Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1896-01-30


to Christian work. But IL ministers Of
Christ today should. bring the church roc.
ords into the pulpit and read, oh, what
nutter there would Dol There would not
be fans enough in church to keep tho
cheeks cool. l do not know but 1t would
BIO u good thing II the minister once in
awhile should bring tho church records in
tho pulpit and cal the roll, for that Is
what consider every church record to be
merely q muster roll of the Lords army,
and the reading of 1t should reveal where
every soldier Is and what he Is doing.
Which Side Are You On9
Suppose in military circles on tho morn.
ing of battle tho roll Is called, and out OF
thousand men only hundred mon In
tho regiment answered. What exctemont
there would be in the oampl What would
the colonel sayP What high talking there
would BIO among the captains, and majors
and tho adjutantsl Suppose word came
to headquarters that these delinquents OK.
cused themselves on the ground that they
had oversight themselves, or the morning
was damp and they wero afraid OF getting
their feet wet, or that they were busy
cooking rations My friends, this Is the
morning of the day of God Almighty's
ye not all the trumpets of heaven and all
the drums of hellp Which side are you on2
If you are on the right side, to what cav
airy troop, to what artillery service, to
what garrison duty do you belongp In
other words, in what Sabbath school do
you tcachp In what prayer meeting do
you exhortP To what penitentiary do you
declare eternal liberty? To what almshousu
do you announce the riches of heavcn,
What broken bono Of sorrow have you ever
setP Are you doing nothing? Is 1t posi-.
bio that man or woman sworn to bo n
follower of Jesus Christ is doing nothingi
Then hide the horrible secret from the an
gels. Keep II away from the book of judg
ment IL you are doing nothing, do not
let the world find 1t out, lest they charge
your religion with being false fnco. Do
not let your cowardice and treason DO
heard among the martyrs about the throne,
lest thcy forget the sanctity of tho place
and denounce your betrayal of that cause
for which they agonized and died
May tho eternal God rouse us all to &c.
tion AS for myself l feel l would be
ashamed to die now and enter heaven un.
I'll havo accomplished something moro
decisive for tho Lord that bought mo. Oh,
brethren, how swiftly tho time goes byl
IL seems to mo us if tho years had gained
some new power of locomotion-a kind OF
speed electric.
Tho temple of Berth Is very broad, and
1t is very high. 1t has been going up BY
tho hands of mon and devils, and no hL.
msn engineering can demolish 1t, but X
tho 10000 ministers of Christ in this
country should each take u branch of the
tree OF life, and all their congregations
should do the same, and We should march
on and throw these branches around the
great temples of sin and worldliness and
folly, 1t would need no match or coal or
torch of ours to touch off tho pile, for as
in the days of Elijah, fire would fall from
heaven and kindle tho bonfire of Christian
victory over demolished sin.
Ono Safe Refuge.
Still further, learn from this subject
the danger Of false refugees. AS soon az
these Shechemitos got into tho temple they
thought they were safe They said; "Berlth
will take care of us. Abimeech may bat.
ter down everything else. He cannot bat.
ter down this temple where we IRE now
hid" But very soon they heard the tim
bers cracking, and they were smothered
with smoke, and they miserably died.
suppose every person In this audience this
moment is stepping into some kind Of
refuge. Here you stop in tho tower OF
good works You say, ~ shall be safe in
this refuge" The battlements are adorn.
ed, the steps are vanished, on the wall
are pictures of all the suffering you have
allcviated, and all the schools you have cs.
tablished, and all tho fine things you have
ever done, Up in that tower you feel you
are safe. But hear you not the tramp OF
your unpardoned sins all around the tow
err They each have match You arc
klndlng the combustible material. You
feel tho heat and the suffocation. Oh
may you leap in time, the gospel declar.
ing, BY the deeds of the law shall no
flesh living be justified !"
We'll, you say, II have been driven
out of that tower. Where shall gof' Step
into this tower of Indifference. You say.
"If this tower is attacked, 1t will DO q
great while before 1t Is taken" You feel
at ease. But there is an Abimelech with
ruthless assault coming on. Death and his
forces are gathering around, and they de.
mand that you surrender everything and
they clamor for your overthrow, and they
throw their skeleton arms In the window,
and with tnelr iron fists they beat against
tho door, and while you arc trying to keep
them out you see the torches of Judgment
kindlng, and every forest is torch, and
every mountain torch, and every sea a
torch, and while the Alps and Pyrenees
and Himalayas turn into live coal, blown
redder and redder by the whirlwind breath
Of God omnipotent what will become OF
your rsfuge Of lies9
But" says some one, "you arc en-
gagged in a very mean business, driving us
from tower to tower"
Oh, mol I want to tell you Of Gibral.
tar that never has been and never will be
taken, of wall that no satanic assault
can scale. of bulwark that the judgment
earthquakes cannot bulge. The Bible re-
fers to it when 1t says, In God Us thy ref
uge, and underneath thee are tho ever
lasting arms" Oh, fling yourself into 1t
Tread down unoeremoniously everything
that intercepts you. Wedge your way
there. There are enough hounds of death
and peril after you to make you hurry
Many n man has persisted just outside the
tower, with his foot on the step, with his
hand on the latch. Oh, get inside, Not
ono surplus second have you to spare
Quick, quick, quick
| You can't sell 1t or give it away, thai
wearisome cough of yours. Nobody wants
/ II yOn don't want II yOursaIf Gnf Ado ~,