The Sully County watchman. (Clifton, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1894, 1893-01-07

1913 and on, we are told that God by
means of dream broadened the
mind Of the Apostle Peter, so that he
felt that Christ was to be preached to
GENTLE as well as Jew. Peter was
sectarian, and believed none were or
could be saved except of his kind.
God used to dream to dispel this
disparity. John Wesley, like Peter,
was inclined to believe that none
save his church-kind would or could
be saved. All Methodists saved,
all others lost. But dream,
one night, transported him in
its uncertain wanderings, to
hell. The denominational Wesley
asked earnestly: "Are there any
Roman Catholics here: Yes"
replied the gate-keeper. "Any Epis-
copalians?" eyes" ANY Presby-
terians?" eyes" "Any Congregations
alists?" Still the answer, "Yes."
"Any Baptists?" eyes" And now
Wesley was ready for his anticipated
climax. "Any Methodists?" To his
great surprise chagrin, came the
usual Yes In the unaccOuntable
method Of dreams he was at once
hurried to thegates of the city of God.
Here too came the same questions:
"Are there any Roman Catholics
here" st. Peter answered, No"
"Any Episcopalians?" 'No." "Any
Presbyterians?" "No." "Any Congre-
gationalists?" "No." "Any Baptists?"
No" "Any Methodists?" NO"
Then in wondering perplexity he
asked, "Well then, who are they
inside?' The answer was, ''Chris-
tains."
Gods word says the first dream was
from him whose saving love is as
broad as the universe. Who can say
the second wasn't from the same divine
source? Again. When Jesus was a
babe in the arms of Mary, God sent a
dream to his parents telling them it
was unsafe to tarry longer in the
land of Herod and to flee into Egypt
for safety. Has God in these days
sent his angel in dreams to tell men
to flee from Herod to Egypt?
Mr.. Spurgeon tells us of a man who
used to say to his wife Sunday morn
ing, "Mary, go to church and pray
for us both" He himself would 60
to the neighbors and talk horse or
hog, or whittle and whistle, or go to
view the ruins of shirt factory, that
had burned down Saturday night,
just as many of our neighbors did
today. But that man dreamed one
night, that when he and his wife got
to the gates of heaven, Peter said,
"Mary, go in for us both" That was
sufficient to alarm him, and make
him see his own obligations, be
Christian for himself, and render
the modicum of service belonging to
him as such. These cases parallel in
every particular the dream to
Joseph and Mary. The religious
zeal that savored too much of earth,
morality, and religion by proxy,
were lands governed by Herods,
unsafe for living souls to live in. and
the "Flee thee" of them all came
from the same helpful source.
TO Abmelech God came in dream
warming him against marrying the
wife of another man. To Joseph,
the foster-father of the Christ, God
came in dream telling him that his
newly made wife had a life within
her life, conceived of the Holy Spirit.
These visions were carvings of
divine justice to these souls. Cicero
in his writings tells us of two
Arcadians who came to Wegara, and
for some reason slept at different
hotels. The one of these appeared
twice, in dream to the other, first
emploring help, then murdered, and
telling his fellow-traveler that his
body would be taken out of the city
early in the morning, by certain
gate, in covered wagon. Persuaded
by the dream, the other repairs to the
place appointed, at the time
designated, meets the wagon, beholds
the body, arrests the murderer,
delivers him to Justice. Shakespeare
tells us dreams are nothing but
shadows.
And again just before the battle of
Bosworth Field he tells US how
powerfully and justly the sleep of the
william Richard III was visisted by
dreams. They unnamed him: nothing f;
but dreams. says Richard: "By the
Apostle Paul, shadows tonight have
struck more terror to the soul of
Richard the can the substance of ten
thousand soldiers" In these dreams
God as certainly fulfilled the claims
of justice as he did in the case of
Abimelch and Joseph.
DR.. Morgan, Presbyterian minis