The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1891-06-27

theological seminaries are doing glorious
work, but if ever such theological semina
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, az in olden time. when they would
study for the Gospel ministry, will put
themselves under the care of some intelli
gent and warm hearted pastor and kneel
with him in family prayer at the parson
age, 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.
VITAL RELIGION is THE REMEDY.
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 seminaries and our pulpits and
our churches and our ecclesiastical courts,
and over all Christendom! That would be
the end of controversy. While such a del
uge 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
Now. what is the simple fact that you in
the pew and Sabbath school class and re-
formatory association and we in the pull
pits 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 mutitudes; 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 Ike armies on white horses,
and great for anything 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 east
ern gate all may enter that great heaven
for the earnest and heartfelt asking Is
that ALP That is all. What, then, is your
work and mine? 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 next? oh, yes; but do you not
see that ii 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 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 towers! Get it on Il
level with the wants and woes of our poor
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.
peculiar patchwork quilt was, during
the civil war, made by lady and sent to
the hospitals at the front She had a boy
in the army, and was naturally interested
in the welfare of soldiers But what a
patchwork quilt she sentl On every block
of the quilt was a passage of Scripture or a
verse of 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 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 quit and he
recognized that figure of leaf as part of
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, il 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, Il 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, Il 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
T..
who wrote the Pentateuch or the incon
sistencies of the Nicene creeds No, no; go
to work for God and suffering humanity
and all your doubts and fears and mysteries
and un nbeliefs put together will not be heavy
enough to stir the chemists scales, which
is accustomed to weighing one-fiftieth part
of grain of chamomile flowers. Why stop
a 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 sunshinef 1t takes all my time to
absorb what has been revealed, so that
have no time to upJurn and root out and
drag forth what has not been revealed.
The most of the effort to solve mysteries
and explore the explicable and harmonize
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. It hung
together many centuries before you were
born, and your funeral sermon will be
preached from a text taken from it's undis
turbed authenticity.
LAY BOLD ON GODS WORD
Do you know that | think that if all
ministers in all denominations would stop
RI lie of oIocto ooff r%rsfa