The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1893-10-27

icai life; but these things make no I'm.
pression-make no more impression on
the great masses of the people than
the ordinary business suit that You
wear in Wall street 4 tailor cannot
make minister. Some of the poorest
preachers wear the best clothes; and
many backwoodsman has dis
mounted from the saddle-bags, and in
his linen buster preached sermon
that shook earth and Heaven with its
Christian eloquence. No new gospel,
only the old gospel in a way suited to
the time. No new church, but church
to be the asylum, the inspiration, the
practical sympathy and the eternal
help of the people.
But while half of the doors of the
church are to be set open toward this
world. the other half of the doors of
the church must be set open toward
the next. You and | tarry here only
brief space. We want somebody to
teach us how to get out of this life at
the right time and in the right way.
Some fall ont of life, some go stumb-
ling out of life, some go grooming out
of life, some go cursing out of life. We
want to 60 singing, rising, rejoicing,
triumphing. We want half the doors
of the church set in that direction. We
want half the prayers that way, half
the sermons that way. We want to
know how to get ashore from the tumult
of this world into the land of everlast-
ing peace. We do rot want to stand
doubting and shiverinG when we
go away from this world; we want our
anticipations aroused to the highest
pitch. We want to have the eXhilara-
ton of u dying child in England, the
father telling me the story. When he
said to her: us the path narrow
she answered: The path is narrow; it
is so narrow that cannot walk arm in
arm with Christ, so Jesus goes ahead
and He says. Mary. follow" Through
these church gates set heavenwdrd how
many of your friends and mine have
gone? The last time they Were out of
the house they came to church. The
earthly pilgrimage ended at the pillar
of public worship, and then they
marched out to a bigger and brighter
assemblage. Some of them were so old
they could not walk without cane or
two crutches; now they have eternal
juvenescence. Or they were so young
they could not walk except as the ma
ternal hand guided them; now they
bound with the hilarities celestial.
The last time we saw them they were
wasted with malarial or pulmonic dis
order; but now they have no fatigue,
and no difficulty of respiration in the
pure air of Heaven How | wonder
when you and l will cross over! Some
of you have had about enough of the
humping and failing of this life. a
draught from the fountains of Heaven
would do you good. Complete release
You could stand very we'll If you got
on the other side, and had permission
to come back, you would not come.
Though you were invited to come back
and join your friends on earth, you
would say: mo, let me tarry here I'M
til they come; I shall not risk going
back; if man reaches Heaven he had
better stay here"
Oh, join hands with you this morn
ing in that uplifted splendOr.
When the shore is won at last,
Who will count the pillows past'
In Freybourg, Switzerland, there is
the trunk of tree 400 years old. That
tree was planted to commemorate an
event About ten miles from the city
the Swiss conquered the Burgundians,
| and young man wanted to take the
tidings to the city. He took d tree
branch and ran with such speed the ten
miles, that when he reached the city
waving the tree branch. he had only
strength to cry, Victory" and
dropped dead. The tree branch that
he carried was planted, and it
grew to be great tree twenty feet in
circumference, and the remains of it
are there to this day. My hearers, when
you have fought your last. battle with
sin and death and hell, and they have
been routed in the conflict, it will be
| joy worthy of celebration. You will
| fly to the city and cry Victory" and
drop at the feet of the great King.
Then the palm branch of the earthly
race will be planted to become the out
branching tree of everlasting rejoicing.
When shall these ewes thy heaven built walls
| And pearlv gates behold
! Thy bulwarks with salvation strong,
| And streets with shining gold