The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1897-06-10
NO.. Is.


thing l never thought of before l had
noticed that the circle is Gods favorite
figure, and upon that subject | ad-
dressed you some time ago, but it did
not occur to me until now that the
Gospel seems to be moving in a circle.
1t started in Asia, Bethlehem, an
Asiatic village; Jordan, an Asiatic
river; calvary, an Asiatic mountain.
Then this Gospel moved on to Eu-
rope; witness the chapels and
churches and cathedrals and Chris
tian universities of that continent.
Then it crossed to America 1t has
prayed and preached and sung It's way
across our continent. 1t has crossed to
Asia, taking the Sandwich islands in
its way, and now in all the great cities
on the coast of China people are sing
ing Rock of Ages and There Is a
Fountain Filled with Blood" for you
must know that not only have the
Scriptures been translated into those
ASlatic tongues. but also the evangel-
lcal hymns. My missionary brother,
John, translated some of them into
Chinese, and Mr.. Gladstone gave
me copy of the hymn, Jesus
Lover of My Soul" which he had him
self translated into GIeek. The Chaist
! who, it seems, spent l6 or IS years of
His life in India, is there now in spirit,
converting and saving the people by
the hundreds of thousands, and the
Gospel will move right on through
Asia until the glory of the Saviour's
birth will anew be made known in
Bethlehem, and the story of Saviour's
sacrifice be told anew on and around
Mount Calvary. and the story of
Sariour's ascension be told anew
on the shoulder of Mount Oivet.
circle will be complete? The
glorio us circle. the circles of the earth,
This old planet, gashed with earth
quake, and scorched with contlagra-
ton, and torn with revolutions, will lie
girdled with churches, with schools,
with universities, with millennial fes-
tivities How cheering and how in
sDiring the thought that we are, wheth-
er giving temporal or spiritual relief,
working on the segment of such cir
Gle, And that the Christly mission
way until it goes clear around to
the place where it started, Then
the earth will have demonstrated that
for which it was created, and as soon
as world has completed its mission it
dies. Part of the heavens is a ceme-
terry of dead worlds. Our world built
to demonstrate to the worlds which
have been loyal to God the awful re-
suits of disloyalty. SO that none of them
may ever attempt it-l say our world.
having finished it's mission, may
| then go ont of existence. The central
| fires of the world which are burning
out rapidly toward the crust may have
reached the surface by that time and
| the Bible prophecy be fulfilled, which
declares that the earth and all things
| that are therein shall be burned up.
| The ransomed human race at that
| time on earth will start unhurt in
| those chariots of fire for the great Jue-
| tropoliS of the universe, the Heaven,
| where the redeemed of the Lord shall
talk over the famines and the plaques
and the wars which the earth suffered
and against which we struggled and
prayed as long as there was any
breath in us. Glorious cOnSumnation!
May 10, 1869, was a memorable day, for
then was laid the last tie that con-
nected the two rail tracks which united
! the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The
| Central Pacific railroad was built
| from California eastward. The Union
Pacific railroad was built west
ward. They were within arms reach of
meeting, only one more piece of the
rail track to put down. A great au-
dience assembled, mid-continent, to see
the last tie laid. The locomotives of
the eastern and western trains stood
painting on the tracks close by. Ora
tion explained the occasion, and prayer
solemnized it, and music enchanted it.
The tie was made of polished laurel
wood bound with silver bands, and
three spikes were used-a gold spike,
presented by California;; silver
spike, presented by Nevada and an
iron spike, presented by Arizona.
When, all heads uncovered and all
hearts thrilling with emotion, the ham,
mer struck the last spike into it's place,
the cannon doomed it amid the re-
sounding mountain echoes, and the
telegraphic instruments clicked to all
nations that the deed was done. My
friends, if the laying of the last tie
that bound the east and the west of
one ointment together was such a re-
sounding occasion, what will it be
when the last tie of the tracI of
Gospel influences, reaching CLEAR
around the world, shall be laid amid
the anthems of all nations? The spikes
will be the golden and silver spikes
fashioned out of the Christian gener-
osity of the hemispheres. The last
hammer stroke that completes the
work will be heard by all the raptured
and piled up galleries of the uni
verse, and the mountains of earth will
shout to the thrones of Heaven, Hal.
leluiah For the Lord God omnipo,
tent reigneth. Hallelujah. For the
@, kingdoms of this world have become
. the kingdoms of our Lord Jesus Christ!
| Humble honest work is the erandeS