Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1895-04-04

| down. Howl on, We winds, and rage
| We seas. The Lord-"the Lord shut
| him in"
oh. what grand door! so wide. so
easily swung both ways. and with such
sure fastenings. No burglars key can
pick that lock. No swarthy arm of he'll
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 fifty cubits wide, and three hum
dred cubits long. and a door so large
| that the round earth, without grazing
| the post. might be bowled in!
| Now, if the ark of God is so grand a
| place in which to live. and die. and
| triumph, come into the ark. Know we'll
| that the door that shut Noah in shut
others out; and though, when the pitt
/ less storm came pelting on their heads,
they beat upon the door saying. Let
me in! let me inr' the door did not
| open. For one hundred and twenty
years they were invited. They expected
to come in but the antediluvians said.
I'VE 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 little longer" But meanwhile
| the storm was brewing. The fountains
| of the heaven were filling up The pry
| was being placed beneath the founda-
| tions of the great deep. The last year
| had come, the last month, the last week.
| the last day, the last hour, the last
| moment, in an awful dash, an ocean
| dropped from the sky, and another
rolled up from beneath; and God rolled
the earth and sky into one wave of
| universal destruction.
ha
many people out of the ark. The world
laughed to see a man go in, and said,
Here is a man starting for the ARK.
| Why there will be no deluge. If there
is one, that miserable ship will not
weather it. Aha going into the ark!
| Wei, that is too good to keep. here
| fellows. have you heard the news? rms
man is going into the ark" Under TINS
| artillery Of scorn the mans good reso-
luton persisted.
My friends and neighbors come in
right away. Come in through Chrlst'
the wide door-t!ae door that swings
out toward you. Come in, and be saved.
Come and be happy. THE Spirit ana
the Bride say. Come" Room in the ark!
| Room in the arkl
But do not come alone. The text IN
vites you to bring your family. II says,
thou and all they house into the ark
Thou and thy sons and thy wife. You
| cannot drive them in. If Noah had tried
to drive the pigeons and the doves INTO
the ark. he would only have scattered
| them. Some parents are not wise about
| these things They make iron rules about
Sabbaths. and they force the cate
| chism down the throat, as they would
| hold the child's nose and force down
a dose Of rhubarb and calomel You can
not drive your children into the ark
You can draw your children TO Christ,
but you cannot coerce them. The cross
was lifted. not to drive. but to draw,
IF I be lifted up. L Will draw all men
unto me-" AS the sun draws up the
| drops Of morning dew, SO the son OF
| righteousness exhales the fears of re-
pentance.
Be sure that you bring your husband
and wife with you. How would Noah
| have felt If. when he heard the rain
| pattering on the roof of the ark, he
| knew that his wife was outside in the
| storm? No; she went with him. And yet
| some of you are on the ship "outward-
bound for heaven; but your companion
/ is unsheltered. You remember the day
when the marriage-ring was set. Moth
| ing has vet been able to break it. Sick
/ ness came, and the finger shrank. but
1 L
above the child's grave. and the dark
mouth of the tomb swallowed up a thou
sand hopes; but the ring dropped not
J into the open grave. Days of poverty
came. and the hand did many a hard
days work; but the rubbing of the work
| against the ring 1nly made it shine
! brighter. Shall th+ ring ever be lost?
WIN the iron clang o. the sepulchre-
| gate crush it forever; / pray God that
| you who have been married on earth
| may be together In heaven. on! by the
| quiet bliss of your earthly home: by the
| babes cradle by the VOWS of that day
whom you started life together. l beg
you to see 70 IL that you both set into
| the ark
Come in. and bring your wife or hus-
hand with you-not by fretting about
religion, or ding donging them about re-
| ligion. but by a consistent hfe and by
compelling prayer that shall bring the
| throne Of God down into your room.
| Go home and take up the Bible and
read II together. and then kneel down
and commend your souls to MIN who
| has watched you all these years: and.
before YOU rise. there VIII be a fiutter-
| ing OF wings over your head. angel cry
ing 70 angel. Behold, they pray,"
! But this does not include all your
I family BRING the children. God bless
! the dear children What would our
homes he without them. We may have
! done much for them. They have done
more for us. What a salve for wound
ed heart there is in the soft palm of
a child's hand! Did harp or fiG:e ever
have such music as there is in child y
| tgood-night?" From our coarse. rough
life, the angels OF God are often driven
| back; but who comes into the nursery
| without feeling that angeiS ere hover
| ing around? They who die in infancy
| go straight IL glory. but you are ex-
pecting Your children 10 grow up in this
world. Is II not question then, that
| rings through all the corridors. and
windings. and heights. and depths of
your soul. what is TO become of your
sons and daughters FOR time and eter-
/ nifty? Oh you say, Il mean TO see
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