Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1900-11-30

. royal soul. Who will snatch away
JceSh?
Can You imagine any sublimer work
than this soul saving? That was what
flushed Paul's cheek with enthusiasmj
that was what led Munson to risk his
life amid Bornesian cannibals; that
was what sent DR.. Abeel to preach
under the consuming skies of China;
that was what gave courage to Phocas
In the third century. When the mill
tary officers came to put him to death
for Christ's sake, he put them to bed
that they might rest, while he him.
self went out and in his own gar
den dug his grave and then came back
and said: 81 am ready" But they
were shocked at the idea of taking the
life OF their host. He said: 1T is
tho will of God that 1 should die"
and he stood on the margin of his own
grave, and they beheaded him. You
say it is mania, foolhardiness.
fanaticism. Rather would 1 call it a
glorious self-abnegation, the thrill Of
eternal satisfaction. the plucking Of
Joash from death and raising him to
coronation.
The third thought I hand to you 10
that the church of God is a good hid
ing place. When Jehosheba rushes In
to 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-
peradoes will hunt through every
nook and corner of that building.
Shall she. take him to the residence
of some wealthy citizen? No; that
citizen would not dare to harbor the
fugitive. But she has to take him
somewhere. She hears the cry OF the
mob in the streets; she hears the
shrek of the dying nobility; so she
rushes with Joash unto the room Of
the temple, into the house Of God,
and there she puts him down. She
knows that Athaliah and her wicked
assassins will not bother the temple
great deal. They are not apt to go
very much to church, and so she sets
down Joash in the temple. There he
will be hearing the songs OF the wor-
shippers year after year; there he will
breathe the odor of the golden cen
sers; in that sacred spot he will tarry,
secreted until the six years have
passed and he come to enforcement.
Would God that we were all az wise
as Jehosheba and knew that the
church of God is the best hiding placel
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 in
| closure! 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
| vials in which are the prayers of all
saints, and we have dwelt under the
wings Of the cherubim. 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 posses
sion because they hil us in the temple
And when days of temptation have
come upon my soul I have gone there
for shelter, and when assaulted ot
sorrows l have gone there for com
| fo,t aod tbara rpaop m 1iva T want
| like Joash, to stay until coronation.
o men of the world outside there
betrayed, caricatured and cheated o.
the world, why do you not come II
through the broad, wide-open door o
| Christian communion? I wish coult
act the part of Jehosheba to-day ant
steal you away from your perils an'
hide you in the temple. How few o
us appreciate the fact that the churcl
of God is a hiding place! There ar
maLy people who put the church at 81
low a mark that they begrudge l
everything, even the few dollars the.
give toward it. They make no sacri
fees. They dole little out of thei,
surplusage. They pay their butchsT'
bill, and they pay their doctors bill
and they pay their landlord, and the
pay everybody but the Lord, and the,
come in at the last to pay the Lor'
in His church, and frown as they say
"There, Lord, it is. Send me a re
ceipt in full and don't bother me 500
again" There is not more than on
man out of thousand that appreci
ates what the church is. Where ar
the souls that put aside oIe-tenth TO
Christian institutions-one-te o
their income? Where are those who
having put aside that one-tenth, draw
upon it cheerfully? Why, it is pul
and drag and hold on and grab an
clutch, and giving is an affliction t
most people, when it ought to be a
exhilaration and a rapture. Oh, tha
God would remodel our souls on thi
subject and that we might appreciat
the house of God as the great refuge
If your children are to come up t
lives of virtue and happiness, the,
will come up under the shadow of tn
church. If the church does not ge
them, the world will.
Church of God, be a hiding place t
all these people! Give them SEA
where they can rest their weary soul
Flash some light from your chandelier
upon their darkness. With some sootf
ing hymn hush their griefs. Oh, churc
of God, gate of Heaven, let me q
through it! All other institutions ar
going to fail, but the church of God
its foundation is the P,ock of Ages, it
charter is for everlasting years, 1t
keys are held by the universal Propri
etor, its dividend is Heaven, its presi
dent is God
Sure as thy truth shall last, &,
| To Zion shall be given
The highest glories earth can yield
And brighter bliss of Heaven.
God grant that all this audience, tk
youngest, the eldest, the worst, tn,
best, may find their safe and gloriou