Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1892-11-10


gun, but when they start for the annual
fight southwark they take their places
midheaven and go straight as an arrow to
the mark. The longest rifle that was ever
brought to shoulder cannot reach them.
Would to God that we were as wise as the
stork and crane in our flight heavenwardl
We fly so low that we are within easy
range of the world, the flesh and the devil.
We are brought down by temptations that
ought not to come within mile of reach
Ing us.
Oh, for some of the faith Of George Mul-
Ter, of England, and Alfred Cookman,
once of the church militant, now of the
church triumphant So poor is the type
of piety in the church Of God now that
men actually caricature the iden that there
is any such thing as a higher life. Moles
never did believe in eagles. But, my breth-
ren, because we have not reached these
heights ourselves, shall we deride the fact
that there are any such heightsS
A man was once talking to Brunei, the
famous engineer, about the length of the
railroad from London to Bristol. The en-
gineer said: ut is not very great. We
shall have after awhile steamer running
from England to New York. They laughed
him to scorn, but we have gone so far
now that we have ceased to laugh at any
thing as impossible for human achieve
ment. Then, ask, is anything impossible
for the Lordi | do not believe that God
exhausted all his grace in Paul and Lati-
mer and Edward Payson. believe there
are higher points of Christian attainment
to be reached in the future ages of the
Christian world.
You tell me that Paul went up to the
tiptop of the Alps of Christian attainment.
Then tell you that the stork and crane
for free flying. We go out and we con-
quer our temptations by the grace of God
and lie down. On the morrow those tempta-
tions rally themselves and attack us, and
by the grace of God we defeat them again;
but staying all the time In the old encamp-
ment we have the same old battles to fight
over. Why not whip out our temptations,
| and then forward march, making one raid
| through the enemy's country, stopping
| not until we break ranks after the last vic
toryi
Do, my brethren, let us have some novelty
of combat at any rate by changing, by 60
ing on, by making advancement, trading
| off our stale prayers about sins we ought
to have quit long ago, going on toward
| higher state of Christian character, anC.
routing out sins that we have never thought
| of yet. The fact is, il the church of God,
| if we, as individuals, made rapid advance
ment in the Christian life, these stereo-
typed prayers we have been making for ten
or fifteen years would be as Inappropriate
to us as the shoes, and the hats and the
coats we wore ten or fifteen years ago. Oh,
for higher fight in the Christian life
the stork and the crane in their migration
teaching us the lessonl
Dear Lord, and shall we ever live.
At this poor dying ratio
Our love SO faint so cold 10 thee,
| And thine to US so great2
TIER DAGGER IN DELAY.
| Again, | remark that the birds of the
air are wiser than we, because they know
when to start. If you should go out now
and shout. Stop, storks and cranes; don't
be in hurry" they would say: 'No, we
cannot stop; last night we heard the roar
ing in the woods bidding us away, and the
shrill flute Of the north wind has sounded
the retreat. We must go. We must CO."
So they gather themselves into companies,
and turEing not aside from storm or noun
tain top or shock of musketry, over land
and sea, straight as an arrow to the mark,
they CO. And if you come out this morn
\ ing with sack of corn and throw it in the
fields and try to get them to stop, they are
80 far up they would hardly see it. They
are on their way south. You could not
stop them.
Oh, that we were as wise about the best
time to start for God and heavenl We
say: "Wait until it is little later in the
season of mercy. Wait until some of
these green leaves of hope are all dried up
and have been scattered. Wait until next
year" After awhile we start, and it is
too late, and we perish in the way when
Gods wrath is kindled but little. There
are, you know, exceptional cases where
birds have started too late, and in the
morning you have found them dead on the
snow. And there are those who have per
ished half way between the world and
Christ. They waited until the last sick,
ness, when the mind was gone, or they
were on the express train going at forty
miles an hour, and they came to the bridge
and the "draw was up" and they went
down. How long to repent and prayi
Two seconds! Two seconds To do the
work of a lifetime and to prepare for the
vast eternity in two secondsl
THE SOUL GETS ITS WARNING.
I was reading of an entertainment giver
in kings court, and there were musicians
there with elaborate pieces of music
After awhile Mozart came and began tt
play, and he had blank piece of paper be
fore him, and the king familiarly looked
over his shoulder and said: What are you
playing? l see no music before you
And Mozart put his hand on his brow, a:
much as to say, II am improvising." Il
was very well for him, but oh, my friends
we cannot extemporize heavenl If we de
not get prepared in this. world, we will
never take part in the orchestral harmo
MES of the saved. Oh, that we were as wist
as the crane and the stork, flying away
flying away from the tempest!
Some of you have felt the pinching fros
of sin. You feel it today. You are no
happy. look into your faces, and know
you are not happy. There are voices within
your soul that will not be silenced, telling
you that you are sinners, and that withou
the pardon of God you are undone forever
What are you going to do, my friends, will
the accumulated transgrcssions of this life
timer Will you stand still and let the ava
lanche tumble over you? Oh, that 20,
would go away into the warm heart o
Gods mercy! The southern grove, redo
lent with magnolia and cactus, neve
waited for northern focks as God ha
waited for you, saying: Il have loved the
with an everlasting love. Come unto me
all We who are weary and heavy laden, ant
will give you rest"
Another frost is bidding you away-it i
the frost Of sorrow. Where do you liv,
nows "Ok," you say, II have moved.
Why did you move? You say, II dom