Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1899-06-30

| and the seven tuunuels.
The seven golden candlesticks were
and are the churches. Mark you, the
churches never were, ana never can
be, candles. They are only candle
sticks. They are not the light. but
they are to hold the light room in
the night might have in ii 800 candle
sticks, and yet you could not see your
hand before your face. The only use
of a candlestick and the only use of a
church Is to hold up the light. You see
IL is q dark world. the night of sin. the
nlght of trouble. the night OF superstl-
ton, the night of persecution, the night
of poverty. the night of sickness. the
night Of death. Aye. about 30 nights
have interlocked their shadows. The
whole race goes stumbling over pros
trated hopes. AMI fallen fortunes, ana
empty -four barrels, and desOlated era
dies and deathbeds. How much we
have use for all the seven candlesticks,
with lights blazing from the top of
each one of them! Light Of pardon for
all sin! Light of comfort for all trou-
BILE! Light of encouragement for all
despondencyl Light of eternal riches
for all poverty Light of rescue for all
persecutionl Light Of reunion for all
the bereft Light Of heaven for all
the dylngl And that light Is Christ
who is the light that shall yet irradiate
the hemispheres.
But, mark you, when I say churches
are not candles. but candlesticks,
cast no slur on candlestcks. | believe
in beautiful candlestlcks. The candle
sticks that God ordered for the ancient
tabernacle were something exquisite.
| They were a dream of beauty carved
out of loyeliness. They were made OF
hammered gold. stood IN a foot Of gold
and had six branches Of gold bloom
ing all along In six lilies Of gold each
and lips Of gold, from which the can
dies lifted their holy fire. And the best
houses In any city ought to be the
cburches-the best built. the best ven
tilated, the best swept. the best win
doved and the best chandellered. Log
cabins may do In neighborhoods where
most Of the people live in log cabins,
but let there be palatial churches for
regions where many of the people live
In palaces. DO not have better place
for yourself than for your Lord and
King. DO not live in parlor and put
your Christ in kitchen. These seven
candlesticks Of which speak were not
made of pewter or iron; they were gold
en- candlesticks, and gold is not only
a valuable but a BRIGHT metal Have
everything about your church bright
your ushers with smiling faces, your
music jubllant. your hanlshaking cor
dial, your entire service attractive.
Many people fee, shat in church they
must look dull. in order tO look reyer'
ential. and many whose faces in other
kinds of asscmblage show all the diff
ferent phases Of emotion have in
church no more expression than the
back wheel of hearse. Brighten up
and be responsive. If you feel like
weeping, weep. II you feel Ike smil.
Ing, smile. If you feel indignant at
some wrong assailcd from the pulpit
frown. Do not leave your naturalness
and resillency home because it Is Sun
day morning. If as officers of church
you meet people at the church door
with a blacl, look. and have the music
black. and the minister in black preach
a black sermon. and from Invocation to
benediction have the impression black,
few will come. and those who do come
will wish they had not come ut all.
The Seven Cnndlesticks.
Golden candlesticks. Scour up the
six lilies on each branch, and know
that the more lovely and bright they
are the more fit they are to hold the
light. But a Christless light is a DAM
age to the world rather than a good.
Cromwell stabbed his cavalry horses in
st. Paul's cathedral. and many now
use the church in which to stable vani-
ties and worldliness. \ worldly church
Is a candlestick without the candle,
and it had its prototype in St Sophia.
In COnstantnople. built to the glory OF
God by Constantine, but transformed
TO base uses by Mohammed the Second
Built out of colored marble: n cupola
with "a windows soaring TO a height OF
$50 feet; the ceiling one great bewilder
ment of mosaic; galleries supported by
eight columns Of porphyry and 81 col
umns of green jasper; nine bronze
doors with alto-relieyo work, fascnat-
Ing to the eye Of any artist; vases ana
yestments incrusted with all manner
Of precious stones. Four walls on IRE
with indescrbable splendor. Though
labor was cheap. the building cost ST.
100000. Ecclesiastical structure. al
. most supernatural in pomp and maj
estv. But Mohammedanism tore down
} from the walls Of that building all the
sanity and Christly images. and high
M in the dome the figure OF the cross
was rubbed out that the crescent OF the
} barbarous Turk might be substituted
D A great church, but no Christ! y gor
; ceous candlestick, but no candle! len
] thousand such churches would not give
( the world as much light as one home
e made tallow candle by which last nlgh'
come grandmother in the eighties put
4 ON her spectacles and read the Psalms
of David in larger type Up win 'he
\: churches. by all meansl Hundreds ol
them. thousands of them. and the more
1 the better. But let each one be blaze
q of heavenly light. making the worio
J. brighter and brighter, till the last
J, shadow has disappeared, and the las
g OF the suffering children Of God shal
!. have reached the land where they have
n no need OF candlestlck Or "of candle
: neither light of the sun, for the Lor.
d God giyeth them light, and they shal
!. reign forever and ever" Seven candle
n sticks the complete number OF hsnts
n Let your light shine before men, ina
they' seeing your good works. ma!
glorify your Father which is In heaven
/. Turn now in your Bible to the sever
s stars. We are distinctly told that they
e are the ministers Of religion. Some arr
n large stars. some Of them small stars
l. some Of them sweep wide circuit an'