Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1892-08-08

sWayS her unQlSputeu ScepUer over island
and continent, river and sea- Under her
, shining the plainest maple leaves become
shivering silver, the lakes from shore to
shore look like shining mirrors, and the
ocean under her glance with great tides
comes up painting upon the beach, min
Cling, as it were, foam and fire.
Under the witchery of the moon the aw-
iul sleeps lose their ruggedness and the
chasms their terror. The poor man blesses
God for throwing so cheap light through
the broken window pane of his cabin, and
TO the sick it seems like light from the
other shore that bounds this great deep of
human pain and VICE. If the sun be like
song, full and loud and poured forth from
brazen instruments that fill heaven and
earth with harmony, the moon is plaintive
and sad, standing beneath the throne OF
! God, sending up her soft, sweet voice of
praise while the stars listen and the seal
! No mother ever more lovingly watched
sick cradle chan this pale watcher of the
sky bends over the weary, heartsick,
slumbering earth, singing to it silvery
music while it is rocked in the cradle of
the spheres.
Now, says my text, WHO is she, fair as
the moonP" Our answer is the church.
|
She gathers up the glory of Saviour's
EuffGrinEs, Saviour's death, a Saviour's
resurrection, Saviour's ascension, and
pours that light on palace and dungeon,
ON squalid heathenism and elaborate skep-
ticism, on widows tears and martyrs robe
Of fame, on weeping penitence and loud
mouthed scorn.
She is the only institution today that
| I;r,l 30 Into hnr
portal the poor come and get the sympathy
of a once pillowless Christ. the bereaved
come and see the bottle in which God saves
all our tears, and the captives come, and
on the sharn corners Of her affairs dash off
| their chains, and the thirsty come and put
their cup under the Crock of Ages" which
pours forth from it's smitten side living
water, sparkling water, crystalline water
| from under the throne of God and the
Lamb. Blessed the bell that calls her wor-
shippers to prayer Blessed the water in
| which her members are baptized. Blessed
the wine that glows in her sacramental
cups. Blessed the songs on which her de-
votions travel up and the angels of God
travel down.
sURVIvrs ALL STORMS.
AS the moon goes through the midst OF
the roaring storm clouds unfinished and
unframed, and comes out calm and beau
tiful on the other side, so the church OF
| God has gone through all the storms OF
this worlds persecution and come out UNI
injured, no worse for the fact that Robe
sphere cursed it, and Voltaire carricatured
it, and Tom Paine sneered at it, and all the
forces of darkness have bombarded it. Not
like some baieful comet shooting across
the sky, scattering terror and dismay
among the nations, but above the long
bowling night of the worlds wretchedness
the Christian church has made her mild
way, Fair as the MOON"
| take step further in my subject
CLEAR as the SUM-" After season of
storm or fog how you are thrilled when
the sun comes out at MONDAY! The mists
travel up hill above hill, mountain above
mountain, until they are sky lost. The
forests are full of chirp and buzz and song,
honey makers on the log, birds beak
pounding the bark, the chatter of the
squirrel on the rail, the call of hawk out
of the clear sky make you thankful for
the sunshine which makes all the world SO
busy and so glad. The same sun which in
the morning kindled confagrations among
the castles of cloud, stoops down to paint
the lily white and the buttercup yellow
and the forgetmenot blue
What can resist the sum- Light for
voyager on the deep, light for shepherds
guarding the focks afield, light for the
poor who have no lamps to burn. light for
the downcast and the weary, light for
aching eyes and burning brain and con-
Stunning captive, light for the smooth brow
of childhood and the dim vision of the
octogenarian, light for queens coronet and
- tl..,... h.AI lfrnf
Now, says my text, "Who is she that
looketh forth clear as the sum-" Our an
swer is the church. You have been go
ing along road before daybreak, and on
one side you thought saw lion, and on
the other side you thought you saw COB
lin of the darkness, but when the sun
came ont you found these were harmless
apparitions. And it is the great mission
of the church of Jesus Christ to come
forth "clear as the sum-" to illumine all
earthly darkness, to explain as far as
possible all mystery, and to make the
world radiant in its brightness, and that
which you thought was an aroused lion
is found out to be slumbering lamb, and
the sepulchral gates of your dead turn out
to be the opening gates of heaven, and
that which you supposed was flaming
sword to keep you out of paradise is an
angel of light to beckon you in.
SUN OF THE CHURCH.
The lamps ON her affairs will cast their
glow on your darkest pathway and cheer
you until, far beyond the need of lantern
or lighthouse, you are safely anchored
within the vail. Oh, sun of the church,
shine ON until there is no sorrow to soothe,
no tears to wipe away, no shackles to
break, no more souls to be redeemed Ten
thousand hands of sin have attempted to
extinguish the lamps on her affairs, but
they are quenchless, and to silence her pull
pits, but the thunder would leap and the
lightning would flame.
The church of God will yet come to full
meridian, and in that day all the noun
tains of the world will be sacred noun
tains, touched with the glory of Calvary,