The Monitor-register., 1897-03-19

gate OF Eden the declaration of perpet-
uaI enmlty was made against the SER
pent. The tumult roundabout Mount
olnai was only the roar and fash of
SOD artillery of wrath against sin.
oooom on fire was only one of Gods
namEng bulletins announcing hostility.
N1neveh and Tyre and Jerusalem in
awful ruin mark the track of Jehoyah's,
advancement. They show that God was,
terribly in earnest when he announced
himself abhorrent of all iniquity. They
make us believe that, though nations
~pe!llgerent and ~revengeful may sign ar
t1cles OF peace and come to an amicable
adjustment, there shall be no cessation
OF nostllltles between the forces of light
and the forces Of darkness until the
Kingdoms of this world. have become
the kingdoms of our Lord Affrighted
by no opposition, discouraged by no
temporary defeats. shrinking from no
exposure, every man to his position,
while from the tops of our s~choolhouses
and churches and seminaries and asy-
lums sin the name of God we will set
up our banners"
A Glorious Standard.
Again, it was the custom in ancient
times for the purpose OF gathering ar
mics to lift an ensign on the top of some
high hill, SO that all who saw it woul
feel. impelled to, rally around it. In
more modern times the same plan has
been employed for the gathering of an
army. Thus it is that the church Of
Christ lifts its flag for recruits. The
cross of Jesus is u standard, planted.
on the hill of Calvary. Other armies
demand that persons desiring to enter
the lists of war shall be between such
and such an age, lest the folly of ex-
IRENE youth or the infirmity of advanced
age be a clog rather than an advantage.
But none is too young for Christ S reg
iment; none can be too old. The hand
that is strong enough to bound a ball or
trundle a hoop is skilled enough to fight
for Christ, while many a hand trem-
bling with old age has grasped b ar
row of truth, and with a DIM eye close
to it, taking aim, has sent its sharp
point right through the heart of the
Kings enemies. Many of you have long
ago had your names written on the roll
of celestial troops, and you like the serv-
ice we'll, although you now bear the
scars Of mu~ltitudinous conflicts and can
recount many a long march and tell of
siege guns opened on you that you
thought never would be spiked. But
there may be some who have not yet en-
listed. Your being 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 enthusiasm of your ma
ture, come bounding into the ranks,
while Gin the name of God we set up
our banners?"
Through natural modesty do you hold
back and say, 81 will be of no advan-
tage to Christ. I am too awkward to
learn the step of the host or to be Of
any service in the shock of battle?' To
you I make the reply, Try it. One hour
under Christ's drill, and you would SO
we'll understand his rules that the first
step of your march heavenward would
make the gates of hell tremble ON their
| l1uStb W6 uldy dOU OO ao PO11ohCu hN
trim as many Christians we have
known, and we may not as well under
stand sharpshooting, but there is rough
work which we can all accomplish. We
may be axmen and hew a pathway
through the forests. We may be spades
men 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 u King and shout
as loudly as any of them at the compile
ton of the conquest.
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 as Ananias and who
were as foul ~hypocrites as Judas. You
! abhor all that. You say followers of
Christ ought to be honorable, humble
and self denying and charitable and pa
tent 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 ltingy
men in it to arrest its charities, and
enough proud men in it to grieve away
the Holy Ghost, and enough lazy men
In it to hang on behind till its wheels,
like Pharaoh's chariots, drag heavily,
and enough worldly men to exhaust the
patience of the very elect, and enough
snarly men to make appropriate the BIZ
BILE warning, Beware of dogs" If any
of you men on the outside of the king
dom expect to make such Christians as
that, We do not want you to come, for
the church has already a million mem
bers too many of just that kind. We dc
not want our ranks crowded with serfs
when we can have them filled with
Zouaves
There are men now, as in Christi
time, possessed of seven devils. In some
instances it seems as though at CONVEX
sion only six Of these evil spirits were
cast out, while there remains still one
In the heart-the devil of avarice, the
devil of lust or the devil of pride. Mer
OF the world, if you would be trans
formed and elevated by the power of the
) gospel, now is the time to come. 1t is
l no mean ensign 1 lift this hour. 1t is 6
time honored flag. 1t has been in ter
rife battle. Dragged in the dust of {
: 6aviour's humiliation from Bethlehem
to Calvary. Rent by hell's onslaught
l the spears of a maddened soldiery ant
t the hands of men who said, "Let hin
be cruciied." With this ensign in hi
bleeding hand the Saviour scaled tn,
heights of our sin. With this he mount
ed the walls of perdition, and amid it
very smoke and flame and blasphemy h,
waved his triumph, while demons howl
ed 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.
> A Victory Signal.
Again, when a grand victory ha
been won, it is customary to announc
it by flags floating from public build
ings and from trees and from the mast
of ships. They are the signal for eulog,
and rejoicing and festivity. So the en-
sign which the church hoists is a banne
of victory. There was a time when tn
religion of Christ was not considere,
respectable. Men Of learning and posi-
ton frowned upon it. Government
mathematical its supporters. To be
Christian was to be an underling. Blu
l mark the difference. Religion has com
PEELED the worlds respect. Infidelity, il
the tremendous effort it has made t
crush it, has complimented its power
And there is not now a single c~ivilize
nation but i'll its constitution Or laws o
proclamations pays homage to the reli
l gion Of the cross. In the war in India
when Sir Archibald Campbell found il
ON hour Of dannor that tho mon ho or