Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1892-09-26

tlon Of pripces. the triumph Of conquer
ors and the world turned upside down
and hack again and down again, cleft
and SCARED with great agonies OF eartn-
Quake, and tempest, and battle. IL Is
wonderful history, putting to the blush
all others in the accuracy OF its recital,
and in the stupendOus events II records
Homer. and Thucydides, and Giooon
could make great stories out Of little
events; but IL took Moses TO tell how
the heavent and the earth were made IN
one chapter, and TO give the history OF
thousands OF years upon two leaves.
Then there are Others who find moth
ing In the Bible but poetry. Wen, II
you come as poet, you will hnd IN THIS
book faultless rhythm, and bold image
", aud startling antithesis, and raptur-
ous lyric. and sweet pastoral, aud In
structive narrative, and devotional
psalm; thoughts expressed in a style
more solemn than that OF Montgomery,
more bold than that Of Milton, more
terrible than that Of Dante, more natu-
raj than that OF Wordsworth, more I'm
FASHIONED than that OF Pollock, more
tender than that Of CoWper, more weird
than that Of Spenser.
THIS GREAT POEM BRINGS ALL
the gems of the earth into its coronet,
and il weaves the flames OF judgment
in It's garland. and pours eternal har-
monies IN its rhythm. Everything this
book touches 1t makes beautiful, from
the plain stones Of the summer thresh-
ing floor, aud the daughters Of Major
filing the trough for the camels, and
the fish-pools Of Hesbon, up to the
Psalmist Draising God with diapdSon OF
storm and whirlwind, and Job leading
forth Orion, Arcturus, and the Pleiades.
It's wonderful poem; and a great
many people read il as they do Thomas
Moore's "Lalla Rookh," and Walter
Scott's Lady OF the Lake" and Ten
nysOn's Charge OF the Light Brigade" "
They sit down, and are so absorbed in
looking at the shells on the shore that
they forget to look of on the great
ocean of Gods mercy aad salvation.
Then there is another class OF per-
sons who come to the Bible as contrO-
versalists. They are enormous Presby-
terians or fierce Baptsts or violent
MethOdists. They cut the Bible 10 suit
their creed, instead OF cutting their
creed to suit the Bible. If the Scrip
lures think as they DO, well; il no, so
much the worse for the Scriptures. The
Bible is merely the milestone on which
they sharpen the diSsecting-knife OF
! 70 q q
eminent IN time Of war comes 10 arm
cries or arsenals for weapons end NUM-
tions. They have declared everlasting
war against all other sects, and they
want so many broadSWords, so many
muskets, so many howitzerS, so many
colum biads, 20 much grape and cannls-
ter, so many feld-pieces with which to
rake the field OF dispute; for they meaa
TO get the victory, though the heavens
be darkened with the smoke and the
earth rent with the thunder. What do
they care shout the religion OF
THE LORD JESUS CHRISTI
I have seen some such men come back
from an ecclesiastical massacre AS
proud Of their achievements as an In
dian warrior boastinR Of the number oil
scalus he has taken. l have more
ADM alton for man who goes forth
with his fists to get the championship
than l have for these theological pu-
giliSts who make our theological maya
ziRes ring with their war cry. There
are men whom seem TO think the only
use Of the sword OF truth is to stick
somebody. There is one passage or the
~ 81 Z q n
all others, aud that Is this: blessed
be the Lord which teacheth my hands
20 war, and my fingers TO fight" Woe
TO us IL we come to Gods word as con-
troversialistS, or as sceptics, or as con-
noisseurs, or as fault-fnders, or merely
as poets.
Those only get into the heart OF Gods
truth who come seeking Christ. Wei
come all such. They will ind aim COM
ing out from behind the curtain Of
prophecy, until he stands in the full
light OF New Testament disclosure,
Jesus the Son OF God. the Saviour OF
the world They will find him in
genealogical table and in chronological
calculation, in poetic stanza and In his
torical narrative, in profound parable
and I'm startling miracle. They viii see
his foot on every sea, and his tears in
the drops OF dew on Hermon, and hear
his voice in the wind, and behold his
words all ablOom In the rslley between
Mount OliVet and Jerusalem. There
are some men who come and walk
around the Temple OF Truth, and
merely see the outside. There are
o. a nd
then go away. There arc others who
come in and look at the pictures, but
they know nothing about the chief at
fractions OF the Bible. 1t is only the
man who comes and knocks at the gate,
saying,
IT WOULD SEE JESUS"
For him the glor.es OF that book open
and he goes in and finds Christ, and
with him peace, pardon, life, comfort,
and heaven. "All In all is Jesus" in the
Bible.
remarked again, Christ is everything
20 the Christian in time VI trouble.
Who has escaped trouble? We must
ali stoop down and drink out OF the
bitter lake. The moss has TO time to
grow on the buckets that conc up out
OF the hearts WELL dripping with tears.
Great trials are upon our tracks as GER
tain as greyhound pack on the scent OF
deer From our hearts in every direc-
zion there are a thousand chords reach
ing out binding Us TO loved ones, aud
ever and anon some Of these tendrils
snap. The winds that cross this sea Of
life are not all a5ait. The clouds that
cross our sky are not feaIhery and