The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1891-07-02

and John Knox, the glorious old
| Scotch Presbyterian, are shaking hands
In Heaven, all churches on earth can
afford to come into close communica-
tom Zone Lord, one faith, one bap-
tism." Oh my brethren-we have had
enough of Big Bethel fghts-the Four
teenth New York regiment fighting the
Fifteenth Massachusetts regiment.
Now let all those who are for Christ
and stand on the same side go shoulder
to shoulder, and this church, instead of
having a sprinkling Oft the Divine bless
ing, go clear under the wave in
one glorious immersion in the
name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost. saw a
little child once, in its dying hour,
put one arm around its fathers neck,
and the other arm around its mothers
neck, and bring them close down to its
dying lips and give a last kiss. Oh, I
said, those two persons will stand very
near to each other always after such an
interlocking. The dying Christ puts
one arm around this denomination of
Christians and the other arm around
that denomination of Christians, and He
brings them down to His dying lips,
while He gives them this parting kiss:
my peace leave with you. My peace
give unto you"
How swift the Heavenly course they run,
Whose hearts, and faith, and hopes are one.
| heard a Baptist minister once say
that he thought in the millennium it
would be all one great Baptist church;
and l heard a Methodist minister say
that he thought in the great millennial
day it would be all one great Methodist
church; and l have known a Presby-
terrain minister who thought that in
the millennial day it would be all one
great Presbyterian church. Now, l
| think they are all mistaken. l think
the millenial church will be a COM
posite church; and just as you may
take the best parts Of five or six tunes,
and under the skillful hands of Han
| del, Mozart or Beethoven, entwine them
into one grand and overpowering sym
| phony, so, suppose, in the latter days
of the world, God will take the best
parts of all denominations of Christians,
and weave them into one great ecclesi-
astical harmony, broad as the earth,
and high as the heavens, and that will
be the church of the future. Or, as mo-
sale is made up of jasper and agate and
many precious stones cemented together
mosaic one thousand feet square in st.
| Marks, or mosaic hoisted in colossal
seraphim in st. Sophia-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
arehitraves of that stupendous church
of the future, and cry out, ''What mean
We by these stones?'' there shall be
innumerable voices to respond:
''We mean the Lord God omnipotent
reigneth.
Oh, that this day of dedication might
be the day of emancipation of all i'm
prisoned souls. My friends, do not
make the blunder of the ship carpen-
ters in Noah's time, who helped to
|
God forbid that you who have been so
generous in building this church,
should not get under its saving influ-
ence. Come thou and all thy house
into the ark" Do you think man is
safe out of Christ? Not one day, not
one hour, not one minute, not one,
second. Three or four years age
you remember, a rail train broke
down bridge on the way to Albany,
and after the catastrophe, they were
looking around among the timbers Cd
the crushed bridge and thefallen train,
and found the conductor. He was dy.
ing, and had only strength to say one
thing, and that was: ''Hoist the flaf
for the next train" So there comes tc
us from the eternal world voices OF
God, voices of angels, voices of departed
spirits, crying: Lift the warning. 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
audience and take you all to His holy
heart. You will never see so good q
time for personal conservation as now.
"What mean you 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 thil
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
sacramental 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 see through glass