The Bossier banner., 1893-12-14

the building the architects name
may be chiseled. But the
storms do their work, and time,
that takes down everything, will
yet take down that structure, until
there shall not be one stone left upon
another. But there is soul in Heaven.
Through your instrumentality it was
put there. Under Gods grace you are
the architect of its eternal happiness
Your name is written, not on one cor
ner of its nature, but inwrought into
its every fiber and energy. Will the
storms of winter wash out the story OF
what you have wrought upon that
spiritual structure? No. There are no
storms in that land and there is no win
ter. Will time wear out the inscription
which shows your fidelity? No.
Time is past, and it is an
Everlasting Now Built into the
foundation of that imperishable struc-
ture, built into its pillars, built into
its capstone is your name, either the
name you have on earth or the name
by which celestials shall call you. l
know the Bible says in one place that
God Is jealous God, but that refers to
the work of those who worship some
other god. A true father is not jealous
of his child. With what glee you show
the picture your child penciled, or a
| toy ship your child hewed out, or recite
the noble deed your child accom-
| plished, and God never was jealous OF
Joshua, never was jealous of Paul,
never was jealous of Frances Haver-
gal, never was jealous of a man or
woman who tried to heal wounds and
wipe away tears and lift burdens and
save souls, and while all is of grace,
and your self-abnegating utterance
will be: mot unto us, not unto
us, but unto Thy name, Oh, Lord.
give gioryr' you shall aways feel a
heavenly satisfaction in every good
thing you did on earth, and if icono-
clasm, borne from beneath, should
break through the gates of Heaven
fidelity, methinks Christ would take
one of the nails of His own cross and
write somewhere on the crystal of the
amethyst or the jacinth or the chryso-
pasus your name, and just under it the
inscription of my text: The righteous
shall be held in everlasting remem-
brance" Oh. this character building!
You and l are every moment busy
in that tremendous occupation. You
are making me better or worse,
and I am making you bet
ter or worse, and we shall,
through all eternity, bear the mark of
this benediction or blasting Let
others have the thrones of Heaven,
those who have more nightly wrought
for God and the truth, but it will be
Heaven enough for you and me if ever
and anon we meet some radiant soul
on the boulevards of the great city
who shall say: ''You helped me once,
You encouraged me when I was in
earthly struggle. I do not know that
I would have reached this shining
place had it not been for you," and
we will laugh with heavenly glee,
and say, ''Ha! ha! Do you really
remember that talk? Do you re-
member that warning? Doyou remem.
Der that Christian invitation? What a
memory you have? Why, that must
have been down there in Brooklyn or
New Orleans at least ten thousand
million years ago" And the answer
will be: Yes, it was as long as that,
but [ remember it as well as though il
were yesterday" Oh, this character
building! The structure lasting inde'
pendent of crum bling mausoleums, in
dependent of the whole planetary sys
TEN. Aye, if the material universe
which seems all bound together like
one piece of machinery, should some
day meet with an accident thai
should send worlds crashing int
each other like telescoped rail
way trains, and all the wheels o.
consultations and galaxies should
: stop, and go down into one chasm O.
immensity all the suns and moons anC
: stars should. tumble like the midnigh
; express at Ashta bula, that would no
e touch us, and would not hurt God, fo
! God is a spirit and character and mem
! ory are immortal and over that grav'
! of a wrecked material universe nigh
truthfully be written: The righteou
: shall be held in everlasting remem
brance." O, Time. we defy thee. Oh
Death, we stamp thee in the dust o
, thine own sepulchres! Oh, Eternity
roll on till the last star has stoppet
S rotating and the last sun is extin
e guished on the sapphire pathway, ant
o the last moon has illumined the las
a night, and as many years have passe'
u as all the scribes that ever took pei
e could describe by as many figures a
a they could write in all the centuries O
II all time, but thou shalt have no powe
to efface from any soul in glory tn
D memory of anything we have done t
T bring it to God and Heaven.
IL Oh, where is Oblivion now? From tn
IL dark and overshadowing word that
T. seemed when l began, it has becom
&c something which no man or woman O
e child who loves the Lord need eve
IL fear. Oblivion defeated. Oblivio
% dead. Oblivion sepulchred. But mus
Il not be so hard on that devourin
e monster, for into its grave go all on
II sins when the Lord for Christ's SAX
y has forgiven them. Just blo1
n a resurrection trumphet over ther
q when once Oblivion has sapped ther