The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1896-12-17

connect it's bands of influence, made
out of human and Christly nerves,
with all parts of the earth, millions of
good men and women are now at work,
and will be at work until every viii.
derness shall become garden, and
every tier of grief shall be a tear of
joy, and the sword of Divine victory
shall give the wound to the old dragon
that shall send him bowling to the pit,
the iron gate Changing against him,
never again to open. All that, and in
tnitely more, to save soul-tremen-
dous for good, or tremendous for evil;
tremendous for happiness, or tremen-
dous for woe. Put on the left side of
the largest sheet of paper that ever
came from paper mill a single unit. the
figure ], and how many ciphers would
you have to add to the right of that fig
ure to express the souls value, each ci-
pher adding tenfold? Working into
that scheme of the souls redemption,
how many angels of God, descending
and descending! How many storms
sweeping on Lake Galilee! How
many earthquakes opening dungeons
and striking cataclysms through
mountains, from top to base! What
MONDAY sun was put on retreat! What
Omnipotence lifted. and what Godhead
was put to torture! All that for the
soul! No wonder that Paul, though
possessing great equipoise of tempera-
ment, when he thought what his
frian1S nI I-sr n,..cl III,
cerning their souls, flung aside all his
ordinary modes of speech, argument,
and apt smile, and bold metaphor and
learned allusion, as unfit to express
how he felt, and seeing upon the ap'
palling hyperbolism of my text,
cries out, ''I could wish my
self accursed;" that is, struck
of the thunderbolts of the
Omnipotent God, sunk to unfathomed
depths. chained into servitude to
A Abaddon, and thrust into furnaces
whose fires shall never burn out, if
only those whom l love might now
and forever be saved. Mind you. Paul
Il would wish" Even in the agony
he felt for others. he did not lose his
balance-''I could wish myself ac-
cursed" l could, but l do not.
Only one being that ever lived, was
literally willing to give up Heaven
for perdition, and that was the
Divine Peasant whom mentioned a
few moments ago. He was not only
willing to exchange dominions of bliss
for dominions of wretchedness, but He
did so; for that He forsook Heaven
witness the STOPPING star and all those
who saw His miracles of mercy, and
that He actually entered the gates of
the world of perpetual conflagration
the Bible distinctly declared. lie did
not say, with Paul: Il could but He
said: II will: do" and for the souls
of men He descended into he'll
" In this world God never does His
best. He can hang on the horizon
grander mornings than have ever yet
been kindled, and rainbow the sky
with richer colors than have ever been
arched, and attune the oceans to more
ma jestic doxologies than have ever
yet been attuned; but as near as
can tell, and speak it
-reverently, Heaven is the place
where God has done His best. He can
build no greater joys, lift no mightier
splendors, roll no loftier anthems,
march no more imposing professions,
build no greater palaces, and spread
out and interjoin and wave no more
transporting magnifcence. think
Heaven is the best Heaven God can
construct, and it is all yours for the
serious asking? How do you like the
offer? Do you really think it is worth
accepting? If SO, pray for it.
Get not up from the pew where you
are sitting, nor move one inch from
where you are standing. before you
blood of the Son of God, who would
have all men come to life present and
everlasting. If you have been in mill
tary life you know what soldiers
call the ''long roll" All the
drums beat it because the enemy is
approaching, aud all the troops mus,
Immediately get into line. What sour
rying around the camp and putting o
the arms through the straps of the
knapsack and saying 'Good-by' tt
comrades You may never see again
Some of you Germans or Frenchmer
may have heard that long roll just be
fore Sedan. Some of you Italians may
have heard that long roll just befor,
Bergamo. Some of you northern ant
southern men may have heard it jus
before the battle of the Wilder
ness. You know it's stirring ant
solemn meaning; and SO l sount
the long roll to-day. beat thi
old Gospel drum that has for centurie
been calling thousands to take thei
places in line for this battle, on on
side of which are all the forces beatifi
! and on the other side all the forces de
moniac. Here long roll-call: ''Who i
on the Lords side?' "Quit yourselve
like men," In solemn column march 70
God, and happiness, and Heaven. S
glad am that do not have to wis
| myself accursed." and throw away m,
Heaven that you may win your Heav
| en-, but we have a whole convention o
Heavens-Heaven added to Heaven
Heaven built on Heaven-and while
dwell upon the theme I begin to ez
| perience in nv own poor self tha