The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1898-06-19

hymns Oh Wm- AuWbuAs NMnAACn WN@
ley and Isaac Watts. Suppose now
each person In an audience has brought
all the annoyances Of the last three
hundred and sixty-fve days. FIN the
room 10 the ceiling with sacred song
and you would drown out all those
annoyances of the last three. hundred
and sixty-hve days. and you would
drown them out forever orga7 and
cornet are only TO marshal the voice.
Let the voice fail into line. and In
companies. and in battalions. by storm
take the obduracy and sin Of the world.
IL you can not sing for yourself. sing
for others. BY trying to give others
good cheer, you will bring good cheer
to your own heart.
When Londonderry. Ireland, was be-
sieged many years ago. the people in
side the city were famishfng. and a
vessel came up with provisions. but
the vessel ran on the river bank and
stuck fast. The enemy went down with
laughter and derision to board the
vessel. when the vessel gave a broad
side fire against the enemy. and by the
shock was turned back into the stream
and all was well. Oh. ye who are high
and dry on the rocks OF melancholy,
give a broadside fire Of song against
your spiritual enemies. and by holy
rebound you will come out into the
calm waters.
/ tarried many nights in London.
and used to hear the bells. the small
bells OF the city. strike the hour OF
night-one. two. three, four. and among
them the great St. Paurs cathedral
would come in to mark the hours. max
ing all the other sounds seem utterly
Insignificant. as with mighty tongue
it announced the hour OF the night.
every stroke an overmastering boom.
My friends. 1t was intended that all the
lesser sounds OF the world should be-
drowned out in the mighty tongue OF
congregational song beating against
the gates OF heaven. Do you know
how tney mark the hours in heaven?
They have no clocks, as they have no
candles. but a great pendulum Of halle
lujah swinging across heaven from
eternity to eternity.
Let those refuse to sing
Who never knew our God;
But children OF the Heavenly King
Should speak their joys abroad.
What is the use Of our going away
on to find an illustration in past age,
when during the great forest fires In
Michigan a mail carrier on horseback,
riding on, pursued by those flames
which had swept over a hundred miles,
saw an old man by the roadside. dis
mounted, helped the old man on the
horse. saying: Now whip up and get
away" The old man got away. but
the mail-carrier perished. Just like
Christ dismounting from the glories OF
heaven to put us on the way Of deliv-
erance. then falling back into the
flames OF sacrifice for others. Pang for
others. Woe for others. Death for
others. Vicarious suffering.
Again remark. that sanctuary help
ought to come through the prayers of
all the people. The door of the eternal
store-house is hung on one hinge. a
gold hinge, the hinge OF prayer. and
when the whole audience lay hold OF
that door, II must come open. There
Sabbath after some great bereavement
What will your prayer do for them?
How will 1t help the tomb in that mans
heart? Here are people who have not
been in church before for ten years;
what will your prayer do for them by
rolling over their soul holy memories?
Here are people in crises Of awful temp
tation. They are on the verge OF de-
spair. or wild blundering. or theft. or
e6itide. What will your prayer do for
them in the way OF giving them
strength to resist? Will you be chiefly
anxious about the At Of the glove that
you put to your forehead while you
prayed? VIII you he chiefly critical OF
the rhetoric of the pastors petItionf
No. No. A thousand people will feel. |
that prayer is for me-" and at every
step of the prayer chains ought to drop |
of. and temples OF sin ought to crash |
into dust. and jubilees of dellverance |
ought to brandish their trumpets. In |
most OF our churches We have three
prayers-the opening prayer, what is |
called the long prayer" and the clos
ing prayer. There are many people |
who spepd heir first prayer in arrang-
ing their apparel after entrance. and
spend the second prayer. the long |
prayer" in wishing 1t were through.
and spend the last prayer in preparing !
to start for home. The most insignia
cant part of every religious service in
the sermon. The more important parts |
are the Scripture lesson and the pray
er. The sermon is only a man talking !
to a man. The Scripture lesson is God |
talking to man. Prayer is man talking |
to God. Oh. IL we understood the |
grandeur and the pathos OF this exer- |
else OF prayer. instead Of being a dull |
exercise we would imagine that the