Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1895-02-22
and back again TO New Or

| be dead failure. In NOW DIX lIs chiei
work has been to give Us a change OF
bosses. We had Democratic boss, and
now it is 10 be Republican boss, but
the quarrel is, Who shall be the Repub-
lican? Politics will save the cities the
same day that satan evangelizes perdi-
ton.
Here comes another class Of people
who in pulpit and outside of it cover up
the gospel with the theory that it makes
no final difference what you believe or
how you act, you are bound for heaven
anyhow. There they sit, side by side,
in heaven: Garfield and Guiteau, who
shot him; Lincoln, and John Wilkes
Booth, who assassinated him; Washing
ton, and Thomas Paine, who slandered
him; Mana Sahib, and the missionaries
whom he clubbed to death at Cawnpur;
Herod, and the children whom he mas
sacred; Paul, and Nero, who beheaded
him. As result Of the PRONUNCIATION Of
such mongrel and conglomerate heav-
en-, there are millions Of people in Chris
tendon who expect TO go straight to
heaven from their seraglios, and their
inebriation, and their suicides, when
among the loudest thunders that break
over the basaltic island to which st.
John was expatriated was the one in
which God announced that "the abom-
Unable and the murderers and whore
mongers and sorcerers and idolaters and
all liars, shall have their place in the
lake which burneth with fire and brim-
stone, which is the second death" " I
correct what said when | declared the
gospel was buried so feet deep 1t is
buried / 900 feet deep. Had the glorious
gospel been given full opportunity, 1
think before this the world would have
had no need Of pulpit or sermon or
prayer or church, but thanksgiving and
hosannas would have resounded in the
temple to which the mountains would
have been pillars, and the blue skies the
DOME and the rivers the baptistery, and
all nations the worshipers in the audi
torium of the outspread world. But so
far from that, as | remarked in the
opening sentence of this sermon, the
greatest novelty Of our time is the gos-
pei. And let me say to the hundreds
and thousands of educated and splendid
young men about to enter the gospel
ministry from the theological seminaries
of all denominations, on this and the
other side of the seas, that there is no
drawing power like the glorious gospel.
Him hath God lifted up to draw all
men unto him" " Get your souls charged
and surcharged with this gospel, and
you will have large audiences and will
not have to announce in order to assem-.
BILE such audiences Sunday night sa-
cred concert, with a brief address by
the pastor, or the presence Of BLACK
PATHS" or Creole minstrels, or some
new exposure of Tammany, or a sermon
accompanied by magic lantern or STE
reopticon views.
Glorious News.
The glorious gospel of the blessed God
as spoken of in my text will have more
drawing power, and when that gospel
gets full swing it will have momen-
tum and power mightier than that Of
the Atlantic ocean when under the
force Of the September equinox it strikes
the highlands of the Navesink. The
meaning of the word gospel is good
news, ;" and my text says it is glorious
good news, and we must tell it in our
churches, and over our dry goods coun-
ters, and in our factories, and over our
thrashing machines, and behind our
plows, and on our ships decks, and in
our parlors our nurseries and kitchens,
as though it were glorious good news,
and not with a dismal drawl in our
voice, and dismal look on our faces,
as though religion were rheumatic
twinge, or a dyspeptic pang, or ma
larial chill, or an attack OF nervous
prostration With nine "blesseds' OF
"happys, " Christ began his sermon on
the mount-blessed the poor; blessed
the mourner; blessed the meek; blessed
the hungry; blessed the merciful; bless
ed the pure; blessed the peacemakers;
blessed the prosecuted; blessed the re-
yiled; blessed, blessed, blessed; happy,
happy, happy. Glorious good news for
the young as through Christ they may
have their coming years ennobled, and
for lifetime all the angels Of God their
coadjutors, and all the armies OF heaven
their allies Glorious good news for the
middle aged as through Christ they may
have their perplexities disentangled, and
their courage rallied, and their victory
over all obstacles and hindrances made
forever sure Glorious good news for the
aged as they may have the sympathy OF
him of whom St John wrote, His head
and his hairs were white like wool, as
white as snow" and the defense Of the
everlasting arms. Glorious good news
for the dying as they may have minis
tering spirits to escort them, and OPEN
ing gates to receive them, and sweep
of eternal glories to encircle them, and
the welcome Of loving God to embosom
them.
The Bill Was Paid.
Oh, my text is right when it speaks
Of the glorious gospel. 1t is an invita-
tion from the most radiant being that
ever trod the earth or assembled the
heavens, to you and me TO come and be
made happy, and then take after that
royal castle for everlasting residence,
the angels of God our cup bearers The
price paid for all of this on the cliff OF
| limestone about as high as this house,
about seven minutes walk from the
wall of Jerusalem, where with an agony
that with one hand tore down the rocks,
and with the other drew midnight
blackness over the heavens, our LORD set
us forever free Making no apology for
any one of the million sins OF our life,
but confessing all of them, We can point
to that cliff of limestone and say, There
was paid our Indebtedness, and God
never collects bill twice" Glad am |
, that all the Christian poets have exerted
their pen in extolling the matchless one
Of this gospel. Isaac Watts, how do you
feel concerning him? And he writes,
81 am not ashamed to own my Lord. "
Newton, what do you think Of this gos-
naIe And he writes "AmazinQ grace,