The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1891-07-16

iniquity from your heart. They are
ready to rejoice. Look! There is an angel
from the throne of God. One moment
ago it stood before Christ and heard
the doxology of the redeemed. 1t is
here now. Bright immortal, what news
from the golden city? Speak, spirit
blest. The answer comes melting on
the air: ''Come, come, for all things
are now ready" Angels ready to bear
the tidings. Angels ready to drop the
benediction. Angels ready to kindle
the joy. All ready. Ready, cherubim
and seraphim. Ready, thrones and
principalities and powers. Ready,
Michael the archangeI.,
Yes, | go further and say that your
glorified kindred are ready. l have not
any sympathy with modern spiritual
Ism. believe it is born in perdition.
When see the ravages it makes with
human intellects, when see the homes
1t has devastated, when l see the bad
morals that very often follow in its
wake, have no faith in modern spirit
ualism. l think if John Milton and
George Whitefield have not anything
better to do than to crawl under Roches-
ter tables and rattle the leaves they had
better stay home in glory. But the Bible
distinctly teaches that the glorifed in
Heaven are in sympathy with our re-
demption. "There is joy in Heaven
among the angels of God over one sin
ner that repenteth," and if the angels
hear it, do not our departed kindred
there hear it? There are those there
who toiled for your salvation, and
when they babe you good-by in the last
hour, and they said, "Meet me in
Heaven" there was lowering over the
pillow the possibility that you might
not meet. But oh, the pathos when
that hand was thrust out from the
cover and they said good-by. For how
long good-by was it?
Now. suppose you should pass into
the kingdom of God this morning, sup
pose you should say: 'I'm done with
the sins of this world File upon all
these follies. o, Christ! 1 take Thee
now, take Thy service, Irespond to Thy
love, Thine am forever''-why, before
the tear of repentance had dried on
your cheek, before your first prayer
had closed, the angel standing with
the message for thy soul would cry up
ward: "He is comingw ard angels
posing in midair would cry upward:
He is comingr' All along the line of
| light from doorway to doorway, from
wing tip to wing tip, the news would go
upward until it reached the gate, and
then it would flash to the house of
many mansions, and find your kindred
out, and those before the throne would
say: "Rejoice with me, my prayers
are answered. Give me another harp
with which to strike the joy. Saved,
saved, saved!'
Now, my friends, if Christ is ready,
and the Holy Ghost is ready, and the
church is ready, and the angels of God
are ready, and your glorifed kindred
are ready, are you ready? l give with
all the emphasis of my soul the ques-
ton: Are you ready?" If you do not
get into the Kings feast it will be be-
cause you do not accept the earnest in
vitation. Arm stretched out soaked
with blood from elbow to inger-tip, lips
quivering in mortal anguish, two eyes
beaming everlasting love, while He
says: Come, come, come, for all things
are now ready"
At Kenilworth Castle, told you, they
stopped the clocks when Queen Eliza
beth arrived that the hand of time
might point to that moment as the one
most significant and tremendous: but
If this morning the King should enter
the castle of your soul, well might YOU
stop all the clocks and have the finger
of time pointing to this moment as the
one most stupendous in all your life
Would that | could come all THROUGH
these aisles and all through these gal.
lerles, not addressing you perfunctorily,
but taking you by the hand as a brother
takes brother by the hand, and saving
to one and all, to each: ''Come, come,
the door is open; enter now and sit
down at the feast"
Old man, God has been waiting fo,
thee long years. Would that some tea,
OF repentance might tricIle down thy
wrinkled cheek. Has not Christ done
enough in feeding thee and clothing
thee all these years to win from thee
one word of gratitude Come. all the
young. Christ is the fairest of the
fair. Wait not till thy heart gets hard.
Come, the furthest away from Christ.
Drunkard, Christ can put out the fire OF
that thirst. He can restore thy broken
home. He can break that shackle. |
Come now, to-day, and get His pardon
and its strength. Libertine, Christ |
knew where you were last night. He
knows all the story of thy sin. Come |
to Him this day. He will wash awav
thy sin and He will throw around thee |
the robes of His pardon Harlot, thv
feet foul with hell. thy laughter the /
horror of the street-O, Mary Magdalenl
Christ waits for thee. And the
one further off, further than /
have mentioned, case not SO
hopeful as any have mentioned.
self-righteous man, feeling myself all
right, having no need of Christ. no need
Of pardon, no need of help-O, self
righteous man! dost thou think in those
rags thou canst enter the feast? Thou
7anSt not Code |