
pared for a joyous eternity than five
thousand souls prepared for mere world
ly success. All churches are in two
classes, all communities in two classes,
all the race in two claSses-belicVerS and
unbelievers. To augment the number OF
the one and subtract from the number of
the other we built this church, and to-
ward that supreme and eternal idea we
dedicate all our sermons, all our songs,
all our prayers, all our Sabbath hand
shakings. We want to throw detection
into the enemy's ranks We want to
make them either surrender uncondi-
tionally to Christ or else fly in
rOut, scattering the way with can
teens blankets, and knapsacks We
want to populariZe Christ. WewOuld like
to tell the story Of His love here until
men would feel that they would rather
die than live another hour without His
sympathy and love and mercy. We
| want to rouse up an enthusiasm for Him
greater than was felt for Nathaniel Lyon
when he rode along the ranks; greater
than was exhibited for yelling ton when
he came back from Waterloo; greater
| than was expressed for Napoleon when
he stepped ashore from Elba. We really
| believe in this place Christ will enact the
same scenes that were enacted by Him
when He landed in the orient, and there
will be such an opening of blind eyes
| and unstopping of deaf ears and casting
| out of unclean spirits such silenclng
bestOrmed GenneSaretS as shall make
this house memorable five hundred years
! after you and l are dead and forgotten.
Oh, ny friends, we want but one revival
in this church, that beginning now and
running on to the day when the chisel
of time, that brings down even st. PauFs
and the Pyramids, shall bring this house
into the dust.
Oh, that this day of dedication might
be the day of emancipation of all i'm
prisoncd souls. My friends, do not
make the blunder of the ship Carpen-
tiers in Noah's time, who helped to build
the ark, but did not get into it. God
forbid that You who have been so gen
| erous in building this church should not
get under its saving influence. "COme
thou and all thy house into the ark?
Do you think a man is safe out of Christ?
Not one day, not one hour, not one min
ute, not one second. Three or four
years ago, you remember, rail train
broke down a bridge on the way to AL
bany, and after the catastrophe they
were looking around among the timbers
of the crushed bridge and the fallen
train and found the conductor. He was
dying, and had only strength to say one
thing, and that was, "Hoist the flag for
the next train So there come to us
tonight, from the etern al word, voices
of angels, voices of departed spirits, cry
ing: Lift the warming. Blow the
trumpet. Give the alarm. Hoist the
flag for the next train
OH that tonight my Lord Jesus would
sweep His arm around this great au-
dience and take you all to His holy
heart. You will never see so good q
time for personal conservation as now.
what mean we by these stones?" We
mean your redemption from sin and death
and hell by the power of an omnipotent
gospel.
Well, the Brooklyn Tabernacle is
erected again. We came here Tonight
not to dedicate it. That was done this
morning. Tonight we dedicate our
selves. In the Episcopal and Methodist
churches they have railing around the
altar, and the people come and kneel
down at that railing and get the sacra-
mental blessing. Well, my friends, it
would take more than a night to gather
YOU in circles around this altar Then
Just bow where you are for the blessing.
Aged men, this is the last church that
YOU will ever dedicate. May the God
who cOmforted Jacob the Patriarch, and
Paul the aged, make this house to you
the gate of Heaven; and when, in your
old days, you put on your SpectacleS to
read the hymn or the Scripture lesson,
may you get preparation for that land
where you shall no more sec through
glass darkly. May the warm sunshine
of Heaven thaw the snow off your fore
heads!
Men in midlife, do you know that this
is the place where you are going to get