The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1892-10-14

epistles Go with the patriarchs until
you meet the evangelists- Rummage
and ransacl< 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 casket. Ex-
anime the slzylights- Forever be ask
ing questions. Put to a higher use
than was intended the Oriental prov
erb: "Hold all the skirts of thy man
tie 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 enehantiug. You sit on deck, and
feel as If the last fash of beauty must
exhaust the scene; but in a moment
there is a turn of the river, which
covers up the former view with more
defiant castles, and holder bluffs, vine
wreathed, and grapes so ripe that IL
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 melt
ing into the river like joys swallowed
in the bosom of great gladness. And
when night begins to throw it's black
mantle over the shoulder of the hills,
and you are approaching disem-
barkation at 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 this river OF Gods word is
not straight stream, but a winding
splendor-at every turn new wonders
to attract, still ripper vintage pressing
to the brink, and crowded with castles
of strength (Stolzenfels and Johannis-
berger as nothing compared with the
strong tower into which the righteous
run and are saved), and our disembark-
alton 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
Gem esaret, twelve miles by six, but
boundless, and in any one direction
you can salon forever Why, then,
confine yourself to d short psalm or to
O few verses of an epistle? The
largest fish are not near the shore.
Hoist all sail to the winds of Heaven.
Take hold of both oars and pull away
BE like some of 0the whalers that went
out from New Bedford or Portsmouth,
to be gone for two or three years. Yea,
calculate on a lifetime voyage. You do
not want to land until you land in
Heaven. Sail away, oh We mariners,
for eternity! Launch out into the
deep. ~
The text is appropriate toall Chris
tians of shallow experience. Doubts
and fears have IN our day been almost
elected to the parliament of Christian
graces. Some consider it bad sign
not to have any doubts Doubts and
fears are not signs of health, but
testers and carbuncles. You have a
valuable horse or farm. 1t is suggested
that the title is not good. You employ
counsel. You have the deeds examined.
You search the record for mortgages,
judgments and liens. You are not
satisfied until you have 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 matterl Why do
you not go to the records and fiud 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 throughout library to find one
Robert McCheyne, or one Edward Pay
son, or one Harlan Page. The time
will come when we will find half a
dozen of them sitting in the same seat
with us The grace of God can make a
great deal better men than those have
mentioned. Christians seem afraid they
viii get heterodox by going too far.
They do not believe in Christian per-
lection. There is no danger of your
being perfect for some time yet. l will
keep watch and give you notice in time
il you get too near perfection for the
safety of your theology. One-half of
you Christians are simply stuck in the
mud. Why not cut loose from every
thing but God? Give. not to Him
that formal petition made up OF
''O's"-"O Lordr' this, and 80
Lord!'' that. When people are cold,
and have nothing to say to God they
strew their prayers with "O's?" and
Forever and ever, amen" and things
to fillup. Tell God what you want,
with the feeling that He IS ready to
give it, and believing that you will re-
ceive, and you shall have it. Shed that
old prayer you have been making these
ten years. 1t is high time that you out
grew it. Throw it aside with your old
ledgers, and your old hats, and your
old shoes Take review of your pres
ent wants, of you present sins, and of
your present blessings With a sharp
blade cut away you past half-ard-half
Christian life, and with new deter
mination, end new plans, and new ex-
pectations, launch out into the deep.
The text is appropriate to all who
are engaged in Christian work. The
church of God has been fishing along
the shore We set our net in a good,
calm place, and in sight of fine
chapel. and we go down every Sunday
to see IL 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 a log; no fish. He stands in
the sunlight and casts tha-line; but no
fish. He goes up by the mill-dam and
stands behind the bank, where the fish
can not see him, and he hardly dropped
the hook before the cork goes under.
The fish come to him as fast as he
can throw them ashore. In other
words, in our Christian work, why do
we not go where the fish are? It is