Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1897-05-06

SuuS lo way across our comment. II
has crossed to Asia, taking the Sand
lsich Islands in its way, and now in all
the great cities on the coast OF China /
people are singing Rock of Ages" and
There Is a Fountain Filled with
Blood" for YOU must know that not
only lave the Scriptures been trans
lated n these Asiatic tongues, but
also the evangelical hymns. My mis-
sionary brother, John, translated some
OF them into Chinese. and MI. Glad
stone gave me a copy Of the hymn,
Jesus. Lover Of My Soul which he
himself had translated into Greek. The
Christ who 1t seems spent sixteen or
eighteen years of his life in India Is
there now in spirit, converting and
saving the people by hundreds Of thou
sands, and the Gospel will move right
on through Asia until the story of the
Saviour's birth will anew be made
known in Bethlehem, and the story of a
Saviour's sacrifice be told anew on and
around Calvary, and the story of a Saw
tours Ascension be told anew on the
shoulder of Mt. Olivet. And then do
you not see the circle will be complete?
The glorious circle, the circle of the
earth? This old planet, gashed with
earthquake and scorched with contia-
grafton and torn with revolutions, will
be girdled with churches, with schools,
with universities, with millennial fes-
tiyities. How cheering and how inspir-
ing the thought that we are. whether
giving temporal or spiritual relief,
WnrEirp nm tho eor~,ort re e,ol -
circle. And that the Christly mission
which started in Asia will keep on its
way until 1t 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 a world
has completed its mission it dies. Part
OF the heavens is a cemetery of dead
worlds. Our world built to lemon
strate to the worlds which have been
loyal to God the awful results of dis
loyalty, SO that none of them may ever
attempt It'll say our world. having
finished it's mission, may them go out
of existence. The central fires OF the
world which are burning out rapidly
toward the crust, may have reached
the surface by that time n 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 a memorable
day, for then was laid the last tie
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-continent, to
; see the last tie laid. The locomotives
2 of the Eastern and Western trains
: stood painting OF the tracks close by.
Grafton 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;; a sill
y yer spike. presented by Nevada, and
an iron spike. presented by Arizona.
: When, all heads uncovered and all
uedTtS Thrilling Will eEHOLlOu, the nam
. mer struck the last spike into its place,
;. the cannon doomed it amid the re-
;, sounding mountain echoes and the tele-
y graphic instruments clicked to all ma
:, lions that the deed was done. MY
friends, if the laying of the last tie that
. bound the East Inc the West of one
= continent together was such a resound-
= ing occasion, what will it be when the
. last tie of the track of Gospel infu-
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 out of
!, the Christian generosity of the hemis-
pheres. The last hammer stroke that
completes the work will be heard by all
! the raptured and piled-up galleries OF
"a the universe. and the mountains OF
- earth will shout to the thrones of hea-
ven, "Hallelujah! For the Lord God
Omnipotent reigneth. Hallelujah! Fol-
>, the kingdoms Of this world have be-
n come the kingdoms of our Lord Jesus
Christi
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