Connecticut western news., 1895-04-04

move tae world Calvary is the full crum, and the cross of Christ is the le- yer. and by that power all nations shall yet be lifted.
 The Swinging Door.
 Further, it is 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. It swings out toward all our woes; it swings in toward the raptures of heaven. It swings in to let us In; it swings out to let our ministering ones come out. All are one in Christ-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 flood,
 And part are crossing now.
 Swing in, O blessed door, until all the earth shall go in and live. Swing out until all the heavens come forth to cele- brate the victory.
 But, further, it is 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 20 in. When Noah and his family heard the fastening of the door 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 we'll have per ished outside the ark as inside the ark. ''The Lord shut him in" Oh, the per feet safety of the ark The surf of the sea and tho hghtnings of the sky may be twisted into a garland of snow and fre-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 deluge of financial trouble. He had his thousands to lend. Now he cannot borrow dollar. He once owned 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. Tine great deep of commercial disaster was broken up, and fore and aft and across the hurricane deck the waves struck him. But he was safely sheltered from the storm. "The Lord shut him imp A food of domestic troubles fell on him. Sickness and bereavement came The rain pelted; the winds blew. The heavens are afiame. All the gar dens of earthly delight are washed away. The mountains of joy are buried 15 cubits deep. But, standing by the empty crib and in the desolated nursery and in the doleful hall, once airing with merry voices, now silent forever, he cried, '"The Lord gave, the Lord hath Lord. '' "The Lord shut him in"
 All the sins of lifetime clamored for his overthrow. The broken VOWS, the dishonored Sabbaths, the outrageous pro- fanities, the misdemeanors of 20 years, reached rp 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 en brought an olive branch to the ark. The wrath of the pillow only pushed him toward heaven. "The Lord shut him imp v...-
 The Heavenly House.
 The same door fastenings that kept Noah in keep the troubles out am glad to know that when a man reaches heaven all 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 he may have wept bitterly; there "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" Here he may havo hard work to get house; but in my Fathers house are many mansions, and rent day never comes. Here there are deathbeds and collins and graves; there 10 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 ever! 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 seas! The Lord-"the Lord shut him inl'
 Oh, what grand old doorl 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. I rejoice that I do not ask you to come aboard a crazy craft with leaking hulk and broken helm and unfastened door, but an ark 30 cubits wide and 800 oubits long and 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 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 in! Let me in!' the door did not open. For 120 years they were invited. They ex- pected to come in, but the antediluvians said: We must cultivate these fields; we must be worth more flocks 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- tains of heaven were filling up. The pry was being placed beneath the founda- lions of the great deep The last year had come, the last month, the last week, 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 off going into the ark. They say they will wait 20 years first. They will have little longer time with their worldly associates. They will