Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1898-06-23

with His only Son. and He sees the bundle
OF rags, and asks "Whose rags are these3"
A voice from the fountain says: "Those are
my rags" Then says the Masttr. to His
Son: "Go up to the house and get the best
new suit you can find and bring itldown."
beggar is clothed In them, and
he looks around and says: u
was filthy, but now l am clean.
was ragged, but now am rcbed. was
blind, but nowI see. Glory be to the
owner OF that mansion; and glory be to
that Son who brought me that new suit
OF clothes; and glory be to this fountain
where I have washed, and where all who
will may wash and be clean!" Where SIN
abounded, grace doth much more abound
The bird has been dipped. now let it fly
away.
The next thing I notice about this bird,
when 1t was loosened (and this Is the main
ideal, is, that it flew away. Which way
did it go? When you let a bird loose from
your grasp, which way does 1t hyf Up.
anything in the suggestion OF the dtrec-
tion taken by that bird to indicate which
way we ought to go?
"fase, my soul and stretch thy wings,
Thy better portion trace;
Rise from transitory things
To heaven, thy native place."
We should be going heavenward. That
Is the suggestion. But know that we
have a great many drawbacks. You had
them this morning, perhaps: You had
them yesterday or the day before, and
although you want to be going heaven
ward, you are constantly discouraged. But
suppose when that bird went out OF the
priests hands 1t went by infiections-some-
times STOPPING. A bird does not shoot d.
rectly up, but this is the motion OF q bird.
SO the soul scars toward God, rising up
in love, and sometimes depressed by trial.
1t does not always go in the direction it
would like to go. But the main course is
right. There is one passage in the Bible
which quote oftener to myself than any
other: "He knoweth our frame. and He
remembereth that we are DUST"
There Is a legend in Iceland which says
that when Jesus was a boy, playing with
His comrades one Sabbath day, He made
birds of clay; and as these birds of clay
were standing upon the ground, an old
Sadducee came along, and he was disgusted
at the sport and dashed the birds to pieces,
but the legend says that Jesus waved His
hand above the broken birds, and they took
wings and went singing heaven ward. or
course, that is a fable among the Icelanders;
but 1t Is not fable that we are dust, and
that, the hand of divine grace waved over
us once, we go singing toward the skies.
l wish, my friends, that we could live in
higher atmosphere. II mans whole
life object is to make dollars, he Will be
lars. II his whole object is to get applause,
he will run against those who are seeking
applause. But if he rises higher than that,
he will not be interrupted in his flight
heavenward. Why does that flock of birds,
floating up against the blue sky SO high
that you can hardly see them, not change
it's course for spire or tower? They are
above all obstruction. SO we would not
have so often to change our Christian
course IL we lived in a higher atmosphere,
nearer Christ, nearer the throne Of God.
Oh ye who have been washed in thelblood
of Christ-ye who have been loosed from
the hvssop- -branch-start heavenward. 1t
may be to some of you long flight.
Temptations may dispute your way; storms
of bereavement and trouble may strike
your soul; but God will see you through.
Build not on the earth. Set your affections
on things In heaven. not on things on
earth. This is pershing world. Its
flowers fade. Its fountains dry up. Its
promises cheat. Set your affections upon
Christ and heaven. l rejoice, my dear
brethren and sisters In Christ, that the
flight will, after while, be ended. Not
always beaten of the storm Not always
going on weary wings. There is warm
dovecot of eternal dust where We shall find
Il place of comfort, to the everlasting joy
of our souls. Oh, they are going up all the
time-going up from this church-going up
from all the families and from all the
churches of the land-the weary doves
seeking rest in n dovecot.
Oh, that in that good land we may all
meet when our trials are over! We can
not get into the glorious presence of our
departed ones unless we have been cleansed
in the same blood tnat washed their sins
away. know this is true of all who have
gone in. that they were plunged in the
blood, that they were unloosed from the
hyssop-branch. Then they went singing
into glory. See that ye refuse not Him
that speaketh for IL they escaped not who
refused Him that spake on earth, how
much more shall not we escape If we turn
away from Him that speaketh from heaven?