The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1898-02-03

admiration for the superior qualities
of our religion: mo mention shall be
made of coral.
Take my hand, and we will walk
through this bower of the sea, while
show you that even exquisite coral is
not worthy Of being compared with
the richer jewels of Christian soul.
The first thing that strikes me in look
ing at the coral is its long-continued
accumulation. 1t is not turned up
like Cotopaxi but is an outbutting and
an outbranching Of ages. In Polynesia
there are reefs hundreds of feet deep
and LOCO miles long. Who built these
reefs, these islands? The zoophytes,
the corallines. They were not such
| workers who built the pyramids
as were these masons, these crea-
lures of the sea. What small creations
amounting to what vast aggregation?
Who can estimate the ages between
the time when the madrepores laid the
foundation Of the islands and the time
when the madrepores put on the cap
stone of a completed work? 1t puzzles
all the scientists to guess through how
| many years the corallines were build
! ing the Sandwich and Society islands
and the Marshall and Gilbert groups.
But more slowly and wonderfully ac-
cumulative is grace in the heart. You
sometimes get discouraged because the
upbuilding ty the soul does not go on
more rapidly. Why, you have all eter-
nifty to build in! The little annoyances
of life are zoophite builders. and there
will be small layer on top of small
layer, and fossilized grief on the
top of fossilized grief. Grace
does not go up rapidly in your soul,
but. blessed be God, it goes up. Ten
thousand million ages will not finish
you. You will never be finished. On
forever. Up forever! Out of the sea
of earthly disquietude will gradually
rise the reefs. the islands, tina CONT
nents, the hemispheres of grandeur
and glory. Men talk as though in this
life we only had time to build; but
what we build in this life, as compared
with what we shall build inethe next
life. is as a striped shell to Australia.
You 60 into an architects study and
there you see the sketch of temple,
the cornerstone of which has not yet
been laid. o, that l could have all
architectural skstch of what you will
be after etes1bty has wrought un-
on you! What pillars of strength!
What affairs of supernal worship! What
pinnacles thrusting their glittering
spikes into the sun stllat never sets!
You do not scold the corallines because
they can not build an island in day.
Why should you scold yourself because
you can not complete temple of holi.
ness for the heart in this short tife-
time? You tell ME we do not amount
to much now, but try US after thou
sand million ages of hallelujah. Let
US hear the angels chant for million
centuries. Give US an eternity with
God, and then see if we do not amount
to something. More slowly and
marvelously accumulative is the grace
in the soul than anything l can think
of. No mention shall be made OF
coral"
! Lord, help US to learn that hich
most of US are deficient in-patience.
If Thou canst take. through the sea
anemones, millions Of years to build
one bank Of coral, ought we not to be
willing to do work through ten yea rs
or 50 years without complaint, without
restlessness, without chath ng of spirit!
Patience with the erring; patience that
we can not have the millennium in a
few weeks; patience with assault OF
antagonists; patie nee at what seems
slow fultillment of Bible promises; pa
thence with physical ailments; pa.
Grand, glorious, all-enduring, all
conquering patience! Patience like
that which my lately assembled friend,
DIR. Abel Stevens. describes wher
writing of one of Wesley's preachers,
John Nelson, who, when a man had
him put in prison by false charges
and being for long time tormented
by his enemy, said: The Lord lifted
up standard when the anger was
coming on like flood, else should
have wrung his neck to the ground and
set my foot upon it." Patience like
that Of Pericles. the Atheniap states
man, who, when a man pursued him t.
his own door. hurled at him epithets,
and arriving there when it had be-
come dark, sent his servant with a
torch to light his enemy back to his
home. Patience like that eulogized by
the Spanish proverb when it says
Il have lost the rings, bu1
here are the fingers still.
Patience! The sweetest SD
gar for the sourest cup; the balance
wheel for all mental and moral ma
|, chinery; the foot that treads into pla
cidity stormiest lake; the bride fol-
, otherwise rash tongues; the sublime
silence that conquers the boisterou.
and blatant. Patience like that of the
. most illustrious example of all the age:
. Jesus Christ; patient under betrayal
patient under the treatment of Plate.
oyer and terminer; patient under III.
, expectoration of His assailants; patien
under hagellation: patient under tn,
charging spears of the Roman cavalry
patient unto death. Under all exas
perations employ it. Whatever comes
| stapd it: hold on; wait, bear up.
: Take my hand again. and we will &c