Los Angeles herald., 1892-02-08
a uVu1 LII NAlullVhUs
Rev. J. Fl. Collins Sermon to
RailrOaders.
How the Right of Way Was
Secured.
srhe Laying of Ties and Spiking of
Rails.
The Only Route to Take-The Great
Danger OF Getting Side-Tracked.
Everybody Can Travel
This Road.

Rev. J. III. Collins preached last even
ing at the Third Congregational church
TO railroad men on The Gospel Railroad
ms follows:
And an highway shall be there. and way,
and it shall be called, the way OF holiness.-lsa
S5: 8.
have frequently been asked to preach
n sermon to railroad men; while, on the
other hand, ] have been as frequently
Malned that there ia much danger in
what some OF my friends are pleased to
term "class preaching" But | shall
try as best / know how to impress upon
your minds something of Gods love,
and of our duty in response thereto,
nsing, as best can for illustration, the
construction of a railroad. The ideas
suggested by the running of trains
must be reserved for another special
sermon.
The first thing to be done in the con-
struction of railroad is to get the right
of way. 1t is no uncommon thing for
persons, through whose property the
road is to run, to contest its right of
way. God wished to least up high
way Of holiness" running from earth to
heaven, and when his plans were made
known Satan filed contest at every
possible point. The first survey taken
in the plan of Jehovah was for a road to
run from the Garden of Eden to the
gate of the kingdom. The survey in
ciuded q beautiful route among "trees
that were pleasant TO the sight and good
Tor foods beside the wonderful river
shat watered the garden, and then sep
arated into four rivers running in var
ipus directions to water the sand; and
ON that route also were the gold mines
and Quarries of bdellium and onyx stone.
1t was q wonderful route. But Satan
contested its right of way, and succeed
ed In having the contest fled and this
beautiful route of mans innocency, lead
ing from earth to heaven, bad to be
abandoned.
Another survey was made from the
ark as it rested upon the dry land. 1t
waa to be known as the Covenant
route,' but Satan appeared upon the
6cene of operations, entered his protest,
and induced the people to abandon that
route and to try to reach heaven by
means of tower. l can only mention
the survey made from the land of
Canaan to be known as the "Abrahamic
route" and how it was contested; for
we read that "the people did evil in the
sight of God" Then came the prophet
ic route" which ran through the land
of beautiful dreams and visions; but
n hard contest was here waged, and the
court of the world decreed for those
prophets cruel mockings and scourg-
ings, bonds and imprisonments. They
were stoned and sawed asunder and
slain with the sword. They were driven
into the mountains and left there desti-
tute. And still another route was
surveyed from the tabernacle, to be
known as the "Sacrifcial or Priesthood
route" but Satan met this survey also
with contest, and the priests became
corrupt, and their sacrifices were of no
effect.
But finally the time came when God
surveyed route and cast up a highway
of holiness through his own beloved Son
"a route by which mankind could rise
from it's degradation and travel toward
heaven, purifying itself as it went. But
Satan met the proposal of this route with
the most vigorous kind of a contest, and
sought by every possible means to pre-
vent it's completion but in this contest
he met and coped with One who was
more than his equal. He was fairly de-
Eeated, and the road was constructed and
ever since Satan has satisfied himself by
going about whispering to travellers to
eternity, 81 wouldn't go by that route"
He says to the young people, 'It's a
dreary route, and only long-faced, over
pious cranks travel on it," and some of
yon dear young people listen to him.
Beware It is the only route with
happy ending for mankind, notwith-
standing all the allurements of Satan to
the contrary. In Gods love and mercy
he has secured the right of wav, and the
route runs through the valley of eternal
pleasures, and beside the rivers of end
less mercy. On the one hand is the
mount of His blessed presence, and on
the other are the green pastures of His
sustaining grace. Now let us turn to
the construction of the roadbed which
would naturally come after the right of
WAY has been secured.
The foundation of this roadbe0 is laid
in Christ'a self-sacrifcing devotion to
humanity; and the storms of 1000 years
have proven that washout on this
route is an utter lmpossibility. Men
may leave its track and tumble down
it's embankments into the valley of
worldly pleasure or the dark thickets of
iniquity; but the roadbed of Christ's
Belf-sacri6cing devotion to humanity is
still there. l have seen roadbeds for
railroads builded through the great
swamps of Pennsylvania and Ohio,
where great rocks we're dumped into the
mire and clay until solid foundation
WAS assured. And 30 this gospel rail-
rpado has been builded through the
miry swamps of sinful human nature by
the great rocks of Christ's self-sacrific-
ing deeds until now a solid roadbed has
been completed, known to the world as
"a highway of holiness" whereupon
men may journey in perfect safety from
earth to heaven. Not only have the
swamps been builded over but the hill
OF irnpossibilities has been cut down.
The old law was very exacting. Man,
of himself. could not keep it, but Christ
in his devotion kept it, fulfilled it, SIM
plified it and handed it down to us in
such form that it is pleasure and
delight to keep it. While we may meet
some stiff grades on the gospel railroad,
ye1 there are none so steep that we can
not climb them.
The placing of the ties would natu-
rally come next in order, and this part
OF thelwork suggests to my mind faith
In Christ. Of what use would the right
OF way be, even with completed road