The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-04-15

erdlly endS tne usefulness OF q pastor,
how can any one preside at the building
of three churches?' But before twenty
four hours had passed we were COM
PEELED to cry ont, with Peter of my text
''Let us build three tabernacles" We
must have home somewhere.
The old site had ceased to be the CEN
ter of our congregation, and the center
of our congregation, as near as we could
find it, is where we now stand
Having selected the spot, should we
build on it barn or a taber-
nacle, beautiful and commodious? Our
common sense, as well as our religion,
commanded the latter. But what push,
what industry, what skill, what self
sacrifice, what faith in God were neces-
sary. Impediments and hindrances
without number were thrown in the
way and had it not been for the perse-
verence of our church officials and the
practical help of many people and the
prayers of millions of good souls in all
parts of the earth and the blessings of
Almighty God the work would not have
been done. But it is done and all good
their hearts, if they do not utter it with
their lips: How amiakle are Thy
tabernacles, o, Lord of Hosts" On the
third Sabbath of last April this church
was dedicated,
During these past years have learned
two or three things. Among others 1
have learned that ''all things work to-
gether for good" My mode of preach
ing has sometimes seemed to stir the
hostilities of all earth and hell. Feel
ing called upon fifteen years ago to ex-
plore underground New York city life
that might report the evils to be COM
batted l took with me two elders of my
church and New York police commits
sioner and a policeman, and l explored
and reported the horrors that needed
removal and the allurements that endan-
gered our young men. There came upon
me an outburst of assumed Indignation
that frightened almost everybody but
myself. That exploration put into my
church thirty or forty newspaper cor
respondents from north, south, east and
west, which opened for me new avenues
otherwise never would have been
opened. Years passed on and preached
a series of sermons on amusements, and
a false report of what l did say-and
one of the sermons said to have been
preached by me was not mine in a
single wOrd-rouSed a violence that
threatened me with poison and dirk
and pistol and other forms of extin-
guishment, until the chief of Brooklyn
police, without any suggestion from
me, took possession of the church with
twenty-four policemen to see that no
harm was done. That excite
ment opened many doors, which L
entered for preaching the gospel. After
awhile came an ecclesiastical trial, in
which | was arraigned by people who
did not like the way did things, and
although l was acquitted of all the
charges, the contest shook the American
church. That battle made me more
friends than anything that ever hap
pened and gave me Christendom and
more than Christendom for my weekly
audience. On the demolition of each
church, we got better and larger
church, and not disaster, not Carl
cature, not a persecution, not an assault
during all these twenty-three years,
but turned out for our advantage, and
ought not to believe that AL things
work together for good?" HOsannah!
Another lesson / have learned during
these twenty-thrce years is that it is not
necessary to preach error or pick flaws
in the old Bible in order to get an audi
ence. The old Book, without any fixing
up, is good enough for me, and higher
criticism, as it is called, means lower
religion. Higher criticism is another
form of infidelity, and its disciples will
believe less and less, until many of them
will land in nowhere, and become the
worshipers of an eternal "What-is-it?"
The most of these high critics
seem to be seeking notoriety by pitch
ing into the Bible. 1t is such a brave
thing to strike your grandmother. The
old gospel put in modern phrase, and
adapted to all the wants and woes of
have found the mightiest
magnet, and we have never lacked an
audience. Next to the blessing of my
own family account the blessing that
l have always had a great multitude of
people to preach to. That old gospel
have preached to you these twenty
three years of my Brooklyn passionate,
and that old gospel will preach till
die, and charge my son, who is on the
way to the ministry, to preach it after
me, for | remember Paul's thunderbolt:
''If any man preach any other doctrine,
let him be accursed."
And now, as 1 stand here on my twen-
ty-third anniversary, 1 see two audi
ences. The one is made up of all those
who have worshiped with us in the
past, but have been translated to higher
realms. What children-too fair and
too sweet and too lovely for earth, and
the Lord took them, but they seem pres
ent to-day. The Group has gone out of
the swollen throat, and the pallor from
the cheek, and they have on them the
health and radiance of Heaven. Hail
groups of glorified children! How glad
| am to have you come back to US to-day!
And here sit those aged ones, who de-
parted this life leaving an awful vacan-
cy in home and church. Where are
your stats, and where are your gray
locks, and where are your STOPPING
shoulders, We blessed old folks? ''Oh,"
they say, I'VE are all young men again,
and the bath in the river from under
the throne has made US agile and bound
ing"
In the place from which we come
they use no stats, but sceptersr Hail,
fathers and mothers in Israel; how glad
we are to have you come back to greet
US. But the other audience l see in
is made up of all those to