Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1900-01-04
..lALMAGE SERMON
THE GREAT DIVINE'S ELOQUENT
MESSAGE.
Subject: Pillars CT SIN OF rruth
Expressed With - biblical Symbol
The Suffering Of the Church of God
Powerfully Set Forth.
Copyright. Lori, Klopsch. lsn.I

the truth has struggled are ly DR..
here set forth under IL Bible SYM
OF great suggestiveness and power;
text, Sofomon's Song, ill.,. G, "Who is this
that cometh OUT OF the wilderness like
pillars OF smoker"
The architecture o. the smoke Is won
drous. whether God with His fnger
curves It into a cloud, or rounds It into
. dome, or points it In n spire. or
spreads II In a wing, or. as In the text.
hoists II In a pillar. Watch it winding
up from tho country farmhouse IN the
early morning, showing that the pas
forat industries have begun, or see il
ascending from the chimneys OF the
city, telling OF the homes fed. the fac
tories turning out valuabl. fabric, the
newspaper and all the 1O, 900 wheels
OF work in motion. On n clear dav this
yapor spoken OF mounts with slch buoy
ancy, md spreads snch a delicate we'll
across the sky, and traces such graceful
lines OF circle and seInicitcle, AMI waves
and losses and sinks and soar5 aud s~catter7
With such afiuence Of shape ana color and
suggestiveness that. II you have never no.
ttced 1t, you are like IA man VINO has all his
life lived In Paris and yet never seen tho
Luxembourg, or all his life in Rome and
mover seen the Vatican, or all hi. life az
Loeb port and never seen Niagara. Forty
four times tho Bible speaks OF the srnoka,
~ ~ 10 IltI' tiibS
preached n sermon recognizing this
strange, weird, beautiful, elastic, charm
Ing, terrific and fascinating vapor. Across
the Bible sky floats the smoke of Sinai, the
emoke OF Sodon, the smoke OF Al, the
smoke OF the pit, the smoke, OF the volcanic
bills when God touches them, and in my
text the glorious church Of God coming up
cut OF the wilderness like pillars ofsmoke
In tho first place. these Pillar OF smoke
In my text indicate the suffering the
church OF God has endurei. What do l
mean by the church? mean not n build
Ing, not Il sect, but those who in all ages
and all lands nnl OF All beliefs low. God
and are trying to do right. For many cen-
turtles the heavens hav. been black with
the smoke OF martvrdom. II set side by
side, yon could glrdle the earth with the
fires Of persecution -RoTland Taylor
burned Mt Hadleigh, Iatimer burnel at
Oxford, John Roger, bIrnet at Snithi-ii,
John Hooper burned at Gloucester, John
Husa burned at Constance, Lawrence
Saunders bnrnet at Coventry, Joan % Acc
burned at EOuen.
Prot"Atants have represented Catholics
rs having II monopoly Of prosecutors, bnt
both Protestant and Catholi: have prts-
ticed infamous cruelties. The Catholics
during the reign OF Ifunneric wers by Pro-
teatant4 put to the Wor-c torturea. stripped
OF their clothing, hoi-tct in thu air BY
pulley4 with weight suspended from their
feet, then let down, and ears anl eyes.
nose and tongue were am utatel and red
hot plates OF iron Were put against the ten
derest part Of their bodies.
George Bancroft, tho historian, aay9 OF
the State OF Maryland: 'ln the land which
Catholics had opened = Professionals mass
might not be said pnbliciy, no Catholic
priest or bishop might utter his faith in Il
voice OF persuasion, no Ctthoiie. might
teach the Dung. Ii IL maynard child OF
a papIAt woul1 become an up0Gtatt the
law wrested for him from his parents a
share OF their property. Such We're the
methods adopted to prevent the growth oi
pOpery."
Catholicism, "a well IA Professionalism
has had its martyrs. 1t does seem as II
when any one sect 20 p!ete d0ninuncy
In any land tho devil Of persecution an
cruelty took possession OF TINT sect. Then
SEQ the Catholics after the HlCuanotS. See
the gentiles after the Jews in Touralne,
where a great pit WIS dug and fire lighted
ut the bottom ofthe pit. and 16l Jewish vic
Tins were consumed Seethe Presbyterian
parliament OF England, more tyrannicnl
In their treatment OF opponents Il had
been the criminal courts. Persecution
against the Baptists BY Pnlo-Bapti9tS. per
secution OF the Established Church against
the Methodist Church, persecution against
the Quakers, persecution against tiIe Pra3-
byterians. Under Emperor Diocietiar
l44 600 Christians were mhsSacrel, and
500 900 more OF them died from banishment
and exposure.
Witness the sufrerings OF the Waldensea
OF the Alhigenee4. OF the NertOriana. Wit
ness st. BarthOiomew'S massacre. Witnes.
the Duke OF Alva driving out Of life Is ,00t
Christians. Witness Herod ana Nero ant
Decius and Hildebrund and Torquenni1
and Earl OF Montfort and Lord Cinver
house, who, when told that he must give
account for his cruelties, said, II have NJ
need TO account to man. and IA for God
will taso Him In my own hands" A Too
line runs through the chur rem history o.
1900 years, n line OF blood. Not b. the
hundreds Of thousands. but by tn. millions
must we count those slain for Christ's sake
No wonder John Milton put the groans .
b martyrs to an immortal tune, writing
Avenge, Q Lord, Thy slaughtered saint
! whose bones
Lie scattered on the Alpine mountain:
cold.
The smoke OF martyrs homes m,
martyrs bodies IL rolling up all at one
would have cclipsed the MONDAY sun an,
turnedthe brightest day the world ever saw
into a midnight. "Who IS this tha
oometh up out of the wilderness like phi
lars OF smokeI'
Has persecution ceased? Ask that young
man who IL trying to be q Christian in
store or factory, where from morning {
night he Il the butt Of all tho mean wit
ticisms OF unbelievinG employees. Ask tina
wife whose husband max s her fOndncs
for the house OF God and even he kueel
lnG prayer by the bedside n derisiou an
Is no more fit for her holy companiOnshi
than a filthy crow would be ft companion
Tor a robin or u golden orioie. Conpro
mise with tho world and surrender TO ii
conventionaiities and it nay let you alone
but all who will live godly In Christ Jesu
must suffer persecution. Beatheatre going
GARD playing, wine drinking. round dancinI
Christian and YOU may escape criticism
aud social pressure. But be An IN an
down. out and out follower of Christ. an
woridling VIII wink to wording az h
speaks your name. aud you will bs put i
many "a dogS.rel and snub5ei by tho-
not worthy to hlGcken your oldest shoes
When the bridge ut Ashtabula hrok" an
let down the most OF the carload OF pas
senGers to instant death, Mr.. =. L. BIS
was seated on one side OF the aisle q III
car writing down a Christian sonS yhi'
he was composing, AMI on the other slt
q group OF men were playing ard
Whose landing place In eternity would yo
pr-ier-tbat OF +. i. Bliss. the gospel sing
ar. Or OF tho card players?
A great complaint roMrs from tba thea
tres nhcat the allies hich lgt> h." Aus
they obstruct the yioY u the stag. aud
lady reporter asked me what | tholSi!
about It, and I told her that II the inGeccn