The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1894-11-16

| Queen Elizabeth rode. shouted in the
street. God save the queen One mo-
ment the world applauds. and the next
moment the world mathematics
Oh, come over into this greater
joy. this sublime solace. this
magnificent beatitude. The night
after the battle of Shiloh there were
thousands of wounded on the field and
| the ambulances had not come. One
Christian soldier. lying there a-dying
under the star light. began to sing:
There is land of pure delight
And when he came to the next line
| there were scores of voices uniting:
Where saints immortal reign.
The song was caught up all over the
field among the wounded, until. it was
said, there were at least 10000 wound
ed men uniting their voices as they
came to the verse:
There everlasting spring abides,
And never-wthering flowers:
Death like a narrow stream divides.
That heavenly land from ours.
Oh, it is a great religion to live by,
and it is great religion to die by.
There is only one heart throb between
you and that religion this moment
Just look into the face of your pardon
ing God. and surrender yourself for
| time and for eternity. and He is yours,
and Heaven is yours. and all is yours.
When a young man went forth into
life, the legend says. his guardian an
gel went forth with him, and getting
him into field. the guardian. angel
swept Il circle clear around where the
virtue and honor. and he must not
step beyond that circle. Armed foes
came down, but were obliged to halt
at the circle-they could not pass. But
one day a temptress. with diamonded
hand, stretched forth and crossed the
circle with the hand. and the tempted
soul took it. and by that one fell grip
was brought beyond the circle. and
died. Some of you have stepped be-
yond that circle. Would you not like
this day. by the grace of God, to step
back? This. | say to you, is your hour
of salvation?
But | notice that when the prodigal
came there was the fathers joy. He
did not greet him with any formal
''How do you do?" He did not come
out and say: You are unfit to enter:
go out and wash in the trough by the
well, and then you can come in: we
have had enough trouble with YOU"
All, no. When the proprietor of that
estate proclaimed festival, it was an
outburst of a fathers love and
fathers joy. God is your father.
l have not much Sympathy with
that description of God / sometimes
hear, as though he were Turkish sui
tan-hard and unsympathetic. and
listening not to the cry of his subjects.
A man told me he saw. in one of the
eastern lands, king riding along. and
two men were in alteration, and one
charged the other with having eaten
his rice: and the king said: Then Stay
the man. and by post norton examina-
ton find whether he has eaten the
rice" And he was slain. All, the
cruelty of scene like that. Our God
is not sultan, not despot, but
father-kind, loving. forgiving, and
He makes all Heaven ring again when
a prodigal comes back. Il have no
pleasure" He says, lin the death of
him that dieth.'
If a man does not get to Heaven, it
is because he will not go there. No diff
ference the color, no difference the his
tory. no difference the antecedents. no
difference the surroundings, no differ
ence the sin. When the white horses
of Christ's victory are brought out to
celebrate the eternal triumph, you may
ride one of them, and as God is greater
than all, His joy is greater; and when
a soul comes back there is in His heart
the surging of an infinite ocean of
gladness; and to express that gladness
it takes all the rivers of pleasure, and
all the thrones of pomp, and all the
ages of eternity. 1t is joy deeper
than all depth, and higher than all
height, and wider than all width. and
vaster than all immensely. 1t overtops,
it undergirds, it outweighs all the uni
ted splendor and joy of the universe.
Who can tell what Gods joy is?
For ten years father went three
times a day to the depot. His son
went off in aggravating circumstances,
but the father said: ''He will come
back" The strain was too much, and
his mind parted; and three times day
the father went. In the early morn |
ing he watched the train-its arrival. |
the stepping out of the passengers and
then the departure of the train. At
noon he was there again. watching the |
advance of the train, watching the de-
parture. At night, there again, watch |
ing the coming, watching the going,
for ten years. He was sure his son |
would come back. God has beer |
and waiting for some of you,
my brothers, ten years, twenty years, |
thirty years, forty years, perhaps fifty |
years waiting, waiting, watching, |
and if this morning the |
should come home, what a |
scene of gladness and festivity, and |
how the great Fathers heart would |
rejoice at your coming home.
l notice also that when a prodigal !
comes home there is the JOY of the min |
listers of religion. Oh, it is a grand |
thing to preach this gospel. / know
there has been great deal said about
the trials and the hardships of the
Christian ministry. | wish somebody
would write good. rousing book
about the joys of the Christian minis
try. Since ! entered the profession,
have seen more of the goodness of God
than will be able to celebrate in all
I know some boast about
their equilibrium, and they do not
rise into enthusiasm, and they do
not break down with emotion; but
confess to you plainly that when
| see man coming to God and giving
L. = E Il -. L. 4 L