The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-10-14

mainl Try every path. Plunge in al
the prophecies, and come out at the
epistles- Go with the patriarchs, until
you meet the evangelists Rummage
and ransack, as children who are not
satisfied when they come to a new
house, until they know what is in every
room, and into what every door opens.
Open every jewel casl1et. Examine the
skylights. Forever be asking ques-
tions. Put to a higher use than was
intended the Oriental proverb: Hold
all the skirts of thy mantle extended
when Heaven is raining gold"
Passing from Bonn to Coblentz on
the Rhine, the scenery is comparatively
tame. But from Coblentz to Mayence
it is enchanting. You sit on deck, and
feel that the last flash of beauty must
exhaust the scene; but in moment
there is turn Of the river, which COW
ers up the former view with more lux
uriant vineyards, and more defiant cas-
ties, and holder bluffs, vine wreathed,
and grapes so ripe that if the hills be
touched they would bleed their rich
life away into the bowls of Bingen and
Hockheimer. Here and there, there
are streams of water melting into the
river, like smaller joys swallowed in the
bosom of great gladness And when
night begins to throw its black mantle
over the shoulder of the hills and
you are approaching Decentralization at
the Mayence, the lights along the shore
fairly bewitch the scene with their
beauty, giving one thrill that he feels
but once, yet that lasts him forever.
So the river of Gods word is not
straight stream, but winding splendor
at every turn new wonders to attract,
still ripe vintage pressing to the brink
and crowded with castles of strength
(Stol zenfefs and Johaunisberger as
nothing comoared with the strong tower
into which the righteous run and are
saved), and our Decentralization at last
in the evening, amidst the lights that
CLEAN from the shore of Heaven The
trouble is that the vast majority of
Bible voyagers stop at Coblentz, where
the chief glories begin.
The sea of Gods word is not like
Gennesaret, twelve miles by six, but
boundless, and in any one direction you
can sail on forever Why, then, con-
fine yourself to short psalm or to a
few verses of an epistle? The largest
fish are not near the shore. Hoist all
sails to the winds of heaven. Take
hold of the oars and pull away. Be like
some of the whalers that went out from
New Bedford or Portsmouth to be gone
two or three years. Yes, calculate on
a lifetime voyage. You do not want to
land until you land in Heaven. Sail
away, o We mariners, for eternity!
Launch out into the deep.
The text is appropriate to all Chris
tians of shallow experience. Doubts
and fears have in our day been almost
elected to the parliament of Christian
graces. Some consider it a bad sign
not to have any doubts Doubts and
fears are not signs of health, but testers
and carbuncleS You have a valuable
house or farm. 1t is suggested that the
title is not good. You employ counsel.
You have the deed examined. You
search the record for mortgages, judg-
ments and liens. You are not satisfied
until you have a certificate signed by
the great seal of the state, assuring you
that the title is good. Yet how many
leave their title to Heaven an undecided
matter! Why do you not 60 to The records
and find out? Give yourself no rest,
day nor night, until you can read your
title clear to mansions in the skies.
Christian character is to come up
to higher standards. We have now to
hunt through our library to find one
Robert McCheyne, or one Edward Pay
son, or one Harlan Page. The time
will come when he will find half
dozen of them sitting in the same seat
with us. The grace of God can make
great deal better man than those l
have mentioned. Christians seem
afraid they will get heterodox by going
too far. They do not believe in Chris
tan perfection. There is no danger of
your being perfect for some time yet.
| will keep watch and give you notice
in time if you get too near perfection
for the safety of your theology. One
half of you Christians are simply stuck
from everything but God? Give not
to Him that formal petition made
up of .''Os'-''O LordI'' this, and 20
Lord" that. When people are cold and
have nothing to say to God they strew
their PRAYER with 90" and Forever
and ever, amen" and things to fill up.
Tell God what you want, with the feel
I. Ia " 70 - no
lieve that you will receive, and you
shall have it. Shed that old prayer you
have been making these ten years. 1t
is high time that you outgrew it.
Throw it aside with Your old ledgers
aud your old hats and your old shoes
Take review of your present wants.
of your present sins and of your pres
ent blessings. With n sharp blade cut
away your past half-and-half Christian
life. and with new determination and
and new plans and new expectations
launch out into the deep.
The text is appropriate 70 all who are
engaged in Christian work. The church
of God has been fishing along the shore.
We set our net in 4 good, clean place,
anu III A-t VI a LhO NAidP PCT anu VIC ~
down every Sunday to see if the fish
have been wise enough to come into our
net. We might learn something from
that boy with his hook and line. He
throws his line from the bridge; no fish
He sits down on log; no fish. He stands
in the sunlight and casts his line, but
no fish. He goes up by the mill dam
and stands behind the bank where the
fish cannot see him aad he has hardly
dropped his hook before the cork goes
under. The fish come to him as fast as