Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1894-05-10

building since I began in this city
My first sermon was in the old church
on Schermerhorn street toan audience
chiefly of empty seats. for the church
was almost distinguished. That
church filed and overlooking, we bnilt
a larger church, which after two or
three years disappeared in flame.
Then we built another church, which
also in line of frey succession, dis
appeared in the same way. Then we
put up this building, and may it
stand for many years fortress of
righteousness, and lighthouse for
the storm-tossed it's gates crowded
with vast assemblages long after we
have ceased to frequent them.
We have raised in this church over
one million and thirty thousand dol
lars for church charitable purposes
during the present pastorate, while
we have given, free of all expense, the
gospel to hundreds of thousands of
strangers, year by year i record
with gratitude to God that auring this
generation of twenty-five years, l re-
member but two Sabbaths that have
missed service through anything like
physical indisposition. Almost a
fanatic; on the subject of ply
parks, with which our city is blessed,
the means, of good, physical con-
dition., A daily walk and run in the
open air have kept me ready for work
and in good humor with all the world
/ say to all young ministers, of the
gospel, it is easier to keep good health
than to regain it when once lost The
reason so many good men think the
world is going to ruin is because their
own physical condition is on the down
grade. No man ought to preach, who
has diseased liver; or an, enlarged
spleen There are two things, ahead
of us that ought to keep,us cheerful in
our work, Heaven and Millennium.
And now, having come up to the
twenty fifth milestone in my pastor
ate, | wonder how MANY more miles
| am 10 travel? Your. company has
been exceedingly pleasant, 0 my dear
people, and | would like to, march bv
your side until the generation, with
whom, we are now moving abreast,
and step. to step, shall. have stacked
arms after the last battle. But the
Lord knows best and we ought to- be
willing to stay GO.
But this sermon,is not a. dirge: it is
an anthem. While this, worlds is ap-
propriate as a temporary stay, as an
eternal residence it would be a dead
failure. 1t would be a dreadful sem
tence if our race were doomed to re-
main here a, thousand winters and
thousand, summers. God keeps us
here just, long, enough to give. us an
appetite for heaven Had we been
born in celestial realms, we would not
have been able to appreciate the bliss.
1t needs agood many rough blasts in
this, world to qualify us to- properly
estimate the superb. climate of that
good land where it is>never' too cold, or
too hot, too, cloudy or too, glaring.
Heaven will be more to us, than those
supernal beings, who were never
tempted. or Sick or bereayed. or tried
or disappointed. So you may we'll
take my text out of the minor key and
set it to some tune in the major key.
One genera ton passeth. away; and
another generation cometh."
Nothing can rob us of the satisfac-
ton that uncounted thousands, of the
generation, just past were converted,
and harvested, for heaven
by this church, whether in the present
building, or the three preceding build
ings in which they worshipped The
two great organs, of the previous
went down in the.memora BILE
iii es, but the multitudinous songs
they led year after year Were not re-
called or injured. There is no power
in, earth. or hell to- kill d hallelMjah
1t is, impossible to arrest "A hosanna.
What a satisfaction to, know that
there are many thousands, in
glory on whose eternal welfare
this church wrought nightly!
Nothing cam undo that work,
They have. assembled, the multitudes
who served God in that generation.
That chapter is gloriously ended.
BAIT that generation has left its i'm
preston upon this generation. A
sailor was dying ON shipboard and he
said to his mates, my lads 1 can only
think of one passage of scripture, the
soul that sinneth it shall die" can't
You think of something else in the
bible to cheer Ins up?" Well, sailors
are kind and they tried to think of
some other passage of scripture
with which to console their dying
comrade, but they could not. One
of them said, ''Let US call up the cabin
boy. His mother was a Christian,
and l guess he has Bible" The
cabin boy was called up, aud the dy.
ing sailor asked him if he had Bible.
He said, YES but he could not ex-
actly find it, and the dying sailor
scolded him, and said: "Aint YOU
ashamed of yourself not to read your
Bible" So the boy explored the bot
tom of his trunk and brought out the
Bible, and his mother had marked
passage that just fitted the dying
sailors case: The blood of Jesus
Christ his Son cleanseth from all sim"
That helped the sailor to die in peace
So one generation helps another, and
good things written, or said, or done