Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1897-05-11

! OK the entire United States VIII pour
! forth their treasures of food. When
that ship is laden till ii can carry no
more, we will ask Him who holds the
winds in his fist and plants his trlum-
plant foot on stormy waves to let noth-
ing but good happen to tho ship till it
anchors III Bengal or Arabian waters.
they who help by contributions OF
money or breadstuffS toward filling
that relief ship will flavor their own
iood for their lifetime with appetiZing
qualities, and insure their own welfare
through the promise of him who said,
Blessed is he that considereth the
poor; the Lord will deliver him In time
of trouble"
And now I bethink myself OF some
thing never thought of before. I had
noticed that the circle is Gods favor
lite figure, and upon that subject I ad-
dressed you some time ago, but it did
not occur to me until now that the Cos
pei seems to be moving In a circle. Il
started In Asia, Bethlehem, an Asiatlc
| village: Jordan. an Asiatic river: Cal
Gospel moved on to Europe; witness
the chapelS and churches and cathed-
rails and Christian universities Of that
continent. Then it crossed to Amer
lea. 1t has prayed and preached and
sung its way across our continent. Il
has crossed to Asia, taking the Sand
wich Islands in its way. and now in all
the great cities on the coast OF China
people are singing Rock of Ages" ana
There Is q Fountain Filled with
Blood:' for you must know that not
only have the Scriptures been trans
lated into these ASiatic tongues, but
also the evangelical hymns. Ny mis-
! sionary brother. John, translated some
| OF them into Chinese, and Mr. Glad
stone gave me copy of the hymn.
Jesus. Lover OF My Soul" which he
| himself had translated into Greek. The
| Christ who it seems spent sixteen or
eighteen years of his life ia India is
there now in spirit, converting and
saving the people by hundreds OF thou
sands, and the Gospel will movo right
! on through Asia until the story of the
! Saviour's birth will anew be made
known in Bethlehem, and the story Of a
! S2Viour's sacrifice be told anew on and
! around Calvary, and the story OF Saw
! tours Ascension be told anew on the
| shoulder OF Mt. Olivet. And then do
you not see the circle will be complete?
! Inc glorious circle, the circle OF the
earth? This old planet. gashed with
earthquake and scorched with confla-
grafton and torn with revolutions, will
be girdled with churches, with schools.
with universities, with millennial fes-
! tylties. How cheering and how inspir-
ing the thought that We are. whethe.
giving temporal or spiritual relief,
working on the segment of such r
circle. And that the Christly mission
which started in Asia will keep on it's
way until 1t goes clear around to the
! place where it started! Then the earth
| Will have demonstrated that for which
| II was created, and as soon as O world
4 has completed its mission it dies. Part
| or Inc heavens is a cemetery OF dead
worlds. Our world built to demon
strate 10 the worlds which have been
! loyal to God the awfu! results of dis
| loyalty, SO that none OF them may ever
| attempt it, say our world, having
finished its mission. may them go our
| 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.
May the 10th, 1869, was memorable
| day, for then was laid the last tic
which connected 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
| westward. They were within arms
! reach of meeting, only one more piece
! of the rail track to put down. A great
audience assembled, mid-contiuent. to
see the last tie laid. The locomotives
! OF the Eastern and Western trains
! stood painting on the tracks close by.
! Grafton explained the occasion, and
prayer soIemnized IL and music
! enchanted ii. The tie was made
OF polished laurel wood. bound
! with silver bands, and three
spikes were uscd-a gold spike.
| presented by California; sill
yer spike, presented by Nevada. and
! an iron spike, presented by Arizona,
! When, all heads uncovered and al,
hearts thrilling with emotion, the ham.
mer struck the last spike into its place
| the cannon doomed 1t amid the re-.
sounding mountain echoes and the teIe-
! graphic instruments clicked TO all ma
| tons that the deed was done. NV
| friends, IL the laying Of the last tie that
! bound the East and the West OF ono
| continent together was such resound-
! ing occasion, what will it be when the
| last tie of the track of Gospel inf,u
| ences, reaching clear around the world
! shall be laid amid the anthems OF all
| nations? The spikes will be the gold.
| en- and silver spikes fashioned ont of
| the Christian generosity of tho hemis-
pheres. The last hammer stroke that
completes the work will be heard by al,
the raptured and piled-up galleries of
the universe, and the mountains OF
earth will shout 10 the thrones O. hea-