Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1893-11-30

10 others. "When did you give your heart
10 Godf" And they said, Tonight" And
] said to still others. when did you re-
solve TO serve the Lord all the days OF your
lffep And they said, Tonight I saw
by the gayety Of their apparel that when
the grace Of God struck them they were de
vcuring the prey, but / saw also in the
food Of joyful tears, and In the kindling
raptures on their brow, and In their exhila-
rant and transporting utterances. that they
were dividing the spoil.
II you have been in this building when
the lights are struck at night, you know
that with one touch OF electricity they are
all blazed. Oh, / would to God that the
darkness of your souls might be broken up,
and that by one quick, overwhelming, In
stantaneous flash Of illumination you
might be brought into the light and the
liberty Of the sons Of Godl
You see that religion is different thing
from what some Of you people supposed.
You thought 1t was a decadence. You
thought religion was maceration. You
thought 1t was highway robbery; that 1t
struck one down and left him half dead;
that It plpcked out the eyes; that 1t plucked
out the plumes Of the soul; that It broke
the wing and crushed the beak as 1t came
clawing with its black talons through the
air. No, that is not religion.
What is religioni 1t is dividing the
spoil. Il is taking a defenseless soul and
panoplying it for eternal conquest. 1t is the
distribution of prizes by the kings hand,
every medal stamped with q coronation. It
is an exhilaration, expansion. IL is impara-
disation. 1t is enforcement. Religion
makes man master Of earth, Of death and
hell. 1t goes forth to gather the medals OF
victory won by Prince Emanuel, and the
diadems of heaven, and the glory Of realms
terrestrial and celestial, and then, after
ranging all worlds for everything that Is
resplendent, it divides the spoils.
What was it that James Turner, the far
nous English evangelist, was doing when in
his dying moments he said: Christ is ALL
Christ is allr' Why, he was entering into
light. He was rounding the Cape of Good
Hope. He was dividing the spoil What
was the aged Christian Quakeress doing
when at 81 years of age she arose in the
meeting one day and said: 1.-THE time of
my departure is come. My grave clothes
are falling off~ She was dividing the
spoil.
She ionged with wings to fly away
And mix with that eternal day.
What is Daniel now doing, the lion tam
er, and Elijah, who was drawn by the fam
ing coursers. and Paul, the rattling OF
whose chains made kings quake, and all
the other victims of food and fire and
wreck and guillotine-where are they2 d.
viding the spoil.
Ten thousand times ten thousand,
In sparkling raiment bright,
The armies of the ransomed saints
Throng up the sleeps Of light.
rTis finished, all is finished.
Their fight with death and sin.
Lift high your golden gates
And let the victors in.
Oh, what grand thing it is to be Chris
tiani We begin now to divide the spoil,
but the distribution will not be completed
to all eternity. There Is poverty struck
soul, there is business despoiled soul
there is sin struck soul, there is be-
reaved soul-why do you not come and get
the spoils of Christian character, the com.
fort, the joy, the peace, the salvation that
am sent to offer you in my Masters namei
Though your knees knock together in
weakness. though your hand tremble in
fear, though your eyes rain tears of uncon
trollable weeping-come and get the spoil
Rest for all the weary. Pardon for all the
guilty. Rescue for all the bestormed. Life
for all the dead. verify believe that there
are some who have come in here downcast
because the world is against them, and be
cause they feel God is against them, who
will go away saying:
| came to Jesus as was,
Weary and worn and sad.
| found In him 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 de
vouring the prey. now, all worlds witness
ing, you may divide the spoil.