The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1901-04-25

rather than to fling ourselves In front
of the wheels. trying to block their
progress. We will not stop the
chariot, but we ourselves will be
ground to powder.
But I think, after all, the greatest
obstacle to revivals throughout
Christendom is an unconverted minis
try. We must believe that the vast
majority of those who officiate at
sacred affairs are regenerated, but I
suppose there may float into the
ministry of all the denominations OF
Christians men whose hearts have
never been changed by grace. They
are all antagonistic to revivals. How
did they get into the ministry? Per-
haps some of them chose it as re-
spectacle profession. Perhaps some
of them were sincere, but were mis-
taken. AS Thomas Chalmers said, he
had been many years preaching the
Gospel before his heart had been
changed, and as many ministers of
the Gospel declare they were preach
ing and had been ordained to sacred
orders years and years before their
hearts were regenerated. Gracious
God, what solemn thought for those
of us who minister at the altar!
With the present ministry in the
present temperature of piety, this
land will never be enveloped with re-
vivals. While the pews on one side
the altar cry for mercy, the pulpits
on the other side of the altar must
cry for mercy. Ministers quarreling.
Ministers trying to pull each other
down. Ministers struggling for eccle-
siastical place. Ministers, lethargic
with whole congregations dying on
their hands. What spectacle!
1t is significant fact that the man
who invented the telegraph was an
old-fashioned Christian, Prof. Morse,
and that the man who put the tele-
graph under the sea was an old-fash-
ioned Christian, Cyrus w. Field, and
that the president Of the most fa-
nous of the telegraph companies of
this country was an old-fashioned
Christian, William Orton, going from
the communion table on earth
straight to his home in Heaven. What
does all that mean?
l do not suppose that the telegraph
was invented merely to let us know
whether -four is up or down or which
horse won the race at the Derby or
which marksman beat at the latest
contest. / suppose the telegraph was
invented and built to call the world
to God.
In some of the attributes of the
Lord we seem to share on small
scale. For instance, in His love and
His kindness. But until of late fore
knowledge, omniscience, omnipres-
ence, omnipotence, seem to have been
exclusively Gods possession. God, de-
string to make the race like Himself,
gives us species of foreknowledge
in the weather probabilities. gives us
a species of omniscience in telegraphy.
gives us a species of omnipresence in
the telephone, gives us species OF
omnipotence in the steam power. Dis
coveries and inventions all around
about us, people are asking what nextP
/ will tell you what next. Next, q
stupendous religious movement. Next,
the end of war. Next, the crash OF
despotism. Next, the werld' expurga-
ton. Next, the Christlike dominion.
Next, the Judgment. What becomes
of the world after that / care not.
1t will have suffered and achieved
enough for one world. Lay it up in
the drydocks of eternity, like an old
man of war gone out of service, or fit
it up like Constellation, to carry
bread of relief to some other suffering
planet or let it be demolished. Fare
well, dear old world, that began with
paradise and ended with Judgment
confagration.
Last summer stood on the Isle of
Wight. and I had pointed out to me
the place where the Eurydice sank
with 200 or 800 young men who were
in training for the British navy. You
remember when that training ship
went down there was thrill of horror
all over the world. Since then there
was another training ship missing.
The Atalanta, gone down with all on
board. By order of her majesty's gov
eTnmcHU NGSSClS "CHg "a up dhu
down the Atlantic trying to find that
lost training ship in which there were
so many young men preparing for
the British navy. Alas, for the lost
Atalanta! Oh, my friends, this world
is only training ship! On it we are
training for Heaven. The old ship
sails up and down the ocean of inn
mensity, now through the dark waves
of midnight, now through the golden
crested wave of the morn, but sails
on and sails on. After awhile her
work will be done, and the inhabitants
of Heaven will look out and find
world missing. The cry will be:
"Where is that earth where Christ
died and the human race was emGnci-
pated? Send out fleets of angels to
find the missing craft" Let them sail
up and down, cruise up and down the
ocean of eternity, and they.will catch
not one glimpse of her mountain masts
or her topgallants OF floating cloud.
Gone down! The training ship of u
| world perished in the last tornado.
| Oh. let it not be that she goes down