The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1892-08-09

hLesses God for throwing so cheap
light through the broken window pane
of his cabin, and to the sick 1t seems
like light from the other shore that
bounds this great deep of human pain
and woe. II the sun be like q song, full
and loud and poured forth from braSen
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
sea! No mother ever more lovingly
watched a sick cradle than this pale
watcher OF thesky bends over the weary,
heartsick, sluInbering. earth, singing TO
1t silvery music, while It b rocked in
the cradle of the spheres
'.PAIR AS TIE NOON"
Now, says my text, who is she, fair
as the moouY' Our answer Is the church.
Like the moon, she is borrowed hight.
She gathers up the glory of 8 Saviour's
sufferings, q SSviour's death, a Saviour's
resurrection. Saviour-s ascension, and
pours that light ON palace and dungeon,
ON squalid heathenism and elaborate
skepticisn, ON widows tears and mar
tyr's robe of fame, on weeping peui-
tence and loud mouthd eorn.
She Is the only institution today that
gives any light TO our world Into her
portals the poor come and get the SYM
pathy of a once pillovless Christ, the
bereaved come and see the bottle IN
which God saves all our tears, and the
captives come, and ON the sharp corners
Of her affairs dash off their chains, and
the thirsty coneand put their cup under
the Rock of'Ages," which poars forth
from its srnitten side living water, spark
the throne of God and the Lamb.
Blessed the bell that calls her worship
ers to prayer. Blessed the water in
which her members are baptized. Bless
ed the wine that gtoTs IN her sacra-
mental cups. Blessed the songs on winch
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 unharIDed, and comes out calm and
beautiful ON the other side, so the
church of God has gone through ell
the storms of this worlds persecution
and come ort uninjured, no worse for
the fact that Robespierre cursed it
and Voltaire caricatuFed it, and Tom
Paine sneeFed at it, and all the forces
of darkness have bomharded it. Not
like some baleful comet shooting across
the sky. scattering terror and dismay
among the nations, but above the long
bowling night of the worlds wretched-
ness the Christian church has made her
mild way, "Fair as the moon"
take step further in my subject
Clear us the snD." After a season of
storm or fog, how you are thrilled when
the sun comes out at noondayi The
1nists 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 heak pounding the bark, the chat
ter of the squirrel ON tho rail, the call of
hawk out of clear sky makes you
thankful for the sunshine which makes
all the world so busy and so glad The
same sun which In the morning kindled
cnnfaSratious among the castles of
cloud Scoops down 10 paint the lily
white and the buttercUp yellow and the
forYetmenot bluA.
WHAT CAN RESIST THB SUE
What can resist the sun? Light for
vOy8ger On the deep light for shepherds
guarding the ftocks afeld, 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
consuming captive, light for the smooth
brow of childhood and the dim vision of
the octogenarian, light for queens
cuT0net and sewing girls media "Let
there he EgEt."
Now, says my text, '.Whzo rs she that
looheth forth clear as the sum- Our an
swer is, the church. You have been go
ing along a road before daybreak, and
on one side you thought You saw a hon,
and on the other side yoa thought you
saw a goblin of the darkness, but when
the sun came ont you found these were
harmless apparitions. Aud 1t is the
great mission of the church Of Jesus
Christ to come forth ''clear as the Sui, .
to ilIuInine all early darkness, 20 ex-
plain. as far as possible, all mystery, and
70 make the world radiant in its bright
ness; and that which yUu thought WIS
an aroused lion is found out 10 be a
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 opt of paradise is an angel of
light 70 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 Ian
tern or lighthouse. You are safely en-.
chored within the veil. Oh. snn Of the
church. shine on until there is no sof7
row to soothe, no tears to wipe away,
noshackles to break. no more souls TO
be redeemed! Ten Thousand hands Of
sin have attempted to eXtinguish tie
lamps on her affairs, but they are quench-
less. and to silence her pulpits, but the
thunder would leap and tine Lightning
would flame.
The church OF God will Yet come To
full meridian, and in that day all tine
mountains of the world will be sacred
mountains, touched with the glory Of