The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-04-04

the kings banquet.
Fafrer Than the Dove.
Oh. what a poor. shallow stream is
worldly enjoyment compared with the
deep, broad, overlooking river OF Gods
peace. rolling midway in the Christian
heart! Sometimes you have gone out on
the iron bound beach OF the sea when
there has been n storm on the ocean,
and you have seen the waves dash into
white foam at your feet. They did not
do you any harm. While there you
thought of the chapter written by the
psalmist, and perhaps you reclted it TO
yourself while the storm was making
commentary upon the passage: God is
our refuge and strength, a very present
help I'm time Of trouble. Therefore will
l. not fear, though the earth be removed,
and though the mountains be carried
into the midst Of the sea. though the
waters thereof roar and he troubled.
though the mountains shake with the
swelling thereof" Oh, how independent
the religion Of Christ makes a man OF
the worldly success and worldly circum-
stances. Nelson. the night before his
last battle. said: Tomorrow | shall
win either peerage or a grave in West
minister abbey" And il does not make
much difference to the Christian whether
he rises or falls i'm worldly matters. He
has everlasting renown anyway. Other
plumage may be torn in the blast, but
that soul adorned with Christian grace
is fairer than the dove, its wings covered
with silver. and its feathers with gold.
You and / have found out that people
who pretend 10 be happy are not always
happy. Look at that young man carica-
turing the Christian religion. soothing at
everything good, going into FOSTERING
drunkenness, dashing the champagne
bottle To the floor. rolling the glasses
from the bar-roOm counter, laughing.
shouting, stamping the floor. is ne
happy? l will go to his midnight pillow.
/ viii see him turn the gas off. ] viii
ask myself if the pillow on which he
sleeps is as soft as the pillow on which
that pure young man sleeps. All, TO!
When he opens his eyes in the morning,
will the world be as bright To him as TO
that young man who retired at night
saying his prayers, invoking Gods bless
ing upon his own soul and the souls OF
his comrades and father and mother and
brothers and sisters far away? No, no!
His laugh will ring out from the saloon
so that you hear il as you pass by, but
II is hollow laughter. In ii is the snap
ping Of heartstrings and the rattle Of
prison gates. Happy that young man
happy?
His Mothers Last Look.
Let him fill high the bowl. He cannot
drown an unbraiding conscience. Let
the balls roll through the bowling alley.
The deep rumble and the sharp crack
cannot overpower the voices of con-
demnation. Let him whirl i'm the dance
of sin ana temptation and death. All
the brilliancy Of the scene cannot make
him forget the last look Of his mother
when he left home. when she said to
him: Now my son. you will do right;
/ am sure you will do right. You will,
won't you?" That young man happy
Why, across every night there fit shad-
ows Of eternal darkness; there are ad-
ders coiled up in every cup; there are
vultures Of despair striking their iron
beaks into his heart; there the skeleton
fingers Of grief pinching at the throat.
| come in amid the clicking of the
glasses and under the flashing OF the
chandeliers. and | cry: Woe, woe. The
way of the ungodly shall perish. There
is no peace. saith my God, to the wicked.
The way Of transgressOrs is hard Oh,
my friends. there is more joy in one drop
Of ChristiOn satisfaction than in whole
rivers of sinful delight Other wings
may be drenched of the storm and
splashed of the tempest, but the dove
that comes in through the window of this
heavenly ark has wings like the dove
covered with silver and her feathers with
yellow gold.
Again. / remark. religion is an adorn-
ment i'm the style Of usefulness into which
il inducts a man. Here are two young
men. The one has fine culture, exquisite
wardrobe plenty Of friends, great world
~ success, but he lives for himself His
chief care is for his own comfort He
lives uselessIy. He dies unregretted
&c !,
may not be so good; his education may
not be SO thorough. He lives for others
His happiness is % make others happy
He is as self-denying as that dying sol
der, falling in the ranks, when he said
Colonel. there is no need of those boys
firing themselves by carrying me TO the
hospital. Let me die just where 1 am. "
So this young man of whom / speak
loves God, wants all the world to love
him, is not ashamed to carry a bundle
of clothes up that dark alley to the Door
Which of those young men do you adj
mire the better? The one a sham, the
other prince imperial
Napoleon, VoItaire and Paul.
Oh. do you know of anything. my
hearers, that is more beautiful than to
see young man start out for Christ
Here is some one falling; he lifts him
up. Here is vagabond boy; he intro
duces him to a mission school, Here is
family freezing 10 death; he carries
them scuttle of coal. There are 500
100000 perishing in midnight heather
darkness; by all possible means he tries
to send them the gospel. He may be
laughed at, and he may be sneered at.
and he may be caricatured, but he is not
ashamed to go everywhere, saying: 81
am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ
IL is the power Of God and the wisdom
Of God unto salvation" Such young
man can go through everything. There
Is no force on earth or i'm hell that can
resist him. / show you three spectacIes:
Spectacle the First-Napoleon passes
by with the host that went down with
him 10 Egypt, and up with him through
Russia and crossed the continent, on the
bleeding heart Of which he set his iron
heel. and across the quivering flesh of
which ne went grinding the wheels of
his gun carriages-in his dying mo-
ment asking mis- attendants to put on his
military boots for him.
Spectacle the SecOnd-NOltaire. bright
and learned and witty and eloquent
with tongue and voice and stratagem in
fernal warning against God and poison
ing whole kingdoms with his infdelity
yet applauded by the clapping hands of
thrones and empires and continents
his last words, in delrium supposing
Christ standing by the bedside-his last
words, Crush that wretch
Spectacle the Third-Paul-Paul. insig-
! nifcant in person, thrust out from all
refined association. scOurged, spat on
bounded like wild beast from CITY 10
city, yet trying to make the world good
and heaven full; announcing resurrection
Of those who mOurned at the barred
I \.