The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1894-01-06

svvtyes from his own brain cathedra'
th5 etionai capitol 5f q massive hom,
D 8 Ne leaves the table: and theri hj
and unrdlls His plans, and call,
/ ~ md masons and artisans o
III son zecute His design, ant
/ when it is finished he walks around thu
vast structure, and sees the completion
| OF the work with high satisfaction, AM
on stone at some corner o
the building the architects nam,
may be chiseled. But tn,
storms do their work, and time
that takes down everything. viii
yet take down that structure, unit
there shall not be one stone left up0f
another. But there is a soul in Heaven
Through your instrumentality it wal
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 viii 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.
know the Bible says in one place that
God Is a 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 ont, or recite
the noble deed your child accom-
plished, and God never was jealous of
Joshia, never was jealous of Paul,
never was jealous of Frances Haver-
gal, never was jealous of man or
woman who tried to heal wounds and
save souls, and while all is of grace,
and your self-abnegating utterance
will be: Not unto MS. not unto
us, but unto Thy name, Oh, Lord.
give glory" you shall Always feel a
heavenly satisfaction in every good
thing you did on earth. and II icono-
clasm, borne from beneath, should
break through the gates of Heaven
and efface ore record of your earthly
fidelity, m4thinlSs Christ would take
one of TIE 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 | 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 / was in
earthly struggle. / do not know that
/ would have reached this shining
place had it not been for you," and
we will laugh with heavenly glee,
and say, ''Ha! hal Do you really
remember that talk? Do you re-
member that warning? Do you remem-
Der that Christian invitation? What q |
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: sYes, it was as long as that,
but remember it as well as though it |
were yesterday" Oh, this character
building! The structure lasting indie
pendent of crumbling mausoleums, in
dependent of the whole planetary sys-
tem.s Aye, if the material universe,
which seems all bound together like
one piece of machinery, should some
lay meet with an accident that |
should send worlds crashing into
each other like telescoped rail-
way trains. and all the wheels Of |
and galaxies should |
,top, and go down into one chasm of I
all the suns and moons and
stars should tumble like the midnight I
express at Ashtab ula, that would not I
ouch us. and would not hurt God, for
Tod is spirit, and character and mem
Try are immortal, and over that grave
# wrecked material universe might
'rnthfully be written: The righteous
hall be held in everlasting remem-
france. o, Time. we defy thee. Oh,
Death, we stamp thee in the dust of 1
hine own sepulchresi Oh, Eternity, 1
oil on till the last star has stopped |
otating and the last sun is extin-
rushed on the sapphire pathway, and
he last moon has illumined the last
light, and as many years have passed
IS all the scribes that ever took pen
ould describe by as many figures as
hey could write in all the centuries of
II time, but thou shalt have no power
o efface from any soul in glory the
memory of anything we have done to
ring it to God and Heaven.
Oh, where is Oblivion now? From the
ark and overshadowing word that it
eemed when I began, it has become
which no man or woman or
hid who loves the Lord need ever
ear. Oblivion defeated. Oblivion
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