Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1895-04-05

The Swinging Door.
Further, it is a door that swings both
ways. do not know whether the door Of
the ancient ark was lifted or rolled on
hinges, but this door Of Christ opens
both ways Itswings out toward all our
woes; it swings in toward the raptures
of heaven. 1t swings in to let us in; it
swings out to lee our ministering ones
come out. All are one in Cbrist-Chris-
tians on earth and saints in heaven.
One army Of the living God.
At his command we bow.
Part Of the host have crossed the food,
And part are crossing now.
Swing in, o blessed door. until all the
earth shall 90 in and live. Swing out
until all the heavens come forth to cele-
brate the victory.
But. further, it is a door with fasten.
ings The Bible says Of Noah, ''The
Lord shut him in. " A vessel without
bulwarks or doors would not be safe
vessel to 90 in. When Noah and lis
family heard the fastening Of the ds9
of the ark, they were very glad. Unless
these doors were fastened the first heavy
surge of the sea would have whelmed
them, and they might as well have per-
ished outside the ark as inside the ark.
1.-THE Lord shut him in" Oh, the per-
feet safety of =. the arkl The surf Of the
sea and the lightnings Of the sky may
be twisted into a garland Of snow and
| fire-deep to Deep storm to storm, dark
ness to darkness-but once in the ark all
is we'll. "God shut him in. There
comes upon the good man a deluge Of
financial trouble. He had his thousands
to lend. Now he cannot borrow dollar.
He once owned a store in New York
and had branch houses in Boston, Phil
adelphia and New Orleans He owned
four horses and employed man to keep
the dust off his coach, phaeton. car
riage and curricle; now he has hard
work to get shoes in which to walk.
The great deep Of commercial disaster
was broken up, and fore and aft and
across the hurricane deck the waves
struckhim. But he was safely sheltered
from the storm. "The Lord shut him
in" A food of domestic troubles fell
on him. Sickness and bereavement
came The rain pelted; the winds blew
The heavens are afame. All the gar
dens of earthly delight are washed
away. The mountains Of Joy are buried
Is cubits deep But, standing by the
empty crib and in the desolated nursery
and in the doleful hail. once airing with
merry voices, now silent forever, he
cried, THE Lord gave, the Lord hath
taken away; blessed be the name OF the
Lord. " "The Lord shut him in. "
All the sins Of a lifetime clamored for
his overthrow. The broken vows, the
dishOnored Sabbaths, the outrageous pro-
families, the misdemeanOrs Of 20 years,
reached up their hands to the door Of
the ark to pull him out. The boundless
ocean Of his sin surrounded his soul,
bowling like a simoom, raving like an
euroclydon. But, looking out Of the win
dow, he saw his sin sink like lead into
the depths of the sea. The dove Of heav'
Ell brought an olive branch to the ark.
The wrath Of the billow only pushed
him toward heaven. THE Lord shut
him inp'
The Heavenly House.
The same door fastenings that kept
Noah in keep the troubles out / am
glad to know that when man reaches
heaven oil earthly troubles are done
with him. Here he may have had it hard
to get bread for his family; there he will
never hunger any more. Here ne may
have wept bitterly; there 1.-The Lamb
that is in the midst Of the throne will
lead him to living fountains OF water,
and God will wipe away all tears from
his eyes. A" Here he may havo hard
work to get a house; but in my Fathers
house are many mansions, and rent day
never comes. Here there are deathbeds
and coffins and graves there no sickness,
no weary watching, no choking cough,
no consuming fever, no chattering chill,
no tolling bell, no grave. The sorrows
of life shall come up and knock at the
door, but no admittance. The perplexi-
ties of life shall come up and knock on
the door, but no admittance. Safe for
everl All the agony Of earth in one wave
dashing against the bulwarks Of the ship
Of celestial light shall not break them
down. Howl on, ye winds, and rage, ye
seasl The Lord-"the Lord shut him
inW
Oh, what-a grand old doori So wide.
so easily swung both ways and with
such sure fastenings- No burglars key
can pick that lock. No swarthy arm OF
hell can shove back that bolt. / rejoice
that do not ask you to come aboard
crazy craft with leaking hulk and broken
helm and unfastened door, but an ark
so cubits wide and 800 cubits long and
a door so large that the round earth,
without grazing the post, might be bowl
ed in.
Now, if the ark Of Christ is so grand
a place in which to live and die and tri-
umph, come into the ark. Know well
that the door that shut Noah in shut
others out, and though, when the pitiless
storm came pelting on their heads, they
beat upon the door, saying; Let me ini
Let me inp' the door did not open. For
l2O years they were invited. They ex-
pected to come in, but theaEtediluvians
said: 1--WE must cultivate these fields;
we must be worth more hocks OF sheep
and herds Of cattle; we will wait until
We get little older; we will enjoy our
old farm a little longer. But mean-
while the storm was brewing The foun'
:ains Of heaven were fillingup The pry
was being placed beneath the founda-
lions Of the great deep. The last year
had come, the last month, the last wsek,
the last day, the last hour, the last mo-
ment. In an awful dash an ocean drop
ped from the sky and another rolled up
from beneath, and God rolled the earth
and sky into one wave Of universal de-
struction.
Outside the Ark.
So men now put of going into the
ark. They say they will wait 20 years
first They will have little longer time
with their worldly associates They will
wait until they get older They say:
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