The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1894-04-07

window of this heavenly ark has wings
like the dove covered with silver, and
her feathers with yellow gold.
Again I remark, religion is an adorn.
ment in the style of usefulness into
which it inducts a man. Here are two
young men. The one has fine culture,
exquisite wardrobe, plenty of friends,
great worldly success, but he lives for
himself. His chief care is for his
comfort. lie lives uselessly. lie
dies unregretted. Here is another
young man. His apparel MAJ. not be
so good, his education may not be SO
thorough He lives for others. He is
as self-denying as that dying soldier
falling in the ranks, when he said,
Colonel, there is no need of those
boys firing themselves by carrying me
to the hospital; let me die just where l
am" So this young man of whom l
speak, loves God, wants all the world
to love him, is not ashamed to carry a
bundle Of clothes up that dark alley to
the poor. Which of those young men
do you admire the better? The one a
sham, the other q prince imperial.
Oh, do you know of anything, my
nearer, that is O beautiful to see
than o yOnng man start out for Christ?
Here is some one falling; he lifts him
up. Here is a vagabond boy; he intro
duces him to a mission school. Here is
a family freezing to death; he carries
them q scuttle Of coal. There are $780,
00O, 900 perishing in midnight heather
darkness, by all possible means he tries
to send them the gospel He may be
laughed at, and he may be sneered at,
and he may be caricatured. but he is
not ashamed to 60 everywhere saying:
81 am not ashamed Of the gospel of
Christ. 1t is the power of God and the
wisdom of God unto salvation" Such
a young man can go through every
thing. There is no force on earth or in
hell that can resist him.
show you three spectaoles. Spec
tacle the first: Napoleon passes by
with the host that went down with
him to Egypt, and up with him through
Russia. and crossed the continent on
the bleeding heart of which he set his
iron heel, and across the quivering flesh
of which he went grinding the wheels
of his gun.carriages-in his dying mo.
mont asking his attendants to put on
his military boots for him.
Spectacle the second: Voltaire,
bright and learned and witty and elo-
quent, with tongue and voice and
stratagem internal. warning against
God and poisoning whole Kingdoms
with his in1delity, yet applauded by
Tho c1o pp;un bopds ~ <hrouas .rl 49,
pires and contine nts-his last words,
in delirium supposing Christ standing
by the bedside-his last words: Crush
that wretch"
Spectacle the third: Paul-Paul, in
significant in person, thrust out from
all refined association, scourged. spat
on, bounded like a wild beast from city
to city, yet trying to make the world
good and Heaven full; announcing
resurrection to those who mourned at
the barred gates of the dead. speaking
consultations which light up the eyes OF
~widowhood and orphanage and want
with blow Of certain and eternal re,
lease; undaunted before those who
could take his life, cheek flushed with
transport and his eye on Heaven; with
one hand shaking defiance at all the
foes of earth and all the principalities
of hell, and with tho other hand beck
oning messenger angels to come and
bear him away, as he says: II Am now
ready to be offered, and the time of my
departure is at hand; l have fought the
good fight, l have finished my course,
l have kept the faith; henceforth there
is laid up for me q crown of righteous
ness which the Lord, the righteous
Judge, will give me-"
Which of the three spectacles do you
most admire? When the wind of death
struck the congueror and the inidel,
they were tossed like sea gulls in q
tempest. drenched of the wave and
torn of the hurricane, their dismal
voices heard through the everlasting
storm; but when tho wave and the
wind of death struck Paul, like an al
bstross he made q throne Of the
tempest, and n day doated away into
tho calm, clear summer Of Heaven,
brighter than the dove, its wings GOV.
cred with silver, and its feathers with
yellow gold.
suppose you may have noticed the
contrast between the departure of q
Christian and the departure of an ind
dol. Diodorus. dying in chagrin be.
cause he could not compose q joke
equal to the joke uttered at the other
end Of his table; Zeuxis. dying In . ct
Of laughter At the sketch Of IN aged
woman-a sketch made by his own
hand; Mazarin, dying playing cards.
his friend holding his hands because
he was unable to hold them himself.
All that on one side. compared with
the departure Of the Scotch minister.
who said to his friends; II have no in
tersst an to whether I live or die; II !
de. ! shall be with the Lord; and II I
live. the Lord will be with me-" o.
the last words Of Washington: 1T is
we'll" Or the last words Of McIntosh,
the learned and the great; Happy"
Or tho last words Of Hannah More. the
Christian poetess: "Joy." Or those
thousands Of Christians who have gone,
saying: Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit! Come. Lord Jesus, come quick
ly. 70. death! whore Is thy sting? o.
grave! whore Is thy victory9" Behold
tho contrast. Behold the charm of the
one. behold the darkness Of the other.
Years ago = minister's son went of
from home TO college. At college he
formed the acquaintance Of u young
man whom l shall call Ellison. Eli.
son was an in6del Ellison scoffed ut
religion, and the minister's son soon
learned from him the inidelity, and
when he went home on his vacation
broke his fathers heart by his denun-
Citations Of Christianity. Time passed
on and vacation came. and the minis.
ter's son went of to spend the vacation.
and was on q journey, and came to a ho-
tol. The hotel keeper said: II am sorry
that tonight l shall have to put you in
a OK adjoining n whore there is q
very sick and dying man l can give
you no other accommodation" ''Oh,"
said the young college student and
minister's son, that will make no diff
ference to me except the matter of
sympathy with anybody that is suffer
ing" Tho young man retired to his
room, but could not sleep. Ali night
long he heard the groaning of the sick
man, or the step of tho watchers. and
his soul tremblsd. He thought to
himself: Now, there il only q thin
wall between me and = departing
spirit. How il Ellison should know
how | feel? How II Ellison should find
ont my heart futtsrs? What II Ell
lison know my skepticism gave way?"
lie slept not In the morning. coming