Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1914-04-01
No foot of land do l possess
No cottage in the wilderness:
A poor wayfaring man.

VIII the WOIuS Ol Gdul-'NOne OIL
these things move me, neither count
my life dear unto myself, so that
might finish my course with Joy
and the ministry which l have re-
Ceived of the Lord Jesus, to testify
the gospel of the grace of God"
why. say! John, you surprise
me, I've heard you say a good many
good things but l never heard you
talk like that before: how you do
lay it down." laughed Finch; while
Petrie and the others looked at one
another with approving smiles.
Il swami" spoke up Grimes, 1T al
most makes me wish l was one OF
them, after all, TO hear you talk that
way, John, you, ought to have been
a preacher yourself, or a lawyer, you
are great for the defense"
There are Just three men, who,
: as the advance agents of civilization
are entitled to whatever credit may
} attach to the subJugation of this wes-
tern world resumed the store keep
Err these three men from the very
} first have carried the rifle, swung the
axe and opened the bible Sometimes
the hunter has preceded his two as
sociates little, only to be closely fol-
lowed by the man with the axe and
his companion with her dough bowl
and spinning-jenny who, before they
became fairly settled, were gladden.
ed by the appearance of the man on
horseback who had heard the call
and fastened on with his bible and
hymn book.
These three or four personages
have ever been so many voices
crying in the wilderness, Prepare We
the way of the Lord, make straight
. in the desert a highway for our God.
J what this great western world
, owes to the pioneer preacher can
never be known till the grave yields
up its dead, and the judgment OF
God shall be passed upon mankind.
A long silence followed these
!, words of John Armstrong who had
spoken with a solemnity which had
4 PROFOUNDLY impressed the listeners
; with perhaps, one or two exceptions
The silence was at length broken
by Petrie who quietly remarked, as
he gazed into the face of Frank In
ness, who had been listening with
eyes and mouth wide open-"You
have spoken the truth John, and
while / have never been much of a
hurch goer myself l have always
had great respect for it and have ad.
: mired the self-sacrifcing devotion OF
1.-THE men you have been speaking o.
tla good deal more than I am sable t.
n express. Your settled ministry, Jas
J per, is all right enough, it has it.
own legitimate field. The city pull
pits have never been scant of smar
| preachers who have done their work
J we'll, because they have been good
and true men, thank God-most Of
them; but when it comes to break
ing up the fallow ground, or gather.
, ing in recruits for the army of the
Lord, why then the man on horse
jback has it all over the man who
breaches to the same congregation
year after year"
You are right about that, Steph-
} en-, Paul was an itinerant preacher
; most of the time and Christ himself
went about doing good, filling his
appointments, holding meetings
whenever and wherever opportunity
made an opening. In the synagogue
by the seaside, on a mountain, in a
garden, in city and country, amid the
throngs of crowded mart or to quiet
field retired He with his disciples
alone, anywhere and everywhere, by
day and by night; the Master preach.
ed to the people; sometimes to a
multitude, at other times just to a
lone man or woman, like Nicodemus
or the woman of samaria," said
John Armstrong.
"Oh! we'll, have it your own way
boys, I'm not going to deny that it's
great thing to get people convert
ed and into the church, but its
enough sight bigger thing to take
care of 'em when you've got 'em
once. It's comparatively easy to
bring children into the world, but
to train 'em up right is the biggest
kind of job" said Ezra Finch.
Right you are there Ezra" as
sented Jasper Grimes. Il guess no
one will attempt to deny it. OF course
it is part of the mission of the
church, as i understand it, to add to
it's numbers daily, such as should be
saved, and then to carefully train
them up in the way they should go,
Ell! Petrie?"
"Sure!" responded that gentle
man, there is no room for argument
there, the church ought to use all
| honorable mpanS IN innraoca itc