Christ ani> fits Church
A Sermon delivered at the 335th Anniversary of the Church of the
Catacombs, Canterbury, Eng., July 8th, 1902.
CHURCH OF THE CATACOMBS, CANTERBURY, ENG.
Where Bishop W. B. Derrick delivered the 355th Anniversary Sermon.
(CI)rist ntii* Sits Clturtli
BY BISHOP W. B. DERRICK, D.D.
A sermon delivered at the 355th Anniversary of the Church of the
Catacombs, Canterbury, England, July 6, 1902.
To the Beloved Pastors, Officers and Members
of the Church of the Ancient Catacombs:
The passing away of another year
has strengthened the hopes which you
then entertained on your last anni¬
versary of the happy outcome of the
world-wide event which then so much
agitated your beloved country, viz.:
the Coronation of King Edward VII,
an event which has eclipsed all earthly
pageants, regardless of country or
clime, evidencing the fact of the won¬
derful extent of the British Empire.*
Then, as the horizon of British prog¬
ress becomes brighter and brighter,
let praise be given to God for His
mercies to the British people, and let
us not cease to invoke His continued
interposition and guidance, that as a
branch of the church militant as well as a nation, we may have a deep
and abiding sense of our dependence upon Him for that protection
which alone can give true safety, security and progress to both church
and nation. To-day let us invoke God's remembrance in behalf of the
British Empire, a Nation chosen of God to spread civilization and a
knowledge of His word to the remote ends of the earth. Its lawgivers
ip^TtolheKing's illness postponing his Coronation.
CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH
and its rulers demand our prayers as well as our loyalty. We pray,
long five our Sovereign King Edward VII; may spiritual and temporal
blessings attend his reign, and may length of years mark his precious
life as they did his late lamented mother, Victoria of precious memory,
whose virtue, like letters of fire against the blue of heaven's arch,
shines forth potent in the world an inspiration to mothers, maidens,
wives and widows; in love and sympathy the noblest work of God, a
woman, in judgment and intellect, a statesman, the noble conservator
of art, science, literature and religion, the exemplar of all the virtues,
will hold a place in history all her own; and when the zealous pen of
future bard shall tell the fame of England's sovereigns, he shall speak
of her as the heroic Queen immortal in her fame, upon whose tomb
the garlands spread by loving hands and watered by the tears of a
loving people, shall bloom in perpetual freshness beneath the smiles
of England's sun, the tears of England's skies and the tender and loving
watch of Him in whose sight the just and good are ever precious. Let
us continue to entertain hope with confidence in our great sovereign
Ruler of the world, Almighty God, who is the God of our Fathers, and
who in times past carried us through many great and severe trials.
May this spirit of union continue to exist throughout the British realm,
for whatever may be the evils which result from a united condition
they are nothing in comparison with those which would flow from
division.
SUBJECT—"CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH."
I.—Christ Goes in Search of His People.
II.—The Place and Condition in which He Finds His
People.
III.—He Brings them up with Him.
IV.—They Affectionately Depend upon Him.
V.—The Final Triumph.
No. i.
Text:—"Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness leaning
on her beloved?" Song of Solomon viii: 5.
Introduction This is the question of the Daughters of Jeru¬
salem or nominal professors—those who compose a part of the visible
church, but not the true Church of Christ on earth. These are the
Daughters of Jerusalem, but they are not the Bride, the Lamb's wife.
They partake of the outward privileges but they know not the vital
union of the Bride with her beloved: hence the failure to understand
much of her experience.
It is the question of angels that hover over Zion, but it is not the
question of Jesus, who calls attention to His beloved Bride, whom He
has tenderly protected under the shadow of His wings all through her
perilous journey, and was now triumphantly bringing her up from
the wilderness to convey her to His Father's house. No, no; it is not
the question of Jesus, for He knows His own from the foundation of
the world.
But we notice in the first place that:—
—"christ goes in search of his people."
It was His high and holy mission, as is recorded in St. Luke
xix: 10. "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which
was lost."
4
CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH
"What man of you having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them,
doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after
that which is lost, until he find it?" Luke xv: 4.
I.—The Jewish Church, which He finds in Egypt, in the house of
bondage, which He brings up with the greatest care from the wilder¬
ness by the hand of Moses and Aaron, supported by the Divine power
and favor.
We find Isaiah, one of the prophets, writes thus: "Behold, a king
shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment."
xxxii : 1.
II.—The Christian Church scattered among the various nations,
peoples and tongues. "Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the
dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea and Cappadocia, in Pontus and
Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about
Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and Proselytes, Cretes and Ara¬
bians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of
God." Acts ii: 9-11.
John, while on the Isle of Patmos, wrote thus: "After this I
beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all
nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne,
and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their
hands." Revelation vii: 9; thus furnishing a most striking figure as to
the class of individuals also constituting God's Church, as it relates to
nationality and tongue.
Hearken to the invitation: "Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye
to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea,
come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." Isaiah
lv: 1.
"And the Spirit and the Bride say, "Come. And let him that
heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever
will, let him take the water of life freely." Revelation xxii: 19.
We notice here the indefinite, whosoever, any person, let him come,
which substantiates the great truth, not only that all are invited, but
that God is no respecter of person. "For there is no respect of per¬
sons with God." Rom. ii: 11. All are welcome into the fold of Christ's
Church upon the earth.
CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH
5
III.—By His voice His servants are instructed and moved upon
in the circulation of this truth, and by the striving of His Spirit, His
Providence, the world hears His offer of mercy. "Come unto Me, all
ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matt, xi:
28. Thus we see that through the efforts of His faithful followers and
ministering servants, that the world is brought gradually to see its
dreadful condition.
11.—"the place and condition in which he finds his people."
In the Wilderness. In a sinful state, remote and cut off from comr
munion and fellowship with God, barren and dry, utterly destitute.
In the language of a noted writer of our day and time, "It is a fact that
human nature was reduced to such a state of fetid decay by the rejec¬
tion of God that a few more years would have seen the world one
gigantic dunghill of corruption and death."
Then the great sacrifice took place. God, manifest in the flesh,
died upon the cross an eternal sacrifice to take away sin. A fresh, in¬
vigorating breeze swept through the putrefying mass of human life,
men faced for the first time the realities of existence with unflinching
faith by pureness, "by knowledge a Divine life." (Shorthouse. Strong's
Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge.) The conclusion reached by
this distinguished writer is in perfect harmony with the Scriptures as is
found in Isaiah i: 6: "From the sole of the foot even unto the head
there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying
sores; they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified
with ointment." - This beyond question establishes the awful condition
in which man lived until the coming of Christ into the world, when He
found His people wandering and wanting, and pleading as beggars to
be raised up from the depths of filth and degradation and be made fit
subjects to inherit the throne of glory, that the exceeding riches of
God's grace might be manifested in them.
Yes, they were buried amidst the rubbish of error and superstition,
and of barbarity. Their leaders and teachers were grievously afflicted
with blindness of their minds. (See 2 Cqjt. iii: 14.) "Their minds were
blinded, for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the
reading of the Old Testament; which vail is done away in Christ." And
6
CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH
so we see by this how grievous an affliction it is to be afflicted with a
blinded intellect. But it is still more appalling" to be spiritually as well
as mentally blind. Of the two, to be spiritually blinded is far more
dreadful, for it is to know not God.
These were the conditions with which the Saviour of the world
was confronted at His advent. Blindness as to spiritual things con¬
trolled the world and continued until the great pentecostal showers,
when thousands were found and their spiritual condition revealed unto
them by the breaking in upon their benighted souls the light of the
sun of righteousness.
Nathaniel, Zaccheus, Peter, the jailer at Philippi, the Ethiopian
Eunuch on his way home, and hosts of others in the congregation of
the dead, helpless and undone, heard the Shepherd's voice. "And
when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one ac¬
cord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of
a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sit¬
ting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and
it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost,
and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utter¬
ance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem jews, devout men, out of
every nation under heaven." Acts ii: 1-5.
At this period of the world's history there were systems of religion
embracing all the false deities that the deluded mind could have in¬
vented, in Egypt, Rome, Greece and Judea. Pagan worship was the
natural concomitant of such a system because the gods of these people
were only men who had assumed names and titles originally appropri¬
ated to the heavenly bodies.
The Jews differed in many circumstances from what we have de¬
scribed. Although at times the abomination of paganism was intro¬
duced into their worship, under these systems intolerance ruled. Stag¬
nation, formality and h)'pocrisy prevailed. Not until the news had
spread that Jesus, the Son of God, had gathered around Him a band
of followers who were men of bravery and courage, to declare that
none but Jesus, and He alone, could do helpless sinners good; that He
was "the Truth, the Way and the Life," did the light begin to shine
out of the darkness and the dreary night of error began to wane.
The spirit of tolerance was encouraged. Christian philosophy ancj
CHRIST AND HtS CHURCH 7
I
learning were eagerly sought and pursued by all who aspired to ele¬
gance and» refined taste. Aristotle and Plato and other Grecian phi¬
losophers proclaimed the doctrine of the unity of God, His perfection,
self-existence and His infinite goodness. The doctrines approaching
the truth, however, were yet at a considerable distance because they
were obscurely expressed. We see by this that the systems of re¬
ligion then practiced had all failed to satisfy the spiritual craving of the
human soul. There were devout men who had longed for the day
when they should see the promised Messiah, as the thought is ex¬
pressed in Scripture in the Songs of Solomon, 'The watchmen that
go about the city found Me; to whom I said, Saw ye Him whom My
soul loveth?" (iii: 3.) This evidences the fact that nothing will
appease the appetite of the soul but Christ. As the aspiration of the
soul cannot and will not exist by bread' alone, Jesus answered him,
saying, "It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by
every word of God." Luke iv: 4.
The religions of Egypt, Greece, Rome and Judea had no lustre
within their eyes, no life in their hearts; their gods were many—some
worshipped nature, others the beautiful, others adhering to law and
duty, others to burnt offerings and sacrifices; thus in this helpless con¬
dition they lived under a system which did not lend itself to the re¬
moval of the dark curtain which hung before their eyes, hiding that
beautiful and bright life to come.
But in the third place we discover that :
III.—"he brings them up with him."
"Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt
become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstones thereof with
shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it." Zechariah iv: J.
He shall bring them forth, according to St. John xii: 32, "And I, if
I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me."
a.—Cometh up. Journeying, making progress in knowledge; in
all good works pertaining to the establishing of His kingdom in the
hearts of the people. Slow it may be, yet sure and visible; such is the
characteristic feature of all true believers. This is to be attributed to
the fact that a life of righteousness is a life of growth. "For he shall
grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry
8
Christ and his church
ground." Isaiah liii: 2. "We are bound to thank God always for you,
brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly,
and the charity of everyone of you all toward each other aboundeth."
2 Thessalonians i: 3. "They go from strength to strength, everyone
of them in Zion appeareth before God." Psalm lxxxiv: 7.
b.—But from whence did they come? From the wilderness, the
state of barrenness, wretchedness, mental, physical, social, moral and
spiritual already described. Truly, it is well for us to be constantly re¬
minded and taught to look back to the rock from whence we were
hewn or to the hole of the pit from whence we were dug.
For this reason your attention might be called to the year 1685,
when the Church was almost extinguished in a sea of blood. When
there was not one place of worship tolerated nor one public service al¬
lowed from 1685 to 1786, a period of one hundred and one years.
After this long suspense all hope seemed to be gone; then the heart
of Napoleon was touched so as to allow him to grant religious freedom
to those who were struggling for civil and religious liberty; liberty of
thought and conscience—scarcely a vestige left in sight of the once
prosperous colony which first became conspicuous in the reign of
Henry II. Yet the germ which was planted and fanned and kept alive
by such characters as DeRohan, King James I and others was not com¬
pletely extinct, the evidences of which are to be seen to-day, that there
are hundreds of places where the masses assemble to hear the Gospel
preached—churches, chapels and private houses. It may be heard any
Sabbath in words of burning eloquence. God's Church asks only
a hearing and promises not to combat her enemies with the weapons of
slander or falsehood. For in her is the audacity of the consciousness of
truth. For this truth many have been massacred on all sides, millions
have fallen, some under the hands of the executioner, some on the
fields of battle, some from hunger and want in exile. With smiles on
their lips, with defiance on their brow and with the calm serenity which
can belong only to those who have a consciousness of having com¬
pleted their mission, these martyrs met their death. Then it is well
for us to remind you, my dearly beloved brethren, members of the
Church of the Catacombs, for you trace with pride your direct his¬
toric connection with those primitive organizations which were founded
by apostolic labors. Because throughout the long night of centuries,
CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH
9
when the nations of earth wandered after the beasts, your fathers kept
the beacon light of truth and Godliness burning upon their Alpine
watch-towers, you are honored to-day. The bright record of your
Church is a blaze of light across the page of history.
Although your forefathers have been hunted and tortured and
persecuted unto death, they continued to trust in God, their Father,
until they found an asylum, a place of shelter in England, the land
which has always furnished a place of refuge to the persecuted saints of
the Lord; a country, the atmosphere of which is too pure to allow a
bondsman of any race or clime to live within its borders. You cannot
fail to remember that during those dark periods when the woman was
drunken with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus, of those who were
flesh of your flesh and blood of your blood, those of you who remained
transmitted through the grace and power of God to posterity the
principles for which they fought, of civil and religious liberty. Like
the burning bush amidst the flames these sacred principles were not
consumed. And thus you, the offspring of martyrs, stand forth as a
precious memorial of God's covenant of fidelity and of Christ's power
of love.
As a Church, your history is one of heroic struggles. You cherish
in your heart of hearts the precious promise contained in the Word of
God, believing and relying on such a redemption as this: "When thou
passest through the waters I will be with thee; and through the rivers
they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou
shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." Isaiah
xliii: 2. You have earnestly contended for the faith. You have not
allowed abstruse and fanatical explanations of the Scriptures to be¬
wilder the imagination of your followers. Nor have you defended
Christianity by the glittering and brittle weapons of sophistry and
invective, but with the invincible arm and simplicity of truth. You
have exhibited exemplary virtue, humility, charity, amiability and
patience under the fiercest provocation. But such characteristics are
but the outcome of the righteous teachings of God's Church upon
earth.
Why do we refer to these past issues? Because the Lord would
not have you forget or lose sight of them at any stage of your pilgrim¬
age. His first words, and His last to His Bride, are to call to remem-
io
CHRIST AND HIS CHURCll
brance the forrtier days. "God who is rich in mercy for His great love
wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened
us together with Christ, by grace ye are saved, and has raised us up
together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His
grace in His kindness toward us through Jesus Christ." Eohesians
ii: 4-6.
c.—As to where Christ found His people and brought them up.
"He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness;
He led him about, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His
eye; as an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spread-
eth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings, so the
Lord alone did lead him and there was no strange God with him. He
made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the
increase of the fields, and He made him suck honey out of the rock and
oil out of the flinty rock." Deut. xxxii: 10-13. Thus may we sing:
"Through many dangers, toils and snares
We have already come."
You can therefore on this, your three hundred and fifty-fifth anni¬
versary, exclaim, "O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good; for
His mercy endureth forever; let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom
He hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy, and gathered them
out of the lands, from the East, and from the West, from the North,
and from the South. They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary
way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul
fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and
He delivered them out of their distresses." Psalm cvii: 1-7.
iv.—"they affectionately depend upon him."
"The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in
times of trouble. And they that know Thy name will put their trust in
Thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee." Psalm
ix: 9.
The people of God feel His power and benefits by affectionately
depending upon Him.
d.—Showing dependence is one of the laws of the physical, social,
Christ and his church
11
and spiritual world. "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that
abideth in Me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for
without Me ye can do nothing," St. John xv : 5, as every other depend¬
ence has been removed. There is a displacement of every other stay.
There is nothing save the omnipotent arm of Jesus upon which
we can safely lean as individuals, families, churches and nations. With
this assurance God's people advance on their onward, heavenward
course, leaning on Christ, their beloved. It is enough to know they
are abundantly supported, for "underneath are the everlasting arms."
e.—But leaning shows weakness. Our very weakness is but a
Divinely-appointed means for the free display of His might. Mighty
to save. "Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is Thy hand, and high is
Thy right hand." Psalm lxxxix: 13. "And He said unto me, My
grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weak¬
ness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities that
the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Cor. xii : 9. "Hence the cry,
'Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief.' " St. Mark ix: 24.
"Guide us, O thou Great Jehovah,
Pilgrims through this barren land,
We are weak but Thou art mighty,
Guide us with Thy powerful hand."
Let us continue to sing and comfort one another while passing
through the wilderness.
"My faith looks up to Thee,
Blest Lamb of Calvary."
Let us lean upon Jesus by faith as did the sainted Latimer, the
learned Cranmer, the pious Ridley, the inflexible Rodgers, the in¬
trepid and uncompromising Coligny and the zealous De Conde. All
these met their end with resignation. So with the late lamented Presi¬
dent McKinley who, with the calmness and willingness of a child, laid
his head upon the bosom of Jesus and exclaimed, "Nearer, my God, to
Thee, nearer to Thee." And as he approached the Better Land still
said, "E'en though it be a cross." It was upon this arm that he rested
with full assurance.
Let us never lean on our own understanding, nor trust in the
rags of our own righteousness. Let us lean only upon our beloved
Christ, whose arm brought salvation when there was none to help—
JL2
CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH
that arm that tore the bars of the tomb away and led captivity captive,
and gave great gifts to men.
Let us go up from the wilderness of this world having our con¬
versation in Heaven with Christ. Living lives of faith in Jesus, we ex¬
claim in the language of the Apostle, "To me to live is Christ, and to
die is gain."
v.—"the final triumph."
The complete overthrow of the kingdom of darkness is an assured
fact. This is an infallible truth, declared in behalf of the Church on
earth. The Church, although confronted by the forces of error and
sin, is the bold defender of the truth in the most emphatic terms, that
the kingdom of this world shall be destroyed, and the kingdom of
Christ shall be established in its stead. "I will overturn, overturn,
overturn it: and it shall be no more, until He come whose right it is,
and I will give it Him." Ezekiel xxi: 27.
With this assurance we see the ultimate overthrow of the works of
sin and satan. This declaration should completely abolish whatever
doubt may have been entertained as to the victory of the cross. "So
shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth, it shall not re¬
turn unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please and it
shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Isaiah lv: 11.
This double assurance strengthens our argument that the world
shall be enlightened, and the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the land
as the waters cover the great deep.
It is, therefore, the duty of all believers to manifest in their lives
the force and quickening influence of the Word, because it is the power
of God unto salvation unto everyone that believeth.* We should pray
that the Word may run and be glorified in the establishing of His
kingdom in the hearts of men.
We are aware that we cannot change any of the Divine plans,
yet it is our privilege as children at the Divine knee with uplifted eyes,
thankful hearts, contrite spirits, to exclaim, "Thy will be done, Thy
kingdom come." We are again strengthened in saying that the time
is hastening when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that
Jesus is the Son of God; when the proud and haughty ones of earth
CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH
13
shall bow and worship Him as the Holy One of Israel; "And the lofti¬
ness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall
be made low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day."
Isaiah ii: 17. We notice that in all these references there is to be
found the imperative declaration, "shall," which should convince us
who are the actual members of Christ's Church upon earth, of the ne¬
cessity of being uncompromising, inflexible and defiant in the defense of
the position we have assumed in contending for Him whose right it is
to rule over all. "The Lord hath prepared His throne in the heavens
and His kingdom ruleth over all." Psalm ciii: 19. We are aware
that there are periods in our march throughout this desert world, when,
on account of unhappy disputes between some of the many integral
parts which go to make up the church militant, the peace and tran¬
quillity of our Zion may have been considerably disturbed. Yet re¬
gardless of these unpleasant occurrences it must not be taken as evi¬
dence that the Church is losing its cohesiveness, influence and power.
No, no. External difference must not always be taken as an evidence
of internal disintegration. On the contrary, they exhibit a bold ag¬
gressiveness in thought and works, differing only as to the best meth¬
ods by which the greatest results for good may be accomplished.
The influence of the Church cannot be impaired; no, because the
Church is the spouse of the Lamb; then, as such, she is always deriving
help and succor from the Bridegroom, Christ, the Lord. "And there
came unto me one of the seven angels who had the seven vials full of
the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I
will show Thee the Bride, the Lamb's wife." Revelation xxi: 9. "For
iliy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of Hosts is His name; and th)>
Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall
He be called. For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and
grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy
God." Isaiah liv: 5, 6.
Again we are cheered and comforted with these pathetic and loving
words, "O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest and not comforted, be¬
hold I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with
sapphires." Isaiah liv: 11. Are there any who would dare doubt these
precious truths as are vouched for to His church on earth? Words
which stir the heart and strengthen the nerve, making us bold as lions,
14
CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH
wise as serpents and harmless as the peaceful dove.
'TMo weapon that is formed against Thee shall prosper, and every
tongue that shall rise against Thee in judgment Thou shalt condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteous¬
ness, is of me, saith the Lord." Isaiah liv: 17. As the ages roll on
and the mission of the Church is better understood, the morning light
gleams forth with brightness, indicating a higher moral and spiritual
life being attained by the followers of Jesus.
The morning light is breaking, the darkness is dispersing, the
house of the Lord is being established upon the hill tops and on the
mountain peaks and in the valleys, where the parched ground is break¬
ing forth in living streams. Thus the Church of the Lord is going from
conquering to conquest until the inquiry has gone forth throughout all
the earth, "Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the
moon, clear as the sun and terrible as an army with banners." Songs
•of Solomon vi: 10.
Let us pray that the light and truth may continue to illuminate
■our pathway regardless of hindrances which are often thrown in our
way. Let us pray for the Divine guidance to accompany us; as we
approach the Better Land we can whisper:
"Lead, kindly light, amid the encircling gloom;
Lead Thou me on.
The night is dark, and I am far from home, ;
Lead Thou me on. ;
Keep Thou my feet, I do not ask to see
The distant scene, one step enough for me."
Then, when life's conflict ceases, when the Church shall have com¬
pelled the unconditional surrender of the world, then the saints shall
march and take possession of the land which Christ has prepared for
them. "For I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that
where I am, there ye may be also." St. John xiv: 3.
Heaven is a land of unclouded day; the skies are bathed in endless
sunshine and its realm is wrapped in eternal morning; the streams are
clear as crystal, and where the fields are forever green, where the feet
of night have never trod. It is there that Christ shall be crowned King
of Kings and Lord of Lords,
CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH
15
It is then that the church militant and the church triumphant shall
become one grand chorus, breaking forth:
"All hail the power of Jesus' name,
.Let angels prostrate fall.
Bring forth the royal diadem
And crown Him Lord of all.
Let every kindred, every tribe
On this celestial ball,
To Him all majesty ascribe,
And crown Him Lord of all.
(3, that with yonder sacred throng
We at His feet may fall,
We'll join the everlasting song,
And crown Him Lord of all."