Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1896-11-12


tell us, Golgotha, who heard the stroke Of
tho hammer on the spikeheads and the dy-
ing groan In that midnight thht dropped
on midnoon, did any one like Jesus have
this passion for soulsi
But breaking right in upon me is the
question, How can we get something Of
this Pauline and Christly longing for
saved immortalitiesa 1 answer, by bet
ter appreciating the prolongation Of the
souls existence compared with everything
physical and material. How hope that
surgeon will successfully remove the cat
aract from that mans eye! It is such
sad thing to he blind Let us pray while
the doctor is busy with the delicate opera
tion. But for how long time will he be
able to give his patient eyesigh3 Well, If
the patient be 40 years of age, he will add
to his happiness perhaps so years of eye.
sight, and that will bring the man to so
years, and it is not probable that he will
live longer than TINT, or that he will live
30 long. But what is good eyesigEt for 90
years more as compared with clear vision
for the soul a billion Of centuries? | hope
the effort TO drive back the typhoid fever
from yonder home will be successful. God
help the doctorsl We will wait in great
anxiety until the fires of that fever are ex-
tinguished, and when the man rises from
his pillow and walks out, with what
heartiness we will welcome him into the
| fresh air and the church and business cir
cles He is so years of age, and If he shall
| live 60 years moro that will make him co.
But what are go years more of earthly
vigor compared with the'soul's health for
quadrillion millenniums-a millennium,
as you know, a thousand yearsY This
world, since fitted up for mans residence,
has existed about six thousand years. How
much longer will it exist? We will sup
pose it shall last as much longer, which is
very doubtful That will make it's exist
ence twelve thousand years. But what
are or will be twelve thousand years com.
pared with the eternity preceding those
years and the eternity following them
time, as compared to eternity, like the
drop of the night dew shaken from the top
of grass blade by the cows hoof on its
way afield this morning, as compared with
Mediterranean and Arabian and Atlantic
and Pacific watery dominions2
Paul ut Corinth.
A stranger desired to purchase farm,
but the owner would not sell it-would
only let it. The stranger hired it by lease
for only one crop, but he sowed accorns,
and to mature that crop 300 years were
necessary. That was a practiced deception,
but deceive you not when l tell you that
the crop of the soul takes hold of unending
ages
see the author of my text seated in the
house of Gaius,, who entertained him at
Corinth, not far from the overhanging
fortress of Aero Corinthus, and meditating
on the longevity of the soul and getting
more and more agitated about It's value
and the awful risk some of his kindred
were running concerning 1t, and he writes
this letter containing the text, which
Chrysostom admired so much he had it
read to him twice a week, and among 9TH
er things he says those daring and star
tling words of my text, 81 could wish that
myself we're accursed from Christ for my
brethren, my kinsmen, according to the
flesh.
Another way to get something Of the
Pauline longing for redeemed immortali-
ties is by examining the vast machinery
arranged to save this inner and spiritual
nature. That machinery started to revolve
on the edge Of the garden of Eden, just
after the cyclone Of sin prostrated it's
sycancres and tamarisks and willows and
will not cease to revolve until the last soul
of earth shall get rid of its last sin and
enter the heavenly Eden. On that stu
pendous machinery for soul saving the
patriarch put his hand, and prophet his
hand, and evangelist his hand, and apostle
his hand, and Christ his hand, and almost
every hand that touched it became q crush
Ia,l AI,o ,,t,-
chinery ever constructed. 1t cost more to
start 1t and has cost and will cost more to
keep it running than all the wheels that
ever made revolution on this planet That
machinery turned not by ordinary motive
power, but by force Of tears and blood. To
connect its 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 wilderness shall become a
garden, and every tear of grief shall be o
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. ALI that and infinitely
more to save the soul! Why, it must be a
tremendous soul-tremendou for good or
tremendous for evil, tremendous for hap
piness or tremendous for woe.
Put on the left side of the largest sheet
of paper that ever came from paper mill
single unit, the figure /, and how many
ciphers would you have to add to the right
Of that figure to express the soul S value,
each cipher adding tenfold? Working into
that scheme of the souls redemption, how
many angels of God, descending and as
cending! How many storms swooping 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 God
head was put to tortured All that for the
soul. No wonder that Paul, though pos
sessing great equlpoise of temperament
when he thought what his friends and
kindred were risking concerning their
souls, flung aside all hts ordinary modes
Of speech, argument and apt simile, and
bold metaphor, and learned allusion, as
unfit to express how he felt and seizing
upon the appalling hyperbolism of my text
cries out 81 could wish myself accursed"
that Is, struck of the thunderbolts of
the omnipotent God, sunk to unfathomed
depths, chained into servitude to Abaddon
and thrust into furnaces whose fires shall
never burn outfit only those whom love
might now and forever be saved. Mind
ycu, Paul does not say, 81 do WISH" He
says, II could wish" Even In the agony
he felt for others he did not lose his bal
ance. II could wish myself accursed."
could, but do not. Only one being that
ever lived was literally willing to give up
heaven for perdition and that was the di-
vine peasant whom mentioned few mo-
ments ago. He was not only willing to
exchange dominions of bliss for dominions
Of wretohedness, but ho 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 confagra-