Democratic messenger., 1905-07-22

he is going to heaven for little while
to prepare a place for us. Then what
does he say? Il will come again and
receive you unto myself. that where
am there We may be also" Will you
believe that he is coming:
~ Knew You Would Come"
Christ never breaks his word He
would no more break it with us than
you would Intentionally break prom.
lse made with your little child Many
years ago the Duke of Wellington was
crossing one of the London bridges
with his little son. He placed him in a
certain seat and said: Now wait here
my boy. until l come back l have a
very important errand l wish to do,
and then / will come and get YOU"
After the errand the duke forgot all
about his son. But late in the after
noon he remembered what he had done
and the promise he had made. The
anxious father hurried back to the
bridge. and there he found his boy
you wait so patiently?" WELL" said
the boy. II got tired. father. but wait
ed because l knew you would come
You have never yet broken promise
you made with me-" The duke may
have forgotten his promise that he
would return to his son. but our Christ
will never break the promise he has
made TO his children He is coming.
He is surely coming. He has promised
that he will come to claim his own.
''As the lightning cometh out of the
east and shineth even unto the west,
so shall the coming of the Son of man
be-"
But as / see Christ coming to claim
his own by the flash of the lightning |
know he is also coming on that day
to separate the goats from the sheen.
/ know that as the electricity of the
atmosphere is an agency of life so it is
also an agency Of death and of destruc-
ton. Did YOU know that in the year
1900 nearly 500 people were killed by
lightning i'm the United States alone?
One of my brother ministers of Chi
cagO had n son struck down in that
year just a few miles from his home.
Did YOU know in the United States i'm
the seven years between 1SS5 and 1892.
from known records. there were at
least 3,5l6 fires from lightning and
nearly S13.HO.oo0 worth of property
was thereby destroyed: I see Christ
in the symbol of the lightning coming
to save. l also see Christ i'm the sym
bol of the lightning coming to destroy.
And the saddeSt part about this sym
bol is the lightning of Gods wrath. as
his second coming will not separate
nations, but communities and families
and closest friends and business asso-
ciates. Listen to the record Two par
ents shall be bending over the crib: the
onS shall be taken and the other left.
There shall be two In the field; the
one shall be taken and the other left.
Two women shall be grinding at the
mill: the one shall be taken and the
other left" y man. is your mother
or your wife or your daughter or your
son or your loved one To be taken and
you to be left? Families split Homes
split. Marriage altars split.
mere Am Il. LOru.
Christ will surely come. There is
no doubt about that. He may come
any minute Of any hour of any day.
There is also no doubt about that.
Christ said it. He Is not only coming
suddenly. but also at the most unex-
pected time. In Matthew we read
Christ's own words. Watch. there
fore. for We know not what hour your
Lord doth come. "for las the days of
Noah were. so shall also the coming
OF the Son of man be-" Therefore this
is the great practical application of
this sermon: When Christ does come
shall we be prepared to meet him?
When he does come. where do Won
think Christ wants to find us? The
Millerites went forth TO greet Christ
some years ago. They were clothed In
white linen and stood upon the noun
tain tops when they expected him to
come. Shall we go forth like the Mil
lerites! Hundreds of people have
crossed the seas and are now living
near the city of Jerusalem because
there, as the American consul DIR.
Edwin s. Wallace. told me. they ex-
pected Christ first to appear. Shall
we HE to the Jerusalem hills? do
not believe Christ at his coming wants
to find you and me on the hilltop In
white linen or on Mount Olivet or near
to the beautiful gate. When Christ
comes. as come he may at any min
ute, | think he would like to find us
in our ordinary working apparel doing
the Christian work he has given us to
do.
Would that we were as faithful in
the tasks Christ has given to us as
was that noble Christian statesman of
many years ago 1t was during the
time when many men were prophesy-
ing the speedy termination OF the
world. The Connecticut legislature was
in session. of which this Christian was
Il member. Suddenly in the broad day
light the sun became overcast and
there was darkness upon the face of
the earth like that awful black Friday