Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1895-04-04

yC seas. lie lllc Lulu Slul
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 hell |
can shove back that bolt. 1 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 fifty cubits wide, and three hun
dred cubits long, and 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 well
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 in!' 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 fiocks of sheep and
herds of cattle; we will wait until we
get a little older; we will enjoy our old
farm a little longer" But meanwhile
the storm was brewing. The fountains
of the 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
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.
I have no doubt that derision kept
many people out of the ark. The Worla
laughed to see a man go in, ana salu'
Here is a man starting for the ARK.
Why, there will be no deluge. IL there
is one, that miserable ship Will not
weather it. Aha! going into the ark!
Well, that is too good to keep. Here
fellows, have you heard the news! inns
man is going into the ark" Under tnls
artillery of scorn the mans gooo reso-
luton persisted.
My friends and neighbors, come In
right away Come in through CHRIST
the wide door-the 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 ark!
But do not come alone. The text IN
vites you to bring your family IL says;
! thou and all they house into the ARK.
Thou and thy sons and thy wife. You
cannot drive them in If Noah had trleo
| to drive the pigeons and the doves ill'o
! the ark, he would only have scattered
! them. Some parents are not wise apou.
| these things. They makeiron rules ABOUT
| Sabbaths, and they force the cate
| chism down the throat, as they would
| hold the child's nose and force down
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
eff be lifted UP, I will draw all men
| unto me-" AS the sun draws up tie
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 Moan
have felt if, when he heard the rain
! pattering on the roof Of the ark, ne
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 yet been able to break it. Sick
ness came, and the finger shrank, but
! the ring staid on. The twain stood alone
| above the child's grave. and the dark
| mouth of the tomb swallowed up thou
| sand hopes; but the ring dropped not
into the open grave. Days of poverty
! came, and the hand did many hard
days work; but the rubbing of the work
against the ring only made it shine
brighter. Shall that ring ever be lost?
Will the iron clang OF the sepulchre-
gate crush it forever; I pray God that
you who have been married on earth
| may be together in heaven. oh! by the
quiet bliss of your earthly home; by the
babes cradle; by the vows Of that day
when you started life together, I beg
you to see to it that you both get into
the ark.
Come in, and bring your wife or hus-
band with you-not by fretting about
| religion, or ding donging them about re-
ligion, but by consistent life, and by
a compelling prayer that shall bring the
throne of God down into your room.
Go home and take up the Bible and
read it together and then kneel down
and commend your souls to him who
has watched you all these years; and,
before you rise, there will be flutter-
! ing of wings over your head, angel cry
ing to angel, Behold! they pray!
! But this does not include all your
family. Bring the children. God bless
the dear children. What would our
homes be 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 childs hand! Did harp or flute ever
have such music as there is in a child's
"good-night?' From our coarse, rough
| life, the angels of God are often driven
back but who comes into the nursery
without feeling that angels are hover
| ing around? They who die in infancy
go straight to glory, but you are ex-
! pecting your children to grow up in this
world. Is it not a 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, II mean to see
that they have good manners" Very
well. Il mean to dress them well, If I
have myself to go shabby" Very good.
I" shall give them an education, shall
| leave them a fortune" Very well. But
is that all? Don't you mean to take them
into the ark? Don't you know that the