The Progress., 1897-03-20

long ago had your names written on the
roll of celestial troops, and You like the
service well, although you now bear the
scars of multitudinous conflicts and can
recount many long march and tell Of
siege gun< opened on you that you thought
never would be spiked. But there may be
some who have not yet enlisted. Your be-
ing here implies that you are seriously
thinking about it, and your attention
makes me hope you are only looking for
the standard TO be hoisted. Will you not,
100 of you, with all the aroused enthusi
asm OF yot,r nature come bounding into
the ranks, while lin the name of God we
set up our banners?''
Through natural modcsty do you hold
back and say: II Will be of no advantage
to Christ. ] am too awkward to learn tho
step of the host, or to be of any service in
the shock of battles' To you I make the
reply, Try it. One hour under Christ's
drill, and you would SO well understand
his rules that the first step of your march
heavenward would make the gates of hell
tre1nble on their hinges. We may not be as
polished and trim as many Christians T-e
have known, and we may not us we'll I'M
derstand sharpshooting, but there is rough
work which we can all accomplish. We
may be ax1nen and hew pathway through
the forests. We may be spadesmen and dig
the trenches or throw up the Notifications.
We do not care where, we do not care what
If we can only help in the cause of our
king and shout as loudly as any of them at
the completion of the conquest.
Serfs Zouaves.
There are nonprofessors who have a very
correct idea of what Christians ought to
be. You have seen members of the church
who were as proud as Ahab and lied as
badly Ananias, and who were as foul
hypocriteS as Judas. You abhor all that
You say followers Of Christ ought TO be
~
charitable and patient and forgiving
Amen! So they ought. Come into the
kingdom of Christ, my nearer, and be just
that glorious Christian that you have de-
scribed. Every church has enough stingy
men in it TO arrest its charities, and enough
proud men in it to grieve away the Holy
-Shost: and enough lazy men in it to hang
on behind till it's wheels, like Pharaoh's
chariots, drag heavily, and enough world
" men to exhaust the patience of the very
elect, and enough snar1y men to make ap-
propriate the Bible warning, Beware of
dogs!" If any of you men on the outside
OF the kingdom expect to make such Chris
tians rs that, we do not want you TO come
for the church has already n million mem
bers too many of just that kind. We do
not want our ranks crowded with serfs
when we can have them filled with zounvcs
There are men now, rs in Christ S time,
possessed of seven devils. In some in
stances it seems as though at conversion
only six of those evil spirits Were cast out
while there remains still one in the hear
the devil of nvarice, the devil of lust or the
devil of pride. Men OF the world, if you
would be transformed and elevated by the
power of the gospel. now is the time to
come. 1t is no mean ensign I lift this
hour. 1t is time honored flag. 1t lbs
been in terrific battle Dragglcd in the
dust of u Sayiour's humiliation from Beth
lehern to Calvary. Rent by hc1l's onset,
the spears of n maddened soldiery, and the
hands of the men who said LET him be
crucifcd" With this ensign in his bleed
ing hand the Saviour scaled the heights of
our sin. With this he mounted the wa
of perdition, and amid its very smoke and
flame and hlasphe1ny he waved his tri-
umph, while demons howled with defeat
and heaven
Thronged his chariot wheels
And bore him to his throne,
Then swept their golden harps and sung.
The glorious work is done.