Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1900-07-13

Again, grace is like salt. in the fact
that it is necessity of life. Man
and beast perish without salt. What
are those paths across the western
prairies? Why, they were made there
by deer and buffalo going to and COM
ing away from the salt ''icks." Chem
lists and physicians all the world over
tell us that salt is necessity of life.
And so with the grace of God; you
must have it or die. I know great
many speak of it as a mere adorn-
ment, a sort of shoulder strap adorn-
ing soldier, Or light, frothing des-
sert brought in after the greatest
part of the banquet of life is over,
or medicine to be taken after pow
ders and mustard plasters have failed
to do their work, but ordinarily
mere superfuity, string of bells
around horses neck while he draws
the load, and in nowise helping him
to draw it. So far from that, I declare
the grace of God to be the first and
the last necessity. It is food we must
take or starve into an eternity of
famine. It is clothing without which
we freeze to the mast of infinite ter
Tor. It is the plank, and the only
plank, on which we can float shore
ward. It is the ladder, and the only
ladder, on which we can climb up into
the light. It is positive necessity
for the soul. You can tell very easily
what the effect would be if person
refused to take salt into the body.
The energies would fail, the lungs
would struggle with the air, slow
fevers would crawl through the brain,
the heart would futter, and the life
would be gone. Salt necessity for
the life of the body; the grace of God
necessity for the life of the soul.
Again I remark that grace is like
salt in abundance. God has strewn
salt in vast profusion all over the con-
| tinents. Russia seems built on a salt
cellar. There is one region of that
country that turns out 10000 tons in
a year. England and Russia and Italy
| have inexhaustible resources in this
| respect. Norway and Sweden, white
with snow above, white with salt be-
meath. Austria, yielding 100000 tons
lsannually. Nearly all the nations rich
in it-rock salt, spring salt, sea salt.
Christ, the Creator of the world, when
He uttered our text, knew it would
become more and more significant as
the shafts were sunk and the springs
were bored and the pumps were worked
and the crystals were gathered. So
| the grace of God is abundant. It is for
all lands, for all ages, for all condi-
tons. It seems to undergrad every
| thing. Pardon for the worst sin, COM
fort for the sharpest suffering, bright
est light for the thickest darkness.
Around about the salt lakes of Saratoy
there are 10000 men toiling day and
night, and yet they never exhaust the
saline treasures. And if the 1 900, 000,-
900 of our race should now cry out to
God for His mercy there would be
enough for all-for those farthest gone
in sin, for the murderer standing on
the drop of the gallows. It is an ocean
of mercy; and if Europe and Asia, Afri
ca, North and South America and all
the islands of the sea went down in ii
to-day they would have room enough
to wash and come up clean. Let nc
man think that his case is too tough
a one for God to act upon. Though
your sin may be deep and raging, lei
me tell you that Gods grace is bridge
not built on earthly piers, but sus
peHOeu duu Spduu1uS Tie anvil I'LL CLASH
off your guilt, one end resting upon the
rock of eternal promises and the Other
on the foundations of Heaven. Demet
RUS wore a robe so incrusted will
jewels that no one after him ever dared
to wear it, but our King, Jesus, takes
off the robe of His Righteousness, robe
blood dyed and Heaven impearled, ant
reaches out to the worst wretch il
all the earth and says: "Put that on!
Wear it now! Wear it forever
Again, the grace of God is like sal
in the way we come at it. The sal
on the surface is almost always impure
that which incrusts the Rocky noun
tains and the South American pampa;
and in India; but the miners go dow1
through the shafts and through tn.
dark labyrinths and along by galleries
of rock and, with torches and pickaxes
find their way under the very founda
, tions of the earth, to where the sal
lies that makes up the nations wealth
To get to the best saline springs O.
the earth huge machinery goes down
boring depth below depth, depth below
depth, until from under the very
roots of the mountains the saline wa
; ter supplies the aqueduct. This wa
ter is brought to the surface and il
exposed in tanks to the sun for evap
grafton, or it is put in boilers mightil,
heated, and the water evaporates, ant
the salt gathers at the bottom of tn,
J tank-the work is completed, and tn,
fortune is made. So with the grace O.
God. 1t is to be profoundly sought
| after. With all the concentered ener
gies of body, mind and soul we mus
; dig for it. No man stumbles accident
ally on it. We need to go down to tn,
very lowest strata of earneSfneSS anf