Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1895-11-02

ierN. .htt tEcN arctic anger That |
swung The word at the gate of Eden, the |
same that Ezrl;irl saw upholding tle |
throncof ,td ana from which look aw;.,.
for the 81 L. Gor is insuircrablc. Here are
the rnarlian angels That one watched IA
patriarch; til, one protected u child; That
one las ! cn pulling soul out of tcmp;a-
ton. All these are messengers OF light.
Tho-r draw the Spanish armada on tlo
rocks. Til turned Scnnachcrib's living
hosts inioa / apof lisa. 600 cnrpseS. Those
yondcr cliai .pd the Christmas carol over
Bethlehem uut,l the chant awuke the shep-
herds TIE AT creation stood in the bal
cony OF heaven and scronaded the newborn
world wrapped in swaddIing clothes of
light. And there, holicr and mighticr than
NIL Is Michael the archangcl To com
mand IN earthly host gives dignity. but
this one Is leader of the 20, 600 chariots Of
God and of tho ten thousand times ten
thousand angels.
think God gives command to the arch
angel, and the n hangel to the scraphim.
and the seraphini To the chcruhim until all
the lower orders of heaven hear the com
mand and 20 forth on the high bchcst.
Now, bring on your lions. Who can
FEAR All the spectators In the angelic
gallery are our friends. He shall give his
thy ways They shall bear thee up In their
hands. lest thou dash thy foot against u
stone Thou shalt tread upon the lion and
adder; the young lion and the dragon shalt
thou iramplc undcrfoot."
Though the arena be crowded with
temptations, we shall. with the angelic
help. strike them down in the namo of God
and leap on their fallen carcasscs. oh,
bending throng of bright, angelic faces
and swift wings and lightning foot,
hail you today from tho dust and struggle
of the arena,
hook again, and SEQ tho gallery of the
prophets ana apostles. Who arc those
mighty ones up yondcr? Hosea and Jcre-
miah and Daniel and Isaiah and Paul and
Peter and John au1 James. There sits
Noah, waiting for all the world To come
into tho ark, and Moses, waiting till tho
last Red sea shall divide. and jeremiah,
waiting for tho Jews To return, and John
OF the Apocalypse, waiting for the swear
ing of the angel that time shall DO no lon
ger. Glorious spirits Ye were howlcd
at; We were stoned; We were spit upon.
They have been In the fight themselves,
and they arc all With us. Daniel knows
all about lions. Paul fought with boasts ut
EphcSus.
got 50 excited that they would shout from
the galleries to tho men in the arena: AT
IL againl' "Forwardl'' "Ono more
stroke" Look outr' Fall backr'
"Huzza, huzza!" so In that gallery,
prophetic and apostolic, they cannot keep
their peace. Daniel cries out, Thy God
will deliver thee from the mouth of tho
lions' David cxclains, "Hc will not suf-
fer thy foot to bc movcdr' Isaiah calls
out; " Fear not am with thccl Be not
dismaycd!' Paul cxclaims Victory
through on. Lord Jesus Christi That
throng of prophets and apostles cannot
keep still. They make the wclkin ring
with shouting and hallcluiahs.
Familiar Figures.
look again. and see the gallery OF the
martyrs. Who is THAR Hugh Latimer,
sure enough! He would not apologize for
the truth preached, and 50 he died, tho
night before swinging from the bcdpost in
perfect glcc AT the thought of emancipa-
ton. Who are that army of 6,666y They
arc tho Theban legion who died for tho
faith. Here is u larger host in magnificent
array-SSI. O00-who persisted for Christ
| in the prosecutions of Dioclctian. Yonder
Is "a family group, Fclicitas Of Rome and
her children. While they We're dying for
the faith she stood encouraging them. One
son was whipped To death by thorns; an
other WAS lung from rock; another was
behcaded At last the mother became
martyr. There they are, togcthcr-a fam
| lily group III heaven. Wonder Is John
Bradford who said, In the fire, I'VE shall
have "A merry supper with the Lord to-
night Yundcr is Henry Woes, who ex-
claimed, rs he died, IF had ten heads,
they should all fall off for Christi The
great ,hrong OF the martyrs! They had
hot lead poured down their threats; horses
were fastened to their hands, and other
horses To their feet, and thus they were
pulled apart; they had their tongues
pulled Cit by rcdhot pinchers; they were
scwed up in the skins of animals, and then
| thrown To the dogs; they were daubed
with combustibles and set ON fire! II all
| the martyrs stakes that have been kindlcd
could be set ut proper distances, they would
make the midnight, all the world over,
bright MS monday And now they sit yon-
der in the martyrs gallery. For them the
dres OF persecution have gone out. Tho
| worls are shcathcd and the mob hushcd
Now they watch us with an all observing
sympathy. They know NIL the pain, all
the hardship all the anguish. all the in
Justice, all the privation. They cannot
keep still. They cry: Courage! The fro
will not consume. The floods cannot
| drown. The lions cannot devourl Cour-
age, down there in tho arena"
What, are they all looking? This night
we answer back tho salutation they give
and cry, "IIail, SONS and daughters OF tho
| lrcI''
Eminent Christians.
look again, and see another gallery,
| that of eminent Christians. What strikes
mo strangely is the mixing In companion
ship of those who on earth could not agree.
There l see Marti2 Luther, and beside him
| a Roman Catholic who looked beyond the
| supcrstitions Of his church and Is sayedi
| There Is Albert Barnes, and around him
the prcsbytcry who tried him for hctcro-
doxy! Yondcr Is Lyman Bccchcr and the
church court that denounced hint Stran-
ger than all, there are John Calvin and
James Arminius! Who would have
thought that they would sit SO lovingly
| together! There are George Whiteiicld and
| the bishops who would not lot him come
into their pulpits because they thought
| him fanatic. There are the sweet sing
ers Toplady. Montgomery, Charles Wcs-
| ley, Isaac Watts and Mrs. Sigourney. II
| heaven had had no music before they went
| up they would have started tho singing.
| And there the band Of missionaries-Da-
yid Abccl, talking Of China redeemed, and
| John Scuddcr OF India saved, and David
Brainerd Of the aborigines evangelical,
| and Mrs. Aduniram Judson, whose prayers
| for Burma took heaven by violence. All
these Christians are looking into the arena.
| Our struggle Is nothing to theirs. Do we,
In Christ's cause, suffer from the cold!
They walked Grecnland's Icy mountains.
Do we suffer from the heat! They swell
| tered In the tropics. Do we get fatigued?
| They faintcG, with none to caro- for them
but canniba,s. Are we prosecuted? They
We're mathematical. And as they look
from their gallery and see us faltcr in tho
presence Of tho lions seem TO hear Isaac
Watts addressing us In his old hymn, only
| q little changed:
| Must III be carried to the skies
| On i.owcry beds Of ease.
| While 9th, RS fought 10 win the prize,
Or s-ilel through bloody scasf
Topla,!y shouts In his old hymn:
Your Lsrp,. yc trembling saints
lIwa from the willows take.
Loud q the praise Of love divine,
Bid every string awake.
| While Charles Wesley, the Methodist
breaks forth in his favorite words, little
| varied:
y charge 10 keep you have.
i God 10 glorify:
never dying soul TO save,
An.l 1T II for the sliyl