The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-10-23

ions, and eternity for a lifetime, we
should strike all the notes Of joy. Co
ing through the wilderness Of this
world let us remember that we are on
the way to the summary cline Of hea-
ven, and from the migratory popula-
tions flying through this autumnal air
learn always to keep singing.
Children of the heavenly King,
AS ye journey, sweetly sing,
Sing your SaviOr's worthy praise,
Glorious in his works and ways.
Ye are travelling home to God,
In the way your fathers trod;
They are happy now, and We
Soon their happiness shall see.
The church of God never will be a
triumphant church until it becomes a
singing church
go further, and remark that the
birds of the air are wiser than we, in
the fact that in their migration they
fly very high During the summer,
when they are in the fields, they often
come within reach of the gun, but
when they start for their annual fight
southwark, they take their places mid
heaven and go straight as a mark. The
longest rifle that was ever brought to
shoulder can not reach them. Would
to God that we were as wise as the
stork and crane in our fight heaven
ward We fly SO low that we are with
in easy range of the world, the flesh
and the devil We are brought down
by temptations that ought not to come
within mile of reaching us. Oh. for
some of the faith of George Miller of
England, and Elfred Goodman once of
the church militant, now of the
church triumphant So poor is the
type of piety in the church of God
idea that there is any such thing as a
higher life. Moles never did believe in
eagles But, my brethren, because
we have not reached these heights
ourselves, shall we deride the fact that
there are any such heights2 A man
was once talking to Brunei, the famous
engineer, about the length of the rail
road from London to Bristol The en-
gineer said, 1T is not very great. We
shall have, after a while, steamer
running from England to New York
They laughed him to scorn; but we
have gone so far now that we have
ceased to laugh at anything as impos-
sible for the Lord? I do not believe
that God exhausted all his grace
in Paul, and Latimer and Edward
Payson, believe there are
higher points of Christian attainment
Christian world. You tell me that
Paul went up to the tiptop of the Alps
Of Christian attainment. Then / tell
you that the stork and crane have found
above the Alps plenty Of room for free
flying. We go out and we conquer our
temptations by the grace of God, and
lie down. On the morrow, those
temptations rally themselves and at
tack US, and by the grace of God we
defeat them again, but, saying all the
time in the old encampment. we have
the same old battles to fight over.
Why not whip out our temptations
and then forward march, making one
raid through the enemy's country.
stopping not until we break
ranks after the last victory Do.
my brethren, let us have some novelty
Of combat, at any rate, by chang
ing, by going on, by making advance
ment, trading off our stale prayers
about sins we ought to have quit long
ago, going on toward a higher state OF
Christian character, and routing out
sins that we have never thought of vet.
The fact is, if the church of God-if we
as individuals, made rapid advance
ment in the Christian life, these stereO-
typed prayers we have been making
for ten or fifteen years would be as in
appropriate to US as the shoes, and the
hats, and the coats we wore ten or
fifteen years ago, Oh for a higher
fight in the Christian life, the stork
and the -rane in their migration teach
ing US the lessoni
Dear Lord, and shall we ever live
At this poor dying rate
Our love SO faint, SO cold to thee.
And thine to US SO great
Again, l remark that the birds of
the air are wiser than we, because they
know when to start If you should go
out now and shout, 'sStOp. storlxs and
cranes, don't be in hurry" they would
say, No, we can not stop; last night
we heard the roaring in the woods
bidding away, and the shriu flute
of the north wind has sounded the re-
treat. We must go. We must go. !"
So they gather themselves into compa-
MES, and turning not aside for storm
or mountain top, or shock Of muslxetry,
over land and sea, straight an arrow
to the mark they 60 And ifyou come
out this morning with a sack Of corn
and throw it in the fields and try to
get them to stop, they are now so far
up they would hardly see it. They are
on their way south You could not stop
them Oh, that we were as wise about
the best time to start for God and
heavenl We say, wait until it is a
little later in the season of mercy.
Wait until some of these green leaves
Of hope are all dried up and have been
scattered Wait until next year.
After awhile we start, and il is too
late. and we perish in the way when
Gods wrath is lxindled but a little
There are, you know, exceptional
cases, where birds have started too
late. and in the morning YOU have
found them dead on the snow. And
there are those who have persisted