The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-09-25

LOS Angeles, Cal, September lo.-1u thS nature and habits of the birds the preacher finds a simile of the entrance into the church of a large accession of converts. The text is Isaiah ix. B. Who are these that fly as a cloud and as the doves to their windows?'
 An axiom is a self evident fact. 'It is" the Photographers say, "a proposi- tion whose truth is so obvious at first sight that no process of reasoning or demonstration can make it plainer.' It is a golden truism coine in thel mint house of maxims' with the raised fea- lures of the Goddess of Truth stamped upon it's, even as the English shilling bears the profile of King Edward an American silver dollar the outsretched wings of an eagle, as the Roman penny once bore the superscription and image of Caesar and Grecian coin the fea- lures of Alexander the Great. It is an Aphorism, an apothegm. It is as Hip operates once said "A succinct saying comprehended a complete statement" It is one of the many terse sentences of Benjamin Franklin which are found in
 
 we read 1t than we say, That is true" From the moment of reading no amount of illustration or argument can change us from our original conc;usion. It Is q strong armed eharioteer. swiftly guild ing before our eyes the chariot of con yiction." It is truth in a nutshell. It is q universe of analyses condensed in an epigram.
 The truht of an axiom can be put to a practical test Sometimes, however, men do not take the trouble to test it, but give credence to statements appar- ently contradicting 1t, instead of apply ing the test of experience. Some years ago the French savants were asked to explain how it was that pail of water containing dead fish weighed more than one Of the same size containing a live fish. Dissertation after dissertation was written upon the subject. At last one common sense scientist, whose brain had not been educated to the verge of inn becility, saw that the question was a misleading one. "A dead fish and a live fish ought to weigh the same" said he. ''This truth is automatic" He put a live fish into a pail of water and weighed it. He killed the fish and put the dead body back into the same water and weighed it again. The water containing the dead fish and that containing the live fish of course weighed the same. All the ingenuity expended in writing the dissertations had been wasted. The writers had been trying to find reasons for a phenomenon that did not exist.
 Church's Power Not Waning.
 Hundreds of men are simply doing the same thing in trying to find the reasons for the phenomenon stated by shallow observers, that the church of Jesus Christ is losing it's power over men. Long lists of reasons for this waning in- fluence are cited, whereas the writers have only to open their eyes to discover that the church of Jesus Christ is not losing its power over men. The church of God was never so powerful as it is today. More strong men and strong wo- men are lowing before It's altars than ever before. More are the church's teach ings respected by statesmen and in the homes and daily lives of our citizens than ever before. l have not time to go into argument to prove this assertion. I would not today do so if l had the time. Why? ecause 1t is a self-evident fact that the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is the most vital and essential in- finence in the world today. It is a self evident statement. All intelligent people who have looked boldly and impartially @e-NN' | assertion is true.
 But though the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is growing more and more powerful day by day, yet we believe that still greater triumphs are before it in the future The victories already won are small compared to those which are vet to be won, when nations shall be born In day. Josiah Strong recently wrote book entitled "The Next Great Awak- ening. l am not going to find my theme in the latest book of the famous author of Our Country" I am going to look through the inspired spectacles of a prophet who lived nearly 5000 years ago. Isaiah took the picture of the doves l flying to their home cotes in great clouds as the symbol of the church of the future gathering in its members. So I shall try to show that the "coming awak- ening of the church. is not only going to be a worldwide evangelistic move ment but also that the conquest of the world for Christ may be near-yes. very nea--at hand.
 Gospel Trirmphs.