Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1893-1895, 1893-10-16

and the closing prayer.
There are many people who spend the
first prayer in arran ing their apparel
after entrance, and spend the second
! prayer-the long prayer"-iu wishing
it were through. and spend the last prayer
in preparing to start for home. The
most insignificant part of every reli-
gious service is the sermon. The more
important parts are the Scripture les
son and the prayer. The sermon is only
o man talking TO man. The Scripture
| lesson is God talking to man. Prayer is
man talking to God. Oh, if we under
stood the grandeur and the pathos os
this exercise of prayer, instead of being
q dull exercise, we would imagine that
the room was full of divine and angelic
appearances.
But, my friends, the old style of church
will not do the work. We might as well
now try to take all the passengers from
New York to Buffalo by stage coach, or
all the passengers from Albany to Buffa.
10 by canalboat, or to do all the battling
of the world with bow and arrow, as
with the old style of church to meet the
exigepcies of this day. Unless the church
in our day will adapt itself to the time
it will become extinct. The people read
| ing newspapers and books all the week,
in alert, picturesque and resounding
style, will bave no patience with Sabbath
humdrum.
We have no objections to bands and
surplice and all the paraphernalia OF
clerical life, but these things make no
| impression-make no more impression
on the great masses of the people than
the ordinary business suit that you wear
! in Wall street. A tailor cannot make a
a minister. Some of the poorest preach
ers wear the best clothes, and many a
backwoodsman has dismounted from
the saddlebags and in his linen duster
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. Nonew church,
but a church to be the asylum, the in
spiration, the practical sympathy and
the eternal help of the people.
CHURCH DOORS.
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 a 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
out of life, some go stumbling out of
life, some go groaning out of life, some
go cursing ont of life. We want to go
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 everlasting peace. We
do not want to stand doubling and shiv-
ering when we go away from this world.
We want our anticipations aroused to
the highest pitch.
We want to have the exhilaration Of a
dying child in England, the father tell
ing me the story. When he said to her,
"Is the path narrow" she answered
"The path is narrow. 1t is so narrow that
| cannot walk arm in arm with Christ.
!
follow" Through these church gates
set heavenward how many of your friends
and mine have gomez 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 bigger and bright
er assemblage. Some of them We're so
old they could not walk without a cane
or two crutches. Now they have eternal
juvenescence. Or they were so young
they could not walk except as the mater
nal hand guided thsm. Now they bound
with the hilarities celestial
The last time we saw them they were
wasted WIZ 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 / will cross overt Some Of you have
had about enough of the humping and
failing of this life. A draft from the
fountains of heaven would do you good.
Complete release. you could stand very
well. If you got on the other side and
and had permission TO come back, you
would not come. Though you were in
vited to come back and join your friends
on earth, you would say, "No, let me
tarry here until they come. ! shall not
risk going back. Ifaman reaches heaven,
he had better stay there"
Oh, join hands with you this morn
ing in that uplifted splendorl
When the shore Is won at last.
WHO viii count the pillows pasp
In Freybourg, Switzerland, there is
the trunk of tree 400 years old. That
tree was planted to commemorate an
event. About 10 miles from the city
the Swiss conquered the Burgundians'
and a Young man wanted TO take the
tidings 70 the city. He took a tree
branch and ran with such speed the 10
miles that when he reached the city wav.
ING the tree branch he had only strength
10 cry. "Victory" and dropped dead.
The tree branch that be carried was
planted, aud it grew to be great tree
2Ofeet in circumference, and the remains
Of it are there 70 this day.
Nv bearer, when yon have fought
your last battle with sin and death and
he'll and they have been routed In the
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