The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1896-09-25

| - NV e mark OF recent
A ~ IN grief, but all along
,k k&A#yfIIthe track of tears
~ W|1m see the story of res
VIII AAAnA"N direction and re-
union when all tears are done; the
deep blowing of the keel, followed by
the flash of the phosphorescence. Now
that l have asked you in regard to
your welfare, you naturally ask
how 1 am. Very well, thank you.
Whether it was the bracing air
of the mountains, or a bath
in the surf of Long Island beach, or
whether it is the Joy of standing in this
| greatgroup of warm-hearted friends,
or whether it is a new appreciation
of the goodness of God, l cannot tell.
l simply know l am happy. 1t was
said that John Moffat, the great Meth
odist preacher, occasionally got fast in
his sermon. and to extricate himself
would cry "Hallelujahr' ] am in no
such predicament to-day, but am full
of the same rhapsodic ejaculation.
| Starting out this morning on a new
ecclesiastical year, l want to give you
the keynote of my - months ministry.
l want to set it to the tunes of Anti
ocb," "Ariel' and Coronation" l
want to put a new trumpet stop into
my sermons. We do wrong if we allow
our personal sorrows to inter
fere with the glorious fact that the
kingdom is coming. We are wicked if
we allow apprehension of national dis
aster to put down our faith in God and
N the mission of our American people
The God who hath been on the side of
this nation since the 4th of July, I776,
mill see to it that this nation shall not
commit suicide on Novembe 3, 1896.
By the time the unparalleled harvests
of this summer get down to the sea-
board, we shall be standing in SUM-
burst of national prosperity that will
paralyze the pessimists who by their
evil prophesies are disappearing the
God who hath blest this nation as He
hath blest no other.
In all our Christian work you and
want more of the element of gladneSs.
No man had right TO say that Christ
never laughed. Do you suppose that
he was glum at the wedding in Cana.
of Galilee? Do You suppose that Christ
was unresponsive when the children
clambered over His knee and shoulder
at His own invitation? Do you suppose
that the evangelist meant nothing
when he said of Christ: HE rejo;ced in
spirit?' Do you believe that the divine
Christ, who pours all the waters over
the rocks at Vernal falls. Yosemite,
does not believe in the sparkle and gal
lopand tumultunus JOY and rushing rap
lures of human lie? l believe not
only that the morning laughs, and that
the mountains laugh, and that the
seas laugh, and that the cascades
laugh. but that Christ laughed. More
over, take a laugh and a tear into an
alembic, and assay them, and ties:
them, and analyze them, and you will
often find as much of the pure gold of
religion in laugh as in tear. Deep
spiritual joy always shows itself in
facial illumination. John Wesley said
ne was sure of a good religious impress
sion icing produced because of what
he calls the great gladness he saw
among the people Goddess merriment
is bIashemy anywhere, but expression
of Christian joy is appropriate every
where.
Moreover, the outlook of the world |
ought to stir us to gladness. Astron-
omers disturbed many people by tell
ing them that there was danger of |
stellar collision. We were told by |
these astronomers that there are |
worlds coming very near together. and |
that we shall have plaques and wars |
and tumults and perhaps the worlds |
destruction. Do not be scared. If you |
have ever stood at railroad center |
where ten or 20 or so rail tracks cross |
each other, and seen that by the move
ment of the switch one or two inches, |
the train shoots this way and that,
without colliding, then you may under
stand how so worlds NAV come with
in an inch of disaster, and that inch
be as good as 100000 miles. If
a human switch-tender can shoot
the trains this way and that without
harm, cannot the hand that for thou
sands of years has upheld the universe
keep our little world out of harms
way? Christian biologists tell US that
this world was millions of years in
building. Well, now. do not think
God would take millions of years to
build house which was to last only
G. 600 years. There is nothing in the
world or outside the world, terrestrial
VI astronomical, to excite dismay. 1
wish that some stout gospel breeze
might scatter all the malaria of human
foreboding. The sun rose this morn
ing at about six o'clock, and think
that is just about the hour in the
worlds history. The day is at hand"
The first ray of the dawn see in the
gradual substitution of diplomatic
skill for human butchery. Within the
last 25 years there have. been interna-
tional differences which would have
brought a shock of arms in any other
day, but which were peacefully ad