The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1899-12-23

cards. Whose landing place IN eternity
would YOU prefer-that OF =. =. Bliss,
the Gospel singer, or Of the card play
ers?
A great complaint comes from the
the0ters about the ladies' high hats, be-
cause they obstruct the view Of the
stage, and lady reporter asked me
what / thought about it, and ] told her
that If the indecent pictures Of actress
cs In the show windows were accurate
pictures of what goes on in many of the
thCaters night by night then il would
be well if the ladies' hats were a mile
high, so as TO completely obstruct the
vision. If professed Christians go 10
such places during the week, no one will
ever prosecute them for their religion,
for they have none, and they are the
joke OF hell. But let them live a conse-
Grated and Christian life, and they will
soon run against sneeriug opposition.
For compromise Christian char
acter an easy time now, but for con-
secrated behavior grimace and carica-
ture. For the body, thanks to the God
of free America, there are no swords or
fiery stakes, but for the souls of thou
sands of the good, in figuratiye sense,
rack and gibbet and Torquemada. The
symbol of the domestic and social and
private and public suffering Of great
multitude of Gods dear children, pillars
c. smoke. What an exciting scene in
India when during the sepoy rebellion
regiment Of IlighlanGers came up and
found the dead body OF one Of Gen.
Whceler's daughters, who had been in
suited and mauled and slain by the Sc
poys. So great was the wrath against
these murderers that the Scotch regi-
ment sat down, and, cutting off the
hair of this dead daughter of Gen.
Wheeler, they divided it among them,
and each one counted the number of
hairs given him. and each took an
oath, which was executed, that for
each hair of the murdered daughter
they would dash out the life of a
bestial sepoy. But as we look over the
story of those who in all ages have
suffered for the truth. while we leave
vengeance to the Lord, let as band to-
gether in one solemn vow, one tremen-
dous oath, after having counted the
host of the martyrs, that for each one
of those glorious men and women
who died for the truth an immortal
shall Twelve with God and live for
ever.
But, as I already limited in the first
sentence of this sermon, nothing can
be more beautiful than the figures of
smoke on clear sky. You can see
what you will in the contour of this
volatile vapor, now enchanted castles,
now troops of horsemen. now ban
nered procession, now winged couriers,
now Il black angel of wrath under a
spear Of the sunshine turned to an
angel of light, and now from horizon
to horizon the air is a picture gallery
filled with masterpieces of which God
is the artist, morning clouds of smoke
laid in the FURNISHED sepulchers of the
sunset.
Meet me at any depot the world over,
and with my eyes closed take me by
the hand and lead me so that my feet
will not stumble, and without my once
looking down or looking on the level
take me to some high roof or tower and
let me see the tops of the churches, and
| will tell you the proportion of sui
cides. of arsons of murders, of thefts.
According as the churches are numer-
Gus are the crimes few. According as
the churches are few the crimes are nu-
merous. The most beautiful organiza-
ton the world ever saw or ever viii see
is the much-maligned church, the friend
of all good. the foe of all evil fair as
the moon and clear as the sun" Beau
tiful in her Author. beautiful in her
mission, the heroine of the centuries,
the bride of Christ, the queen Of the
nations!
Men may desecrate it, as Cromwell
when he stabbed his cavalry horses in
St. PauPs cathedral; or break off the
image of Christ, as did the iconoclasts
in York minister; or hurl against it au-
gust literary antipa7hies, as did Glib
bon; or plot its overthrow, as do some
in every community whose pride and
hate and debauchery are reproved by
the Ten Commandments which it thun-
ders and the sermon on the mount
which ii breathes. But it viii stand as
long as the earth stands, the same
unique and woodworking and
beatifc and miraculous thing for which
God decreed it. Small wits tax their
brain TO say things that will put her at
but many of them Will |
send for its coincidence when dying, and |
their children will be gathered up IN
Ter its benedictions sitter the parental
curse has been removed. Through her |
gates will march all the influences for
good that shall ever reach our world. |
Fake her membership as a mass, not
speaking of the acknowledged eXcep- |
lions, they are the noblest, grandest,
lindest. best men and women of the
ages. But for them the earth would
ong ago have been burned out vol
,aao. They have been the salt that has
Kept the human race from putrefaction
nsutferable either to human or angelic
The church of God via yet become the
lrbiter of nations. If the world would
Illow it, it could to-day step in between
Germany and France and settle the
rouble about Alsace and Lorraine and
between England and her antagonists,
md between ali the other nations that
re flying at each others Threats and
peace and disband armies and
larness for the plw the war horses
low being hitched TO ammunition wag
ms or saddled for cavalry charge. That