Semi-weekly independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1895-1897, 1896-02-01

either III the Prov or in the stern. wrap
ped IN our striped shawl. holding a big
handled sunshade. while others are bis
tered in the heat and pull until the oar
locks groan and the blades bend till they
snap. On. YOU religious sleopyheads,
Wake up. You nave lain SO long in one
place that the ants and caterpiilars have
begun To crawl over youi What do YOU
Know, my brother, about a living gospel
made to storm the world? Now. my idea
OF a Christian is a man on fire with zeal
for God, and IL Your pulse ordinarily beats
sixty times 4 minute when you think of
other themes and talk about other themes,
Il your pulse does not 20 up to seventy-fye
OF eighty when You come to talk about
Christ and heaven, it is because you do
not know the one and have 4 poor chance
OF getting 10 the other.
Which Side Are You On?
Suppose IN military circles on the morn
ing OF battle the roll is called, and out of
Il thousand men only a hundred men in
the regiment answered. What excitement
there would be in the camp. What would
the colonel say: What high talking there
would be among the captains, and majors
and the adjutantS. Suppose word came
to headquarters that these ~delinqucntS ex-
cuSed themselves on the ground that they
had oyerSlept themselves. or the morning
was damp and they were afraid of getting
their feet wet. or that they were busy
cooking ~rations. My friends. this is tie
morning Of the day Of God Almigiuty's
battle. Do sou not see the troops: Hear
We not ali the trumpots of heaven and all
the drums of hell: Which side are you
on: II You are on the right side. 10 whit
cavalry troop. to what artillery service. 10
what garrison duty do YOU belong: In
other words, in what Sabbath school DO
You teach: In what prayer meeting do
You eXhort? 10 what penitentiary do you
declare eternal liberty To what aims
house DO YOU announce the riches of heav-
en-: What broken bone of sorrow have
you ever set: Are YOU doing nothing: Is
K possible that a man or woman sworn 10
be Il follower Of Jesus Christ is doing
nothing? Then hide the horrible secret
from the angels. If you are doing moth
ing, do not let the world find it out. lest
they charge YOU religion with being n
false face. Do not let your cowardice and
treason be heard among the martyrs about
the throne. lest they forget the s~anctity Of
the place and denOunce your betrayal u
that cause for which they ~agonized and
died.
May the eternal God rouse us all to
action, As for myself. | feel | would be-
ashamed to die now and enter heaven I'M
III | have accomplished something more
decisive for the Lord that bought me. Oh,
brethren, how swiftly the time goes byi
1t seems to me as if the years had gained
some new power of ocomotion-a kind IF
speed electric.
One Safe Refuge.
Still further, | learn from this subject
the danger of false refugees. AS soon as
these Shechemites got into the temple they
thought they We're safe. They said:
BERTH will take care of us. Abimelech
may batter down everything else. He
cannot batter down this temple where we
are now hid" But very soon they heard
the timbers cracking, and they were
smothered with smoke, and they misera-
bly, died. | suppose every person in this
audience this moment is stepping into
some kind of refuge. Here you step in
the tower of good works. You say. Il
shall be safe in this refuge" The battle
ments are adorned. the steps are varnish-
ed, on the wall are pictures of all the
suffering you have alleviated, and all the
schools you have established, and all the
fine things You have ever done. Up in
that tower you feel you are safe. But
hear you not the tramp of your unpar-
doned sins all around the tower? They
each have a match. You are kindling
the combustible material. You feel the
heat and the suffocation. Oh, may you
leap in time, the gospel declaring, by
the deeds of the law shall no flesh living
be justified!.'
We'll" you say, Il have been driven
out of that tower. Where shall | go?"
Step into this tower of Indifference. You
say, IF this tower is attacked. it will be
a great while before it is taken" You
feel ut ease. But there is an Abimelech
with ruthless assault coming on. Death
and his forces are gathering around, and
they demand THAT you surrender every
thing. and they clamor for your overthrow,
and they throw their skeleton arms in
the window. and with their iron fists they
beat against the door, and while You are
10 keep them out you see the torches
of judgment kindling, and every forest
is Il torch, and every mountain Il torch,
and every sea a torch, and while the Alps
and Pyrenees and Himalayas turn into Il
live coal, blown redder and reddcr by
the whirlwind breath of Il God omnipo-
tent. what will become of your refuge OF
lies?
But says some one, you are cngag-
ed in n very mean business, driving us
from tpXypr 70 tower
oh, no, | want to tell you of n Glib
raltar that never has been and never will
be taken. of a wall that no satanic assault
can scale. of Il bulwark that the Judgment
.ca-thauakes cannot bulge. The Bible re-
fers to it when it says, IN God is thy
refuge. and underneath thee are the ever
lasting arms oh. fling yourself into ii,
Tread down unceremoniously everything
that intercepts you. Wedge your way
there. There are enough hounds of death
and peril after you to make you hurry.
Many a man has persisted just outside the
tower, with his foot on the step. with his
hand on the latch. oh, get inside, Not
one surplus second have you to spare.
Quick, quick. quick,