Connecticut western news., 1893-11-30

the darkness of your souls might be broken up, and that by one quick, over whelming, instantaneous flash of illumi- nation you might be brought into the light and the liberty of the sons of God!
 RELIGION DEFINED.
 You see that religion is different thing from what some of you people sup posed. You thought 1t was decadence. You thought religion was maceration. You thought it was highway robbery; that it struck one down and left him half dead; that it plucked out the eyes; that it plucked out the plumes of the soul; that it broke the wing and crushed the beak as it came clawing with it's black talons through the air. No, that is not religion.
 What is religion? It is dividing the spoil It is taking a defenseless soul and panoplying it for eternal conquest. It is the distribution of prizes by the kings hand-every medal stamped with a coronation. It is an collaboration. an expansion. It is imparadisation. It IS enthronement. Religion makes man master of earth, of death and hell. Itgoes forth to gather the medals of victory won by Prince Emanuel, and the diadems of heaven, and the glories of realms ter restrial and celestial, and then, after ranging all worlds for everything that is resplendent, it divides the spoil.
 What was it that James Turner, the famous English evangelist was doing when in his dying moments he said: "Christ is alll Christ is all" Why, he was entering into light. He was round ing the Cape of Good Hope. He was di- viding the spoil. What was the aged Christian Quakeress doing when at 30 years of age she arose in the meeting one day and said: ''The time of my departure is come. My grave clothes are falling off," She was dividing the spoil.
 She longed with wings to fly away
 A And mix with that eternal day.
 What is Daniel now doing, the lion tanner? And Elijah, who was drawn by the flaming coursers? And Paul, the rat ting of whose chains made kings quake? And all the other victims of flood and fire and wreck and guillotine-where are they? Dividing the spoil.
 Ten thousand times ten thousand,
 In sparkling raiment bright,
 The armies of the ransomed saints
 Throng up the steeps of light.
 'Tis finished, all is finished,
 Their fight with death and sin.
 Lift high your golden gates
 And let the victors..
 Oh, what a grand thing it is to. be a Christian! We begin now to divide the spoil, but the distribution will not be completed to all eternity. There is a poverty struck soul, there is business despoiled soul, there is sin struck soul, there is a bereaved soul-why do younot come and get the spoil of Christian character, the comfort, the joy, the peace, the salvation that am sent to of- fer to you in my Masters name?
 Though your knees knock together in weakness, though your hands tremble in fear, though your eyes rain tears of uncomfortable weeping-come and get the spoil. Rest for all the weary. Par don for all the guilty. Rescue for all the bestormed. Life for all the dead. I verify believe that there are some who have come in here downcast because the world is against them, and because they feel God is against them, who will go away saying:
 I came to Jesus as I was,
 Weary and worn and sad;
 1 found in him a resting place,
 And he has made me glad.
 Though you came in children of the world, you may go away heirs of heaven. Though this very autumnal morning you were devouring the prey, now, all worlds witnaSSino vOu may divide the gDOil