Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1904-03-03
Comment. by William T. Ella.

for the devil and his angels" "Inas-
much as we did it not unto one of the
least OF these We did 1t not unto me-
The great ANAL test OF religion IL not
Righteousness. but n relation; not, n
have 1 done?-not, what have I be-
li~eved?-not. what have I ~achieved?-
but. what is my relation to Christ? So
the Great Teacher makes 1t plain that
he will only declare that he never knew
these loud professors. He dismisses
hem with the simple command: De
part from me-, We workers OF intQutty."
AS unbelief departs from the loving
God-refuses to follow. obey ana love
him-so unbellevers must forever de-
from h glory OF his power. "~outcast."
= PAaAs5 AND e eloo 5S0sH0A7'0Hs
This whole mountainside sermon con-
cludes with one of those exquisite parallels
whose pictorial beauty and spiritual In
sight, always remarkable, are in this
case elevated into "a strain OF solemn
grandeur and awful impressiveness. Jesus
compares the persons who hear and do his
words to a man who built his house upon
a rock. And the rain descended and the
floods came, and the winds blew and beat
upon the house; and 1t fell not for II was
founded upon a rock" Those who heard
his sayings and did them not he compared
to a man who built his house upon SAND
And the rain descended, and the floods
came, and the winds blew. and smote upon
that house; and 1t fell. and great wa the
fall thereof"
Every Jew could understand this smile.
AS in all hilly countries. the streams of
Galilee rush down the torrent beds dur
ing the winter and early spring. sweep
all before them. overflow their banks.
and leave beds Of alluvial deposit on eth
er side. When summer comes their wa
ters fall, and what had seemed a goodly
river is a tract covered with sand n peb-
bles. A stranger coming to build might
be attracted by the level surface of the
sand. 1t would be easy to build there.
On such a house the winter torrent had
swept down in Its fury, and the storms
had ragged, and then the whole fabric. on
which time and money had been expend-
ed, had given way and fallen In a heap
OF ruins.
WHEN STORMS COME.
The lesson of the Lord is easy to grasp.
The wise man will hear. and. when he
hears. will do, hat is, translate his Inn
%pressions into actions. This will be to
build his house upon a rock.
Fol rains, winds n floods do come into
every life and make It wise to build on q
good foundation. We are all liable to at
wv 00ASA 0tN NA
man whose hopes are at loose ends. and
On a sandy foundation. nay expect his
house to fall. This ID. the case of uncon-
verified sinners. None are safe whose hopes
are not built on the Rock Of Ages.
words With which Christ concluded his
sermon. 1T fell, and great was the fall
Of It," after ALL" men would say, 1T
was only the destruction Of one human
being" But our Lords saying reminds
us that in his eyes the ruin Of one SOU
Is = consideration full Of u~nrpeakable sor'
row.
Jesus. in his closing discourse, leaves hi
hearers under the impression Of this sol
emn thought. Each of them. while lie
tening to this last word, might think HI
heard the crash Of the falling house. ant
say within himself: ''This disaster shall
be mine II / prove hypocrftical or incon
sistent."
CHRISTIAN SOCIETIES.
The we'll known missionary authority
Robert e. Speer. gives the following in
! stances Of the heroism displayed by tn
: native Christians in China, during tn
Boxer outbreak.
: Durt.H tho Boxer outbreak troubles i
!, China lba Protestant missionaries and s
children and 5000 Protestant native Chris
tians lost their lives. Many Of these coul
/. | scarcely DC Calico .Iu0IVyEB xOS tu0tg A2ASA
: but there were lnvltitudes who wer
: martyrs, and who deliberately laid dow
their lives in the service and faith Q
/. Christ.
= The Rev. Ting Ii Mai. a graduate Of tn
Tungchow college, pastor Of Z Presby
terrain church in 6hantung. wal seixe<
with some other Christian Chinese. an
! thrown Into . hlthy prison. When TIN
Iii Mai was brought before the maglstrAt
and asked, Are you q Christlan7" he n
: plieL. yes" Two hundred blows with
. stout bamboo club failed to weaken hi
faith. Again he was. asked the sam
question, again the same reply. and ~
( hundred more blows were INFLICTED on h
: poor body. and he was thrust into priso'
With him wa = Christian physician. ala
a graduate Of TungchUw college. who INK
: wise refused to deny his Lord. For Wee1
both OF these devoted men were kept In
: ftlthy prison, while their toTmentorD. mi
9 cradle, opium-eating harptes o. magt
d trates, sought In every way, but In val
to turn them from their faith.
a Nuov cook, ~uneducatod but devou
q the bresdwinner OF the family, having
Ill wife and three helpless children, ",
y seised and cyuslly beaten. He was 9
ID fered his freedom and life for himself ~
i his dear ones II no would deny bis Ne
le ter: blu though his cara were cut %. /
o mouth and checks cut with = sword. >
he remained faithful. This man, With z
brother, was the means Of leading MT
n three peruons 70 Christ. All theoo Chri
tians were driven from their village HON
re and lost all earthly poeDesetonss but 9
ares OF persecution aid not burn out TIN
faith In Christ.
y Are you afrsid?' asked . girl Of -
entssn q : sill q twelve. who ley ~ 9
le Methodist mission co0poun0. when
,e aeemed - though destruction WAa lur