The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1900-04-13

strong now in his faith in the Gospel
he says he can read anything. What
are you reading? BolingbrokeP An
drew jackson Davis tracts? Tyndars
Glasgow university address, Drop
them and run. You will be an infidel be-
fore you die unless you quit that. These
men of All will be too much for you.
Turn your back on the rank and file
of unbeief. Fly before they cut you
with their swords and transfiX you
with their javelins. There are people
who have been well-nigh ruined be-
cause they risked foolhardy expedi-
ton in the presence of mighty and
overwhelming temptations and the
men of All made Il morning meal of
them.
So, also. there is victorious retreat in
the religious world. Thousands of
times the Kingdom of Christ has
seemed to fall back. When the blood
of the Scotch Covenanters gave n deep
dye to the heather of the highlands,
when the Vaudois of France chose eX-
termination rather than make an un-
christian surrender, when on st. Bar
tholomew's day mounted assassins
rode through the streets of Paris, cry
ing xiii! Bloodletting is good in Au-
gust! Kill Death to the HuguenotsL
KILL" when Lady Jane Grey's head
rolled from the executioner's block,
when Calvin was imprisoned in the
castle, when John Knox died for the
truth, when John Bunyan lay rotting
in Bedford Jail, saying: "lf God will
help me and my physical life continues,
l will stay here until the moss grows
on my eyebrows rather than give up
my faith" the days of retreat for the
church were days of victory.
rhe pilgrim fathers fen back from
the other side of the sea to Plymouth
Rock, but now are marshaling a con-
tinent for the Christianization of the
world. The church of Christ falling
back from Piedmont, falling back from
Rue ST. Jacques, falling back from st.
Denis, falling back from Wurttemberg
castles, falling back from the Brussels
market place. yet all the time triumph
ing. Notwithstanding all the shocking
reverses which the Church Of Christ
| suffers, what do we see to-day? Twelve
! thousand missionaries of the cross on
heather grounds; 10000 minister's of
Jesus Christ in this land; at least 400,-
! 100000 OF Christians on the earth. Fall
ing back, yet advancing until the old
! Wesleyan hymn will prove true;
The Lion of Judah shall break the chain
And give US the victory again and again!
But there is a more marked illustra-
ton of victorious retreat in the life OF
our Joshua, the Jesus of the ages.
First falling back from an appalling
height to an appalling depth, falling
from celestial hills to terrestrial val
leys, from throne to manger; yet that
did not seem to suffice him as re-
treat Falling back still farther from
Bethlehem to Nazareth, from Nazareth
to Jerusalem. back from Jerusalem to
Golgotha, back from Golgotha to the
mausoleum in the rock, back down
over the precipices of perdition until
he walked amid the caverns of eternal
captives and drank of the wine of the
wrath of Almighty God, amid the
Ahabs, and the Jezekels, and the Bel
shazzars. Oh, men of the pulpit and
men of the pew, Christ's descent from
Heaven to earth does not measure hall
the distance 1t was from glory to per
dition. He descended into hell. All the
records of earthly retreat are as moth
ing compared with this falling back
Santa Anna, with the fragments of his
army flying over the plateaus of Mex
leo and Napoleon and his army retreat
ing from Moscow into the awful SHOWS
of Russia are not worthy to be men
toned with this retreat, when all The
powers of darkness seem TO be pursu
ing Christ as he fell back, until tht
body of Him who came to do sucl
wonderful things lay pulseless anC
stripped. Methinks that the city o
Al was not so emptied of its inhabit
ants when they went to pursue Joshua
as perdition was emptied Of devil
when they started for the pursuit o
Christ, and he fell back and back
down lower, down lower, chasm beloy
chasm, pit below pit, until he seemed
to strike the bottom of objurgatiol
and scorn and torture. Oh, the long
loud, jubiant shout of hell at the de
feat of the Lord God Almighty!
But let not the powers Of darkness
rejoice quite so soon. Do you hea
that disturbance in the tomb O
Arimathea? / hear the sheet rending
What means that stone hurled dow
the side of the hill? Who is this CON
ing out? Push him back! The dea
must not stalk in this open sunlight
Oh, it is our Joshua. Let him come on
He comes forth and starts for the city
He takes the spear of the Roman guar
/ and points that way. Church militan
marches up on one side, and the churc
r. triumphant marches down on tn
p other side And the powers of darl
, ness being caught between these rank
of celestial and terrestrial valor notl
! ing is left of them save just enough t
] D ~ 4. 4 4. q l.