Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1899-06-09

divine, roll In upon our souls one Of
those anticipated rar lures! Pour
around the roots Of the parched
tongue one drop Of that liquid life!
Toss before our vision those fountains
OF God, rainbowed with eternal vic
tory. Hear it. They are never sick
there; not so much as a headache or
twinge rheumatic, or thrust neuralgia.
The inhabitant never says Il am
sick" They are never tired there.
Flight to farthest world Is only the
play OF a holiday. They never sin
there. 1t is as easy for them to be
holy as it is for us to sin. They never
die there. You might go through all
the outskirts OF the great city and find
not one place where the ground was
broken for a grave. The eyesight OF
the redeemed is never blurred with
tears. There is health in every cheek.
There Is spring in every foot. There
Is majesty on every brow. There Is
joy in every heart. There is hosanna
on every lip. HOW they must pity US
as they look over and down and see
us, and say: Poor things, away down
in that world" And when some Chris
tian is hurled into fatal accident,
they cry: Good! He is coming!
And when we stand around the couch
of some loved one (whose strength IS
going away and We shake our heads
forebodingly, they cry: Il am glad he
is worse; he has been down there long
enough. There, he is dead! Come
home! Come home!" Oh, If we could
only get our ideas about that future
world UNFINISHED our thought of trans
fer from here to there would be as
pleasant to us as it was to little
chiid that was dying. She said: Papa,
when will 1 go home?" And he salu:
To-day, Florence" "To-day? so
soon? l am so glad"
I wish l could stimulate you Win
these thoughts, oh, Christian man, 10
the highest possible exhilaration. The
day of your deiiverance is coming, IS
coming. 1t is rolling on with the
shining wheels of the day and the jet
wheels of the night. Every thump OF
the heart is only hammer stroke
striking off another chain Of clay.
Better scour tie deck and coil the
rope, the harbor is only six miles
away. Jesus will come down in the
"Narrows" to meet you. Now is your
salvation nearer than when you BE-
lieved.
Unforgiven man, unpardoned man.
will you not MAKE a choice between
these two portions-between the south
land" Of this world, which slopes to
the desert, and this glorious land
which thy Father offers thee, running
with eternal water courses? Why let
your tongue be consumed with thirst
when there are the neither springs and
the upper springs, comfort here. and
glory hereafter?
Let me tell you, my dear brother,
that the silliest and wickedest thing a
man ever does is to reject Jesus Christ.
The loss of the soul is a mistake that
cannot be corrected. 1t is downfall
that knows no alleviation; it is ruin
that is remediless; 1t is a sickness that
has no medicament; it is grave into
Which a man goes but never comes
out. Therefore, putting my hand on
your shoulder as brother puts his
hand on the shoulder Of a brother,
say this day, be manly, and surrender
your heart to Christ. You have been
long enough serving the world; now
begin to serve the Lord who bought
you. You have tried long enough to
carry these burdens; let Jesus Christ
put His shoulder under your burden.
Do hear any one in the audience say,
II mean to attend to that after awhile;
it is not just the time?" 1t is the
time, for the simple reason that you
are sure of no other; and God sends
you here this morning, and He sent
me here to comfort you with this
and you must hear now that
Christ died to save your soul, and that
if you want to be saved you may be
saved. "Whosoever will, let him come"
You will never find any more convent
ent season than this. Some Of you
have been waiting ten, twenty, thirty,
forty, fifty and sixty years. On some
of you the snow has fallen. I see it
on your brow, and yet you have not
attended to those duties which belong
to the very springtime Of life. 1t is
September with you now it is October
with you, it is December with you.
am no alarmist. I simply know this:
If a man does not repent in this world
he never repents at all, and that now
is the day Of salvation. Oh, put off this
matter no longer. Do not turn your
back on Jesus Christ who comes to
save you, lest you should lose your
soul.
On Monday morning friend of mine
started from New York to celebrate
her birthday with her daughter in Vir-
ginia. On Saturday Of the same week,
just after sunrise, I stood at the gate
Of Greenwood waiting for her silent
form to come in. 1t is a long journey
to take in one week-from New York
to Philadelphia, from Philadelphia to
Baltimore, from Baltimore to Wash
ington. from Washington to Virginia,
from Virginia to the great eternity.
e.