Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1891-06-15


and go with him into the room of the
sick and tile dying and see what vic
tories the grace of God can gain when
the couch OF the dying saint is the
Marathon.
That is the way the mighty ministers
Of the Gospel were made in olden times.
Oh. for a great wave of revival to roll
over our theological seIninaries, and our
pulpits, and our churches, and our &c
clesiastical courts and over all Christen-
dom That would be the end of con
troversy While such deluge would
float the ark OF God higher and higher,
it would put all the bears and tigers
and reptiles of raging ecclesiasticism
fifteen cubits under
WORK FOR CHRIST BRINGS PEACE
Now. what is the simple fact that you
in the pew and Sabbath school class
and reformatOry 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 a great heaven-great for
Quietness for those who want quiet,
great for vast aasemblage 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 mu-
sic 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 a
rapturous dominion-and through the
doings of one who was born about five
miles south of Jerusalem and died
about ten minutes walk from it's eastern
gate all may enter that great heaven
for the earnest and heartfelt asking
Is that all? S@hat is all. What then
is your work and mine? Our
work is to persuade people to face
that way and start thitherward and
finally go in. But has not religion
something to do with this world as well
as the next? 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 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 sacrifice and gene
rosity and burden bearing and helpful
ness, that every step they take will re-
sound with good deeds. Oh, get your
religion off of stiltsi Get it down out
of the high tOwersl Get it on level
with the wants and woes of our poor
human race Get it out of the dusty
theological 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, dur
ing the civil war, made by lady and
sent to the hospitals at the front She
had a boy in the army. and was natur-
ally interested in the welfare Of sol
diers. But What Il patchwork quilt she
sent! On every block of the quilt was
a passage Of Scripture or a verse of a
hymn. The months and years of the
war went by On that quilt many a
wounded man had lain and suffered
and died. But one morning the hos
pital nurse saw a patient under that
blanket kissing the figure of n 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 a leaf as part of a 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, Il 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 great way off his father
saw him, and ran and fell on his neck
and kissed him Yes, said the dy
ing soldier, Il was a great way off, but
God has met me and had compassion
on me, Shall l write to your mother
and tell her that the lost one is found
and the dead is alive again?' He an
swered, Il wish you would, if it would
not be too much trouble" Do you
suppose that woman who made that
quilt and filed it with Scripture pas
sages had any trouble about who Mel
chisedec 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; go to
work for God and suffering humanity,
and all your doubts and fears and mys-
teries and nbeiefs put together will
not be heavy enough to stir the chem
lists scales. which is accustomed to
weighing one-tiftieth part of a grain of
chamouilp flowers
Why stop a moment TO understand the
mysteries when there are 50 many Ger
titudesE Why spend our time eXplOr
ing the dark garrets and coal holes of
great palace which has above ground
one hundred rooms flooded with sun
shine2 1t takes all my time to absorb
what has been revealed. so that I have
no time to upturn and root out and
drag forth what has not been revealed.
The most of the effort to solve mys-
teries and explore the inexpIicable and
harmonic things is an attempt to help
the Lord out of theological difficulties
Good enough intention. my brother, no
OOuOUt OUT Uu0 LOfU 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 authenticity
CHRIST COMES WHEN WE MAKE READY.
Do you know that [ think that if all
ministers 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 a time, the Lord
would soon appear for the salvation of
all nations? 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 Scotland was illumined with
bonfres and torches The night was
set on fire with artificial illumination
The queen, standing on ships deck,