The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1894-03-01

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to thrum, or trumpets to peal forth the
praises of this One altogether fair. Oh
thou flower of eternity. thy breath IS
the perfume of Heaven! Oh, blissful
aybreal1, let all people clap their
hands in thy radiance! Chorus!
Come, men. and saints, and cheruolm,
and seraphim, and arcahangel-alt
heights, all depths, all immensltles
Chorus! Roll Him through the heavens
in chariot of universal acclaim, over
bridges of hosannas, under arches OF
coronation, along by the great towers
Ginning with eternal jubilee. Chorus!
unto Him who hath loved us, and
washed us from our sins in His own
blood, to Him be glory, world without
endr'
l have a word of five letters, but no
sheet white enough on which to write
it, and no pen good enough with which
to inscribe it. Give me the fairest
leaf from the Heavenly records-give
me the pencil with which the angel
records His victory-and then, with
my hand strung to supernatural
ecstasy, and my pen dipped in the light
of the morning, l will write out in
capitals of love: "J-E-S-U-S." 1t is
this One, infinitely fair, to whom you
are invited. Christ is waiting for you;
waiting as banqueter waits for the
delayed guest-the meats smoking, the
beal1ers trimming, the minstrels with
finger on the stiff string, waiting for
the clash of the hoofs at the gateway.
Waiting for you as a mother waits for
her son, who went off ten years ago,
dragging her bleeding heart along
with him. Waiting! o! give me COM
parison intense enough, hot enough,
importunate enough to express my
meaning something high as Heaven
and deep as hell and long as eternity.
Not hoping that you can help me with
such comparison, l will say: HE is
waiting as only the all-sympathetic
Christ can wait for the coming back OF
lost SOUL
Bow the knee and kiss the Son,
Come, and welcome, sinner; come.
Again, the Holy Spirit is ready. Why
is it that so many sermons drop dead
that Christian songs do not get their
wing under the people-that so often
prayer goes no higher than hunters
"helloa?" 1t is because there is link
wanting-the work of the Holy Spirit.
Unless that spirit give graphing hooks
to a sermon, and lift the prayer, and
watt the song, everything is a dead
failure. That spirit is willing to
come at our call and lead you
~ 10 !,
the same power with which He I'm.
horsed Saul on the Damascus turnpike
and broke down Lydia in her fine
store, and lifted the three thousand
from midnight into midnoon at the
Pentecost. With that power the spirit
of God now beats at the gate of your
soul. Have you not noticed what
homely and insignificant instrumental.
ity the spirit of God employs for mans
conversion? There was man on Hud-
son river boat to whom a tract was of
fered. With Indignation he tore it up and
threw it overheard. But one fragment
lodged on his coatsleeve; and he saw
on it the word eternity" and he
found no peace until he was prepared
for that great future. Do you know
what passage it was that caused Mar.
tin Luther to see the truth? "The
just shall live by faith" Do you
know there is one-just one--passage
that brought Augustine from a life
of dissipation? Put We on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and make no provision
for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof ,
1t was just one passage that converted
IIedley Wears, the great soldier, tc
Christ: THE blood of Jesus Christ
cleanseth from all sim" Do you know
that the Holy Spirit used one passage
of Scripture to save Jonathan Ed
wards? "Now, unto the King, eternal
immortal, invisible, the only wise
) God, our Saviour, be glory" One veal
ago on Thanksgiving day, read fol
) my text: 80 give thanks unto the
Lord, for He is good; for His mercy
: endureth forever" And there is q
young man in the house to whose
!, heart the Holy Spirit took that text
) for His eternal redemption. 1 might
speak of my own case. will tell yor
l was brought to the peace of the Cos
) pei through the Superintendent WON
, ans cry to Christ: Even the dogs eat
of the crumbs that fall from the Mas
ter's table"
Do you know that the holy spirit al
most always uses insignificant means.
Eloquent sermons never save anybody
metaphysical sermons never save any
body; NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. never save
anybody. But the minister comes
some Sabbath to his pulpit, worn out
with engagements and the jangling Of
a frenzied door-bell; he has only 8
text and two or three ideas, but he
says: 80 Lord, help me. Here
are good many people
may never meet again. I have not
much to say. Speak thou through my
poor lips" And before the service is
done there are fearful eyes and a
solemnity like the Judgment. The
great French orator, when the dead
king lay before him, looked up and
cried: God only is great!'' and the tri
umph of his eloquence has been told
by the historians. But l have not
heard that one soul was saved