Milford chronicle., 1905-07-21


But rs I 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 sheep
know that as the electricity Of the
atmosphere is an agency of life so it is
also an agency of death and Of destruc-
1 ton Did you know that in the year
1900 nearly 500 people were killed by
/ lightning in the United States alone?
! One of my brother ministers of Chi
/ cago had a son struck down in that
/ year just a few miles from his home.
| Did you know in the United States in
| the seven years between 1880 and 1892,
from known records, there were at
least 3.5i6 fires from lightning and
nearly $t3.Oo0CO0 worth OF property
was thereby destroyed: / see Christ
in the symbol of the lightning coming
TO save / also see Christ in 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 viii 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
one 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 ut the
mill; the one shall De taken and the
other left" q 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 aItars split
sHere Am 7, Lord"
Christ viii surety come. There is
no doubt about that. He may come
any minute of any hour Of any day
There is also no d0ubt about that
Christ said it. He is not only coming
suddenly. but also at the most uuex-
pected time. In Matthew We read
Christ's own words, Watch there
fore. for We know not what hour your
Lord doth come. for as the days Of
Noah We're. 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 you
think Christ wants to ftnd us? The !
Millerites went forth to greet Christ I
some years ago. They We're. clothed in /
white linen and stood upon the m0Uu- /
tain. tops when they expected him to |
come Shall we 90 forth ike the Mil 1
leritesz Hundreds of people have /
crossed the seas and are now living |
near the city of Jerusalem because !
there, as the American consul, Dr. !
Edwin 5. Wallace, told me; they ex- /
pected Christ first to appear. Shall .
we HE TO the Jerusalem mlls2 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 I
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
a 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
when Christ was crueifed Some of
the members were greatly alarmed and
moved to adjourn With that this no
BILE Puritan arose and spoke as fol-
lOwss Mr.. Chairman. we are told that |
our duties are always imminent and
obligatory Some in this house are
afraid that the last day Of the world
is come. It may be they are right. But,
as our duties never cease, instead of
moving that we adjourn l move that
the candles be brought in and that we
proceed with the order of the day. If
Christ is to come today want him to
lind me at my post of duty" If Christ
comes today will he find us at our
post of duty2 Are we faithful Chris
tian disciples Of many homes? Are we
true Christian business men and true
Christian church members? Oh, friend,
if Christ comes today he wants to find
us doing the Christian work for which
we were sent. Are we at our posts Of
Christian duty and prepared to answer
tirIaro a M I o,.d rsyhor be orr,os9 o