Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1894-09-20


the way TO the congratulations
eternal
stopred one nightfall, years ago.
at Freyburg, switzerland, To hear the
organ of world W de celebrity in that
place. went into the cathedral at
nightfall. All the accessories were
favorable. There WAS only one light
in all the ca, bedial. and that ia mt
taper on the altar. looked up into
the venerable arches and saw the
shadows of centuries. and when the
organ awoke, the cathedral awoke,
and all the arches seemed to lift and
culver as the music came under them
That instrument did not seem to Le
made cut of wood and metal but out
of human hearts, so wonderfully did
it pnlsate with every motion; now
laughing like child. now sobbing
like tempest At one moment the
music would die away until you
could hear the cricket chirp out
side the wall and then it would roll
up until it seemed az if the surge of
the sea and The crash of an avalanche
had struck the organ pipes at the
same moment At one time that night
it seemed as if a squadron of spirits
weeping up from earth had met
squadron of descending angels whose
glory beat back the woe. Standing
there and looking at the dim taper on
the altar of the cathedral. l said:
How much like many II Christians
life! Shadows hover and sometimes
his hope is dim, and faint, and flicker
ing, like taper on the altar. But at
what time God wills, the heavens
break forth with music upon his soul,
and the air becomes resonant as the
angels of God beat it with their shin
ing sceptres"
Oh, the Lord God las many far and
beautiful daughters; but the fairest
of them all is she whose ways are
pleasantness and whose paths are
peace! Now. my brothers and sisters
for | have right 10 call you also
know some people look back on their
ancestral line. and they see they are
descended from the Puritans or HUI
guenots and they rejoice in that; but
| look back on my ancestral line. and
l see the rein such a mingling and mix
ture of the blood of all nationalities
that | feel akin to all the world, and
by the blood of the Son of God. who
died for all people. address you in
the bonds of universal brotherhood
| come out as only servant bring.
ing an invitation TO a party, and put
it into your hand. saying, Come for
oil nd
it upon you and continue TO urge it.
and. before l get through, hope, by
the blessing of God, to compel GU TO
come in
We must take care how we give thc
invitation. My Christian friends, /
think some times we have just gone
opposite to Chrst's command, and we
Some times our elaborated instruc-
tons have been the hindrance We
graduate from our theological Sc nina
res on stills, and it takes five or
six years before we can come down
and stand right beside the great
masses of the people, learning
their joys, sorrows, victories, defeats.
We got our heads so brimful of theo-
logical wisdom that we have to stand
very straight lest they spill over. Now,
what do the great masses of the peo-
Pile care about the technicalities
of religion? What do they care
about the hyrostatic union or tho diff
ference between sub-lapsarian and
supra-lapsarian? What do they care
for your profound explanations, clear
as London fog? When man is
drowning he does not want you to
stand by the dock and describe the
nature of the water into which he has
fallen. and tell him there are two
parts hydrogen gas and one of oxygen
gas, within common density OF thirty
nine Fahrenheit turning to steam
under n common atmospheric pressure
of two hundred and twelve. He does
not want a chemical lecture on water;
he wants rope.
Oh my friends, the curse of God on
the church. it seems to me. in this
day, is metaphysics. We speak in an
unknown tongue in our Sabbath
schools, and in our religious assem-
blages, and in our pulpits, and how
can people be saved unless they under
stand us? We put on our official
gowns. and we think the two silk
balloons Tapping at the elobws of
preacher give him great sanctity The
river of Gods truth flows down before
us pure and clear as crystal; but we
take our theological stick and stir it
up and stir it up until we can not see
the bottom. Oh, for the simplicity of
Christ in all our instructions-th
simplicity he practiced when standing
among the peop'e, he took a lily, and
said, There is lesson of the way
will clothe YOU" and, pointing to a
raven, said, There is a lesson of the
way l will feed you; consider the
iiIies-bchold the fowls -.
l think often in our religious
instructions we compel people
to stay out by our church ar
chitecturc. People come in and they
ind things angular, and cold, and
stiff, and they go away never again
to come; when the church ought to be
a great home circle every body having
hymn book, giving half of it TO the
one next to him, every one who has
hand to shake hands, shaking hands