The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-09-02
Rev. Sage, Rector Of ST. Johns Episco-
pal Church, Tells What He
Believes keokuk
Must Do.
THERE MUST sss UNITY
People Must Pull Toscsssr in Every
thing, II They Are to Succeed
to Limits Of Present
Dreams,

The Rev. Mr. Sage at the home
coming service at st. Johns Sunday
in harmony with the dedication OF
the great water power celebration and
because the thoughts of our citizens
ere upon Greater Keokuk" took as
his theme 1.-THE City" He based his
remarks upon the text in Psalm 122
at the third verse, Jerusalem is built
as city that is at unity with itself"
And said in part:
The Bible is book of the city. It
Is true that the history of man as
recorded in the Bible is a history
which begins in garden, which has
to do with mans dwelling in tents;
which records his wanderings over
the deserts. Yet men ever had in
view city, for it they strove and for
| It they labored And so, when it
came to pass that these people, as
recorded in holy writ, founded their
city, they became proud of it. They
loved It with all the affections of
their souls. and they were loyal to
that city; and so, when they were
separated from 1t in exile, their cry
was for Jerusalem, O Jerusalem And
when the Blessed Master came,
though He was born in village, and
| though His first years seem to have
been spent away from large city,
when He entered upon His ministry,
1t was to that bustling and hustling
town of Capernaum that He came.
And we know that when His days
were about to end, and when His
ministry was to reach It's climax, 1t
was to the city of His fathers that
He went, and Jerusalem and its peo-
| pie looked upon Him when He died
for men. He loved the city with a
great love; only such love could
wiring from Him the cry, %, Jerusalem,
thou that stonest the prophets and
killest them sent unto you, how often
would have gathered thy children
as the hen gathers her chickens under
her wing. Then when after the death
of the Blessed Master, those apostles
whom He had chosen to direct His
church, those bishops He had select
ed to carry His gospel Of love to all
people, began their mission, it was to
the cities they went, from which
large centers they began to evangelize
the nations.
1T was one of those apostles, too,
who loved his city so greatly that he
cried aloud with pride, 1 am citi-
zen Of no mean city
Then when 1t came to the vision
of the last of these apostles upon the
Isle of Patmos, when the heavens
were opened and he looked within. it
! was to see a city, the new Jerusalem,
the heavenly city, fair beyond words.
with walls of jasper and streets of
pure gold. and trees that bore their
fruit season after season: with rivers
Eof life, and having melody within. It
was city toward which men were
to look. 1t was a city to be attained
to after the battle and strife of life.
Christians Have Been FauIted.
Now christians have been faulted-
and perhaps rightly so-with other
worldliness; and men have said, %
yes, you are looking forward to that
heavenly city. that new Jerusalem.
Your eyes are upon it and your heart
Is within it, and you seem to have no
work to do upon the earth. There
has been, undoubtedly. some truth in
their contention. fer many sincere
christians have failed to realize |
Christs meaning In His prayer. THY
kingdom come They have forgotten
that the city of Jerusalem is to be
built upon the earth first, before the
heavenly Jerusalem is to be attained
II is true that the early disciples. az
they gathered their impetus from tho |
words of the Master, understanding
that He was soon to come again. did
not always have an ideal of a better
and a more glorious city upon this
earth. Yet even In the first wears ot
the christian community, we find
large endeavor to build here a CITY
of God, wherein love should dwell, and
righteousness and brotherhood prevail Il
1t Is true, also, that when the
Roman empire nominally became
nation Though far from
such, in fact) christian ideals made
better laws for the city and state
In our day and generation there
has been a larger conception of the
mission of christians, a larger growth
INTO the knowledge of what our Lord
meant; much clearer outlook unon
he things that He would have us do
Wen see with clearer vision that wa
IRE to live the christian life upon the
earth, in an earthly city before we
each the heavenly Jerusalem, that
We are to make this city in which we
iWeli copy of the one above. There
ire two thinGs which christian men
our generation have learned. or are
and understand more clearly