Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-05-18

wisely. a few months ago, in yonder Capitol,
| dld our chlef executive, when entering on the
arduous duties of his great Office, express his
confident reliance for himself and his country
! upon the all-sufioient aid, ever given to us in
the past. of the Almighty Ruler Of this king
| dom. To 1t. above all else. indebted for
| our material, civil. social and moral prosperity
and blessings. There is not indeed single
individual throughout the whole extent of this
| favored land, be he member of this kingdom or
| not, whose condition has not been vastly i'm
proved and his blessings increased by the in
huence OF our benevolent religion.
| THE SPREAD OF THE KINGDOM.
! Look abroad, too, and see how widely Jesus
now reigns and how rapidly His kingdom is
being extended. All the civilized nations on
the earth acknowledge nominal subsection to
Him and own, in some degree, His authority
| and their superior nlightenment is seen to be
| the ruit of his sway. Tribe after tribe, people
after people. have received and are receiving
| His institutions On the frozen shores of
| Greenland churches are worshipping today in
His name. On the sandy plains Of Africa the
| banner Of Christ is steadily moving on from
| conquest to conquest. The bigoted Brahmins
Of India are heard lifting loud the voice OF
lamentation as they behold their temples of
| abomlnatlon falling at the sound of the gospel
| trumpet. The isles of the Pacific are fast re-
| ceiving His law. And all the signs portend that
| the time is not far distant when the songs of
His believing people. as was said of the martial
airs of England, following the sun and keeping
| company with the hours, shall circle the whole
| earth with one continuous and unbroken strain
| Of praise to the Redeemer"
| PICTURE OF THE FUTURE.
| Here the thing that hath been is the thing
that shall be. The past conquests Of this king
dom, matchless though they have been, are but
| the precursors and earnests Of greater and
| more glorious future triumphs. The Ioftiest
! strains Of revelations are devoted to the cele-
bration of victories yet to be achieved. The
| language OF inspiration is tasked to the utter
most to depict the coming glories the universal
| sway. the heavenly fruitage of the church of
| our Redeemer. ''He goeth forth conquering
| and to conquer;" the last enemy shall be over
come and bound to His chariot wheels. .'Of
| the increase of His kingdom and peace there
| shall be no end. He shall reign from the rivers
| to the ends of the earth. And the ransomed of
| the Lord shall return and come to Zion
| with songs and everlasting joy upon their
heads; they shall obtain JOY and gladness, and
| sorrow and signing shall flee away" .'Thv
gates shall be open continually; they shall not
| be shut day nor night, that men may bring
| into Thee the forces of the Gentiles and
| that their kings may be brought. Violence
shall no more be heard in thy land wasting
nor destruction within thy borders, for thou
| shalt call thy walls salvation and thy gates
| praise. Thy sun shall no more go down. neither
| shall thy moon withdraw itself, for the Lord
shall be thy everlasting light. and the days of
| thy mourning shall be ended
| And SO on and on. the picture is colored.
| tinted and perfected till we are filled and
| thrilled as with a divine ecstasy while we steep
| our souls in the contemplation of its infinite
| beauty and glory. Such then is the destiny
| such the honors that await this kingdom and
| the subjects thereof. When 1 borrow the
| thought from another. when all the pomp and
splendor Of terrestrial thrones shall have
| passed away. when all the brightness Of this
world shall be quenched. when the earth and
| the fruits thereof shall be burned up the moon
| turned into blood and the stars fall from the
heavens as fig tree casteth its untimely fruit.
this empire shall only begin its expanding
progress, Its never retreating march, its ever
| widening circle. your happiness and horizon.
who are its subjects. augmentlng and increas-
Ing with the years OF eternity till men shall
marvel how sin ever had such power as to dim
| the sheen or dilute the splendor or diminish
the attraction of things divine. unseen and
eternal. This, saws Robert Hail. VINO again and
again spoke on the mighty theme. this lisa sub
1ectwhlch can never be exhausted; open all your
hearts, utter the most astonishing eloquence,
call for angels to assist you in celestial songs
and still fresh views will burst upon your
| minds. you Will appear forever only to be at
the beginning OF the theme, only to be stand
| ing at the borders OF Immanuel's land; you will
be called upon to rejoice and again to rejoice
| as YOU speak Of the glores of Christ's kingdom
| and tell OF His founder power"
And now. embracing IN one swift. compre-
uensNe view tue features OF THIS kingdom OF
the Son of God, presented in this imperfect
sketch. may we not successfully challenge the
world to produce anything approximating to it?
What the Roman poet sang of Jupiter we may
truly say OF 1t, mon viget quinquam simile aut
secundum." There is nothing that is like, there
Is nothing that Is second to it.
Plato, the wisest OF the Greclan sages, ap-
| piled all the resources Of his unrivaled genius
| to form the plan of model republic but be-
sides Its other defects it would not work. 1t
proved an impracticable ideal, a philosophc
dream. The practical statesmen, Scion and
Lycurgus framed constitutions that did
work, but they were low in their objects and
narrow tn their spirit. limited in their extern
sion and brief in their duration. Their history
remains to teach us the incapacity OF any mere
man to organize society that shall be elevated
in its object. comprehensive in its spirit. uni
versal In it's extension and enduring in its ex-
istence. Look now at the kingdom whose
features have rapidly ana imperfectv
sketched and remember that it was conceived
and established by Jesus of Nazareth an I'M
| educated Galilean jew who spent but three
years in public life and who was put to death at
the early age of thirty-three. Could the con-
ception Of it have been possible to such an one
| II mere man, and If only man and capable
OF its conception would not its realization have
| seemed less possible, than the widest scheme
that was ever quickened in maniacs brain.
No, no, my hearers. from beginning to end it is
divine. Its conception, its realization its char
dcterlstlcs ltS results, clearly and unmlstaka-
bly, prove that its author is none other than the
Son Of God, the omniposent ruler of heaven
| and earth.
THE TRIUMPHs OF THE CHURCH.
In the light of the truths which we have con-
sidered it is easy to see what are the feelings
| and conduct which we should cherish and ex-
hibit toward the church. 1t is the kingdom of
the Redeemer, the bride Of Christ the society
which trains men for heaven. the only hope of
lost and perishing world. the institution by
| which unto principalities and powers in
| heavenly places is made known the manifold
wisdom OF God. Then delight in its pros
| perity. thankfulness for participation in its
privileges, devotion to its interests, is the
| supremest obligation that rests upon u.s.
Think Of it's heavenly origin, recall its history;
contemplate, in the light streaming from Gods
word. its coming triumphs, its millenial glory.
| its universal extensions see under its beneiicent
sway darkness and sin disappear and light,
joy, holiness and love reign supreme; realize
| that the attainment Of this object, the saliva
ton through His church of a lost race is the
strongest desire in that heart that was pierced
on Calvary; the desire with which it travails
| and Is burdened, and then rejoice and again re-
ioice that you are invited, commanded by the
divine Christ to be coworkers with Himself in
securing these tremendous results.
Do not patriotism beneyOlence philanthropy