Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1896-12-03


from age to age in the messroom and the
barracks9 No, mol They are wanted at
Montezuma and Chapultepec and South
Mountain and Missionary Ridge, and the
church is no place for Christian to stay
very long. He is wanted at the front He
Is needed in the desperate charge Of taking
the parapets. The hast great battle for
God is not TO be fought on the campus of
a college or the lawn of a church. 1t is to
be fought at Missionary Ridge. Before
this century quits US let us establish the
habit of giving the forenoon Of the Sab
bath to the churches and the afternoon and
the evening of the Sabbath to gospel work
in the halls and theaters and streets and
fields aud slums, and wildernesses Of sin
and sorrow. Why do Christians who have
stuffed themselves with "the strong meat
of the word" and all gospel viands ON
Sabbath forenoons want to come up TO
second service and stuff themselves again?
These old gormandizers at the gospel feast
need to get into outdoor work with the
outdoor gospel that was preached on the
banks of the Jordan, and on the fishing
smacks of Lake Galilee, and In the bleak
air of Assyrian mountains. / am told that
throughout all our American cities the
second Sabbath service in the majority of
churches is sparsely, yea, disgracefully at
tended, and Is the distress Of the conse-
Grated and eloquent pastors who bring
their learning and piety before pews ghast-
ly for their inoccupancy. What is the
providential meaning? The greatest of all
evangelists since Bible times recently sug-
gested that the evening services In all the
churches be turned into the most popular
style of evangelistic meetings for outsid-
ers. Surely that is an experiment worth
making. II that does not succeed, then it
does seem to me all the churches which
cannot secure sufficient evening audiences
ought to shut up their buildings at night
and, go where the people are and invite
them to come to the gospel banquet.
A Helping Hand.
Let the Christian souls, bountifully fed
in the morning, go forth in the afternoon
and evening to feed the multitudes of out
| siders starving for the bread Of which If a
man eat he shall never again hunger.
Among those clear down the gospel would
make more rapid conquest than among
those who know so much and have so
much that God cannot teach or help them.
In those lower depths are splendid fellows
in the rough, like the shoeblack that a re-
porter saw near New York city halL He
asked boy to black his boots. The boy
came up to his work proyokingly slow and
had just begun when large boy showed
him aside and began the work, and the re-
porter reproved him as being bully, and
the boy replied: "Oh, that's all right
am going to do 1T for i'm. You see he's
been sicg in the hospital more'n a month";
SO US boys turn in and give I'm lift. I"
"Do all the boys help him?" asked the re-
porter. "Yes, sir. When they amt got
no job themselves and Jim gets one they
turn in and help i'm, for he amt strong
yet, you see.' "How much percentage
does he give youS" said the reporter. Tho
boy replied; II don't keep none of it. I
ain t no such sneak as that All the boys
give up what they git on his job. I'd like
to catch any feller sneaking on sick boy,
I would" The reporter gave him 25
cent piece and said, "You keep 10 cents
for yourself and give the rest to Jim. "
"Can't do it, sir. It's his customer. Here,
jim" Such big souls as that strew all the
lower depths of the cities, and, get them
converted to God, this would be the last
full century of the worlds sin and but lit
tie work Of evangelization would be left
for the next century. Before this century
expires let there be a combined effort to
save the great cities of America and Great
Britain and of all Christendom. What an
awful thing it would be for you'll
o dying century, to bequeath to the
coming century, as yet innocent and un.
SCARED with single sin or burdened with
a single sorrow, the blasphemy, the law
lessness the atheism, the prodigacy and
the woes of great cities still unevangelized.
What we ought to see, o dying century, Is
a revival of religion that would wrap the
continents in confagrations Of religious
awakening, and that would make legisla-
ton and merchandise and all styles OF
worldly business wait awhile at the tele.
graph offices and the telephone Offices be.
cause they are occupied with telling the
story of cities and nations born in day.
Nearly all the centuries closed with some.
thing tremendous. Why may not this cen
tury close in the salvation of America?
do not know whether our theological
friends who have studied the subject more
than have, are right or wrong when they
|
his kingdom In this world; but though
we would be overwhelmed with our un
worthiness would like to see Christ de
scend from heaven in one Of the clouds oi
this morning, and planting his feet or
this earth, which he came centuries ago tt
save, declare his reign Of love and mercy
and salvation on earth begun. And what
more appropriate place-I say 1t reveren
tially-for such divine landing than the
capital of continent never cursed by the
tyrannies and superstitions Of the ole
worldS
What has this dying nineteenth century
to tell us before he goes? We all love tc
hear septuagenarians, Octogenarians, non
Rgenarians and centenarians talk VI
gather around the armchair and listen til
it is far on into the night and never weary
of hearing their experiences. But Lore
Iyndhurst, at SO years of age, pouring in
to the ears of the house of lords in fou,
hours address the experiences of lifetime
and Apollonius, at 100 years of age, re
counting his travels to thrilled listeners
and Charles Macklin, at 107 years of age
absorbing the attention of his hearers aL(
Ralph Farnham of our country, at 20,
years, telling the Prince of Wales the story
of Bunker Hill, can create no such interes
as this dying centenarian If he will only
speak.
ADying Century.
Tell us, o nineteenth century, before
you go in a score of sentences some of tht
things you have heard and seen. The vet
eran turns upon us and says: II SOW
Thomas jefferson riding in unattended
from Monticello, only few steps from
where you stand, dismount from his horst
and hitch the bridle to post. .and on yon
der hill take the oath of the presidential
office. saw yonder capitol ablaze will
wars incendiarism. saw the puff Of th,
first steam engine in America. I heard tht
thunders of Waterloo, Of Sevastopol ant
Sedan and Gettysburg. I was present q
all the coronations Of the kinGs and nnenn
The wife of Mr.. D. Robinson,
prominent lumberman of Hartwick
| NJ " xua ciok with rhoumafien fo