The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1896-01-03


disappear to-day. Blot out this entire
audience except yourself Your sin, is
il pardoned? Your death, is it provided
for? Your Heaven, is it secured? A
mightier earthquake than that which
demolished the Phillippian peniten.
tiary will rumble about your cara
The foundations of the earth will give
way. The earth by one tremor will
fling all the American cities into the
dust Cathedrals and palaces and pris-
sons which have stood for thousands
of years will topple like a child's
block house. The surges of the sea
will submerge the land and the Allan.
tic and Pacific oceans above the Alps
and the Andes clasp their hands. What
then will become of me? What then
will become of you? do not wonder
at the anxiety of this man of my text,
for he was not only anxious about the
falling of a prison, but the falling of a
world.
Again, l remark, l characterize this
| question of the agitated Jail keeper as
one of incompatible Importance. Men
are alike, and suppose he had scores
tiOns for this world are hushed up, for
gotten, annihilated in this one ques-
ton of the text, What must do to be
saved?' And have you, my
brother, any question of Importance
compared with that question? Is it a
question of business? Your common
sense tells you that you will soon
cease worldly business. You know
very we'll that you will soon pass out
of that partnership. You know that
| beyond a certain point of all the
millions of dollars worth of goods
sold you will not handle a yard of
cloth, or a pound of sugar, or pen
nys worth. After that. if confagra-
tion should sweep all Washington into
ashes it would not touch you and
would not damage you. If every cash
Ter should abscond, and every bank
suspend payment, and every insurance
company fail, it would not affect you.
Oh. how insignificant is business this
side the grave with business on the
other side the grave! Havs you
made any purchases for eter-
nifty? Have you any securities
that will last forever? Are you job
bling for time when you might be
wholesaling for eternity? Is there
any question so broad at the base, so
altitudInous, so overshadowing as the
question, What must l do to be
saved?" Or is it domestic question?
| Is it something about father or moth
er or husband or wife or son or daugh-
4or hat &c
ton? You know by universal and in
exorable law the relation will soon be
broken up. Father will be gone, moth
er will be gone, children will be gone,
you will be gone, but after that the
question of the text will begin to har-
vest its chief gains, or deplore its worst
losses, or roll up its mightiest magni-
tudes, or sweep its vaster circles.
Oh, what a question-what an i'm
portant question! Is there any ques
ton that compares with it in import
ance? What is it now to Napoleon III
whether he triumphed or surrendered
at Sedan, whether he died at the Tuil-
cries or Chiselhurst, whether he was
emperor or exile? Because he was laid
out in the coffin in the dress of a field
marshal, did that give him any better
chance for the future than if he had
been laid out in plain shroud? What
| difference will it soon make to you or
to me whether in this world we walked
or rode, whether we were bowed to or
maltreated, whether we were applaud
ed or Missed at, welcomed in or kicked
oht? While laying hold of every mo-
ment of the future and burning in
every splendor or every grief and over
arching or undergirding all time and
all eternity will be the plain, startling,
infinite, stupendous question of the
text, What must do to be saved?'
Again, 1 characterize this question
of the agitated Jail keeper as one
crushed out by his misfortunes, pressed
out by his misfortunes The falling of
the penitentiary, his occupation was
gone. Besides that the fight of a
prisoner was ordinarily the death of
the jailor. He was held responsible.
If all had gone well; if the prison walls
had not been shaken of the earth
quake; if the prisoners had all staid
quiet in the stocks; if the morning SUM-
light had calmly dropped on the jail
er's pillow, do you think he would
have hurled this red-hot question
from his soul into the ear of his apos-
tolic prisoners? All, no! You know
as well as do it was the earthquake
that reused him up. And it is trouble
that starts a great many people to ask
ing the same question. 1t has been SO
with a multitude of you. Your ap-
parel is not as bright as it once was.
Why have you changed the garb? Do
you not like solferino and crimson and
purple as we'll as once? Yes, but you
say: while was prosperous and hap
py those colors were accordant with
my feelings. Now they would be dis
cord to my soul" And so you have
plated up the shadows into your ap-
parel. The world is a very different
place from what it was once for you!
Once you said: "Oh, if could only
have it quiet little whiler' 1t is too
quiet
Some people say that they would not
bring back their departed friends from
Heaven even if they had the opportun-
ity, but if you had the opportunity you
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