Marshall County independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1897-1902, 1900-10-26

| they might rest while he himself vent
| out and in his own garden dug his
grave and then came back and said,
Il am ready" But they were shocked
at the idea of taking the life Of their
| host. He said, at is the will of God
that | should die" and he stood on
the margin of his own grave, and they
| beheaded him. You say it is mania,
a foolhardiness, a fanaticism. Rather
would l call it a glorious self-abnega-
| ton, the thrill of eternal satisfaction,
| the plucking of Joash from death and
raising him to coronation.
The third thought l hand to you 10
| that the church of God is a good hid
| ing place When Jehosheba rushes into
the nursery of the king and picks up
Joash. what shall she do with him?
Shall she take him to some room in
the palace? No, for the official des-
peraaoes will hunt through every
nook and corner of that building.
Shall she take him to the residence of
some wealthy citizen? No. that citi-
zen would not dare to harbOr the fu
gitive But she has to take him some
where She hears the cry of the mob
in the streets: she hears the shrek of
the dying nobility; so she PUSHES with
Joash into the room of the temple,
into the house of God. and there she
puts him down. sac knows that Atha-
liah and her wicked asSassins will
not bother the temple a great deal.
So they are not apt TO go very much
to church, and so she sets down JOash
in the temple There he will be hear
ing the songs of the worshipers year
after year: there he will breathe the
odor of the golden censers; in that
sacred spot he will tarry, secreted I'M
til the six years have passed and he
come to enforcement.
The Best Hiding Place.
Would God that we were all as wise
as JehOsheba and knew that the
church of God is the best hiding placei
Perhaps our parents took us there In
early days. They snatched us away
from the world and hid us behind the
baptismal fonts and amid the Bibles
and psalm books o glorious inclos-
ure! We have been breathing the
breath of the golden censers all the
time. and we have seen the Lamb on
the altar, and We have handled the
walls in which are the prayers of all
saints, and we have dwelt under the
wings of the cherubm. Glorious in
closure, When my father and mother
died and the property was settled up.
there was hardly anything left. But
they endowed us with property
worth more than any earthly possess
sion because they hid lis in the temple.
And when days of temptation have
come upon my soul have gone there
for shelter, and when assaulted of sor-
rows | have gone there for comfort.
and there | mean to live. l want, like
Joash, to stay until coronation.
Christian Association.
All, when you pass away-aDd it
will not be long before you do-when
you pass away, it will be satisfaction
to see your children in Christian soci-
ETY.. You want to have them sitting at
the holy sacraments. You want them
mingling in Christian associations
You would like to have them die in
the sacred precincts When you are
on your dying bed and your little ones
come to take up your last word and
you look into their bewildered faces.
you will want to leave them under the
church's benediction | do not care
how hard you are; that is so; | said
to a man of the world: Your son
and daughter are going to join our
church next Sunday. Have you any
objections? BLESS you." he said.
Objections? ! wish all my children
belonged TO the church. | don't at
tend to those matters myself know
| am very wicked-but | am very glad
they are going. and 1 shall be there
TO see them. | am very glad, sir; |
am very glad. | want them there"
And so. though you may have been
wanderers from God and though you
may have sometimes caricatured the
church of Jesus, it is your great desire
mat SOhi oOilS anu QdliSllttiS SuOulu
be standing all their lives within this
sacred inclosure
Church of God, be hiding place to
all these people, Give them a seat
where they can rest their weary souls
Flash some light from your chande-
liers upon their darkness. With some
soothing hymn hush their griefs Oh,
church of God, gate of heaven. let me
go through it! All other institutions
are going to fail but the church of
God-itS foundation is the Rock of
Ages, its charter is for everlasting
years, its keys are held by the univer-
sal Proprietor, its dividend is heaven.