The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-09-04

Moses and Joshua went forward; all the
| prophets and apostles went forward.
/ True. indeed, David and Peter seem at
| first exceptions, and to have come to
/ standstlll, but they did not Theirs
was no imbecile paralysis, but terri
BILE downfall, as OF q spiritual athlete
stumbling in the race and dashed head
long to the earth, but the next moment
up-sprlngIng, vail bemired indeed, and
| bleeding, yet In penitential faith and
| love pressing more earnestly on in the
race of Immortals. The race with I'M
mortals! Surely in that favorite figure
| Paul settles forever the question OF
sanctlhcation, or no further spiritual
progress on earth. You see course
| stretching away and upward from these
mortal spheres to the very gates OF
heaven, and all the galleries OF the sky
are crowded with glorihed beings
watching the struggling combatants.
And there-see! In the van, far beyond
all others-close, Indeed. to the goal,
with his outstretched hand almost
graspIng the prize-see that ardent
apostle, still with undated zeal, with
bounds mightier even than Mt first
pressing toward the mark for the prize
Of the high calling OF God. Surely, from
ali the storied past the voices Of the
| mighty dead cry aloud unto all tagging
zeal and all dreaming faith, Go for
ward"
Meantime, we have, as well, great
voices out Of heaven crying: Come up
hither!" "EXcelsior!" This law Of God,
like all His laws, offers to the obedlent
large recompense Of reward. Though
not for our works, yet according to our
work, will be the beauty and glory OF
the heavenly prizes.
Meantime, as the strongest motive to
this progress, our text urges the truth
OF divine aid In going forward. For
this we must pray increasingly. Learn
to pray In every way and in some way
you will hear the voice of God. Pray
kneellng down, then pray standing up,
then pray sitting In your chair; pray
as you lie upon your couch and wake IN
the midnight. Pray In the morning as
the sun steals in at the window. Pray
at the evening hour when the glory Of
the splendid sunset Is reflected. Pray
as you take the sleeper at night and the
train moves out Of the station, rolling
away into the unknown and the dark.
Pray as you stand at the lunch counter
at noon time. Pray In the top OF some
office building looking out over the tu-
multuous city below. Pray In the
groves that were Gods first temples.
Pray as you sit by the beach in the
summer time, to the sound OF the eter-
nal anthem OF the ocean. Write out
your prayer and read 1t to God. The
mar who has never written out pray
er has missed something Of divine COM
munion. Pray In three words only that
you can calculate skywards. Pray
without any words at all, as the heart
touches God, who Is ever closer than
breathing, nearer than hands and feet.
Pray in every way, and when you pray
as naturally as breathing, you shall for
the first time know what Il Is TO pray
without ceasing." A man cannot live
without breathing, and when every
breath is prayer, he cannot live with
out praying.
II man stands still in his Christian
course, the God with whom he should
walk, will surely walk away from him.
Had Israel disobeyed the mandate, they
would have been abandoned to the ad-
yancihg Sheekinah, and utterly destroy
ed by the advancing Egyptians! The
divine command was to go forward; and
right forward they went-seemingly
only to be drowned in the stormy wa
tiers, but really to find those waters
rolled away and lifted us as a crystal
wall at their side, and presently poured
back as q devouring flood upon their
naughty oppressors! And thencetorth.
so long as they followed that all giori-
Gus cloud. their exodus seemed rather
the march Of triumph than the press
OF battle. And so 1t is ever. So
long as an individual Christian, or the
universal church-faithless Of divine aid
and fearful Of infidel oppresslon--stands
still, they stand hopelessly imperilled.
But II they will only rise up and pre-
pare for action and go steadily forward
in their grand, prescribed. practical
1nuVinR ALMIGHTY God
to settle this matter OF infidellty with
the Egyptians then Will He roll HIS
great waters over the disappearing host.
And more blessed a thousand times
than the song OF an angel. lulling to
sweet dreams in tents pitched under
green palms, will prove that great stern
voice out Of heaven crying, 60 for
wardr'
This is the texts simple. yet all-Im-
portant truth. Would that we might
all learn It; for surely, as never before,
do we need It Just now. The grand
catholic Christian church needs II! We
want stronger faith in our glorious Je-
hoVah. Twelve separate tribes, and
each a powerful tribe, under the guide
and guard OF Omnipotence, with every
divine attribute pledged to carry us
trlumphantly over all obstacles
through all conflicts, against all human
and satanic foes, and which from Alb
rahRms time to our own has never
failed to keep faithful every covenant
And yet we. ever stopping to build phi
losophlc RATS to get over the sea; or
even worse, turning back from the very
borders OF Canaan. IN terror OF the va
porting sons Of Anak, whereof foolish
spies make report. And herein lies our
sin.
Why should exultIng Israel pause in
the glorious exodus. to give chase to
evcTV kissing reptile or bowling wolf
that gives voice FROM the wilderuess2
The time has gone by when the church
of God had occasion for logical cham
plonshlp against atheists and lniidels.
II any fool now thinks to get himself n
great name by denying the being OF n
God. or the immortality OF tho soul, or
tho terrors Of eternal retributtnn. or the |
inspiration Of the Scriptures then In
regard to such the mandate OF Christ Is, ]
Let the dead bury their dead: follow
thou Me-" These men are never so well |
pleased as when the Christian pulpit |
and press re-utter their blasphemies, |
even with the purpose of disprovlng or
rebuhing them. II the church will "let !
them severely alone" the world Will |
soon forget them. Certainly the gem
erRl order Of the great Captain OF Sal |
walton IL, Go forward! Advance the |
whole line In the direction OF practical
Christian work"
There il much to be done. Talk not |
OF opposition or cnmlty Trust Almighty |
God to adjust this whole scientific con- |
troversy, and vindlcate His own heav- |
emily Oraclcs. Turn your back upon |
yunder advancing banners. Lift your /
eyes above these roaring pillows. TA- |
hold there! there! flaming out In mid |
heaven. that cloudy. fiery pillar! That |
Is God God before whose awful Pres