The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1892-10-01


sky bends over the weary, heart sick,
slumbering earth, singing to its silvery
music, while it is rocked in the cradle
of the spheres. ''Now says my text,
''Who is she, fair as the moon~ Our
answer is the church. Like the mool,
she is borrowed light. Sha gathers
up the glory of a Saviour's sufferings, a
Saviour's death, "a Saviour's resurrection,
a Saviour's ascension, and pours that
light on palace and dungeon, on
squalid heathenism and elaborate
skepticism, on widows tears and mar
tyr's robe of flame, on weeping peni-
tence and loud-moutbed scorn.
She is the only institution to-day that
gives any light to our world. Into her
portal the poor come and get SYM
pathy of once pillowless Christ, the
bereaved come and see the bottle in
which God saves all our tears, and the
captives come, and on the sharp corn
ers of her affairs dash off their chains
and the thirsty come and put their cup
under the "Rock of Ages" which pours
forth from its smitten side living water,
sparkling water, crystalline water,
from under the throne of God and the
Lamb. Blessed the bell that calls her
worshippers to prayer. Blessed the
water in which her members are bap-
tized. Blessed the wine that giows in
her sacramental cups. Blessed the
songs on which her devotions travel up
and the angels of God travel down.
As the moon goes through the midst
of the roaring storm-clouds unfinished
and unframed, and comes out calm
and beautiful on the other side, so the
church of God has gone through all the
storms of this worlds persecution and
come out uninjured, no worse for the
fact that Robespierre cursed it and Vol
taire caricatured it, and Tom Paine
sneered at it, and all the forces of dark
ness have bombarded it. Not like some
scattering terror and dismay among
the nations, but above the low 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 a hawk out of the clear
sky, make you thankful for the sun
shine which makes all the world so
busy and so glad. The same sun which
in the morning kindled CONGREGATIONS
among the castles OF cloud. stoops
down to paint the lily white, and the
buttercup yellow, and the for-get-me
not blue.
What can resist the sun? Light for
voyager on the deep; light for shep-
herds guarding the focks afield; light
for the poor who have TO lamps to
burn; light for the downcast and the
weary; light for aching eyes and burn
ing brain and consuming captive; light
for the smooth brow of childhood and
the dim vision of the octogenarian;
light for queens coronet and sewing
girls needle. Let there be light"
Now" says my text, "Who is she
that looketh forth clear as the SUM-"
Our answer is, the Church. You have
been going along road before day
break, and on one side You thought you
saw lion, and on the other side you
thought you saw a goblin of the dark
ness, but when the sun cam o out 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 bright
ness; and that which you thought was
an aroused lion is found ont to be a
slumbering lamb; and the sepulchered
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.
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 veil. 0, sun
of the church! shine on until there is no
sorrow to soothe, no tears to wipe
away, no shackles to break, nc more
souls to be redeemed. Ten thousand
hands of sin have attempted to extin-
guish the lamps on her affairs, but they
are quenchless; and to silence her pull
pits, but the thunder would leap and
the lightning would fame
The church Of God will come to full
meridian, and in that day all the
mountains of the world will be sacred
mountains touched with the glory of
Calvary, and all streams will flow by
the mount of God like cool Sloan, and
all lakes be radiant with Gospel mem
cries like Gennesaret, and all island of
the sea be crowned with apocalyptic
visions like Patmos, and all cities be
sacred as Jerusalem, and all gardens
luxuriant rs Paradise, with God walk
ing in the cool of the day. Then
the cnorals of grace will drown out all
the anthems of earth. Then the throne
of Christ will overtop all earthly au-
thority. Then the crown of Jesus will
outflame all other coronetA Sin de-
stroyed. Death dead He'll defeated.
The church triumphant. All the dark
nesses of sin, all the darknesses of trou-
Bile, all the darknesses of earthly mis-