The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-08-19

| gives any llgnJ 10 our world 1nJO mel
portal the poor come and get the sym
pathy of once pillowless Christ, the
bereaved come and see the bottle in
which God saves all tears and the cap
tives come, and on the sharp corners 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 worship
ers to prayer. Blessed the water in
which her members are baptized.
Blessed the wine that glows in her
sacramento 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 ont uninjured, no worse for
! the fact that Bobespierre cursed it, and
Voltaire caricatured it, and Tom Paine
sneered at it, and all the forces ofdarlz-
ness have bombarded 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 wretchedness the
Christian church has made her mild
way, fair as the moon"
take 4 step further in my subject
''Clear as the sun" After a season of
storm or fog, how you are thrilled
when the sun comes out at MONDAY! The
mists travel up hill above hill, mount
ain 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 4 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 llindled confiagra tons among
the castles OF cloud, stoops down to
paint the lily white, and the butter
cup yellow, and the forget-me-not blue.
What can resist the sun? Light for
voyager on the deep; light for shep-
herds guarding the fiocl1s aheld; light
for the poor who have no lamps to burn:
light Tor 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 cOrOaet and sewing girl 5 needle.
Let there be light"
Now. saws my text: ''Who is she that
lool1eth forth clear as the sun?" Our
answer is, the church You have been
going along n road before davbrealS.
and on one side you thought you saw
lion. and and on the other side you
thought you saw a goblin of the dark
ness but when the sun came out you
found these were harmless apparitions
And it Is the great mission of the church
of Jesus Christ to rome forth clear as
the sun" 70 Hume all earthly darkness,
to explain, as far as possible. all mystic
~, and TO make the world radiant
in its brightness: and that which you
thought was an aroused lion Is found
out to be a slumbering lamb: ana the
sepulchral gates of Heaven; and that
which you supposed was a flaming
sword 10 keep You ont 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. O. 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 10 eXtin-
guish the lamps on her affairs, but they
are Quenchless; and to silence her pull
pits, but the thunder would leap aud
the lightning would flame.
The church OF God Will yet 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 islands of
the sea be crowned with apocalyptic
visions like Patmos, and all the cities
be sacred as Jerusalem, and all gardens
luXuriant as Paradise with God walk
ing. in the cool OF the day. Then the
chorals OF grace will drown out all the
anthems of earth. Then the throne of
Christ will overtop all earthly author
ity. Then the crown of Jesus viii out
flame all other corcnets. Sin destroyed.
Death dead. Hell defeated. The
church triumphant All the darkness
of sin, all the darkness of trouble, all
the darkness of earthly mystery, hieing
themselves to their dens- Clear as
the sun, clear as the SUM-"
Further, Terrible as an army with
banners" / take one more step in this
subject and say that if you were placed
for the defense of feeble town, and
great army were seen coming over the
hills with flying ensigns, then you
would be able to get some idea of the
terror that Will strike the hearts of the
enemies of God when the church at last
marches on like ''an army with ban
ners."
You know there IS nothing that ex-
cites a soldiers enthusiasm so much as
an old flag. Many man almost dead,
q glimpse Of the national en-
sign, has sprung 10 his feet, and
started again to the battle. Now, my
friends, don't want you to think OF the
church OF Jesus Christ as a defeated in
as the victim of infdel sar-
casm, something to be kicke and CURED
and trampled on through all the ages
of the world. It is ''an army with ban
ners." 1t has an inscription and colors
such as never stirred the hearts of any
u. l.,r-., 90.