Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1892-03-05

Again, my subject impresses me with
the fact that religion IL q surprise to
anyone that gets It This story OF the
new religion In Jerusalem and OF the
glory of King Solomon, who WINS q
type Of Christ story rolls on and
on, and Is told by every traveller COM
ing back from Jerusalem. The news
goes on the wing of every ship and with
every caravan, and you know q story
enlarges as it is retold and by the time
that story gets down into the southern
Arabia Felix and tho queen of Sheba
hears II, 1t must be tremendous story.
And yet this queen declares in regard
to It, although she had heard 1t 30 much
and had her nnticipstions raised so
high, the half-the half was not told
her.
So religion is always surprise to
any one that gets 1t. The story OF
grace-an old story. Apostles preached
il with rattle Of chain; martyrs de-
clared IL with arm of FIRE; death beds
have affirmed It with visions OF glory,
and ministers of religion have sounded
it through the lanes, and the high
ways. and the chapels and the cs.he-
drals. 1t has been cut into stone with
chisel, and spread on the canvass with
pencil, and it has been recited in the
doxology Of great congregations. And
vet when a man first comes to the pal
ace Of Gods mercy, and to see the
royalty of Christ and tho wealth OF
this banquet and the luxuriancc OF
His attendants, and the loneliness Of
His face, and the Joy of His service. he
exclaims with prayers, with tears,
with signs, with triumphs: THE half
the half was not told me"
appeal to those in this house who
are Christians Compare the idea you
had of the joy Of the Christian life be-
fore you became Christian with APP
probation of that Joy you have now,
since you have become q Christian,
and you are willing to attest before
angels and men that you never in the
days Of your spiritual bondage had any
appreciation Of what was to come.
You are ready to-day to answer, and
il gave you an opportunity in the
midst of this assemblage, You would
speak out and say in regard to the dis
coveries you have made OF the mercy
and the grace and the goodness OF God:
1.-THE half-the half was not told mel!
When we hear great deal about the
good time that is coming to this world,
when it is to be girded with salvation.
Holiness on the bells of horses. The
lions name patted by the hand OF a
babe. Ships of Tarshish bringing car
goes for Jesus. and the hard, dry, bar
rem winter bleached, storm-scarred,
thunder-split rock breaking into floods
of bright water Deserts into which
dromedaries thrust their nostrils be-
cause they were afraid of the simeon
deserts blooming into carnation and
silver tipped lilies. 1t is the old story.
Everybody tells it. Isaiah told it, John
told il, Paul told it, Ezekiel told it,
Luther told it Calvin told it, John Mil
ton told it-everybody tellsit; and yet
and vet when the midnight shall fly the
hills and Christ shall marshal his great
army, and China, dashing her idols into
the dust shall hear the voice of God and
wheel into line, and India, destroying
her iuggernaut and snatching up her
little children from the Ganges, shall
hear the voice of God and wheel into
line, and vine covered Italy and all the
nations of the earth shall hear the
voice OF God and fall into line, then the
church, which has been toiling and
struggling through the centuries, robed
and garlanded like bride adorned for
her husband, shall put aside her veil
and look up into the face of her Lord
and King and say: 1.-THE half-the
half was not told mel"
Well, there is coming q greater sur
prise to every Christian-a greater sur:
prise than anything l have depicted.
Heaven is an old story. Everybody
talks about it. There is hardly a
hymn in the hymn book that does not
refer to it Children read about it in
their Sunday school books Aged men
put on their spectacles to study it We
saw it is a harbor from the storm. We
call it our home. We say it is the
house Of many mansions
We weave together all sweet beauti-
full, delicate, exhilarant words; we
weave them into letters, and then we
spell it out in rose and lily and anna
ranth. And yet that place is going to
be surprise to the most intelligent
Christian. Like the queen OF Sheba,
the report has come to us from the far
country. and many of us have started.
It is desert march, but we urge on
the camels. What though our feet be
blistered by the way? We are hasten
ing to the palace. We take all our
loves and hopes and Christian ambi-
tions, Us frakincense and mYrrh and
cassia to the Great King. We must not
rest We must not halt The night is
coming on aud it is not safe out here in
the desert. Urge on the csmels. see
/ IL no