Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-04-02

are trying to recommend yourselves to Goo
| find that the load is still upon YOUR heart
As a race, we have departed from God; we
have forfeited life through di5Obedience
and can only find it again through faith il
Jesus Christ.
And here we are invited to come t
| Christ. Who is il that invites us? II is
the Lord Jesus Himself. Il am the way
the truth, and the life" It is a person whC
| speaks to whom all power has been given
He humbled Himself and became obedient
/ unto death to save q world Of sinners lost
And because lie permitted Himself 20 be
spit upon and scorned for them, luc world
Of sinners rejects and desplses Him.
What does He give to those whom lie
invites? He promises something. He saws
81 will give you rest Talk to the weary
soldier; TO the tired man Of business; or to
the dying one who has been racked with
pain, Of rest, and he will realize the sweet
ness Of the word. But it was not physical
rest that Christ spoke Of. 1t was the rest
for the soul, Every sinner needs the rest
Of the soul, and before he can realize IL he
must experience the consciousness that he
has WrOnged God and turned away from
Him.
THE EVIDENCES.
And so the first evidence OF this rest is 10
know that your sins are forgiven. You can
only know. this by Gods telling YOU so.
Oh the simplicity Of this, And yet people
will get it mixed up. The forgiveness OF
sins is the Gospel, and all who believe and
are forgiven have in their hearts the knOWl-
edge that through the blood Of Jesus they
are forgiven.
The second thing we need for rest is Sc
curity for the present. Can we believe that
the power is given us to resist temptation?
In this state God no longer deals with YOU
under the law. But when by faith you
look to Jesus, you are under grace. A
great many are troubles because so many
Christians fail. But that does not change
our own relations with God. If we trust
Him, He will keep US.
Tho third element needed fO- a perfect
rest is hope for the future. aShali 1 see
Him as He is when l die?' is the question
that We often anXiOUsly ask. The Scrip
lures are full Of blessed promises Of this.
Picture the little child resting confidently
in the arms Of the parent, and sou will get
a feeble idea Of the rest Of the soul that
trusts implicitly in the Fathers promise Of
an eternal life with Him.
How is this rest Oytaiued? "COme IN
TO me-" said Jesus. A company Of men
and women bent eagerly forward and listen
ed to these words. Did they understand
that they should come forward and take
hold Of Him No; they knew that what
He invited them TO do was TO trust in him
as their teacher. their Saviour. They were
20 do nothing except to come to Him in
that sense, and he would give them the
rest they desired. Is the Gospel any differ
ent now Must YOU have TO see some
thing in order 10 believe? Christ had not
then fulfilled His work, died upon the
cross, and assembled into heaven. There Is
a better knowledge Of the meaning Of these
words row with Us than there was with
them. And Oh, friends, the penalty rest
inc upon You for rejecting Christ nov is
greater than upon the Jews for rejecting
Him then There is no mystery about the
invitation. Il is a plain message. Look
10 Jesus Christ and trust Him by faith.
Oh friend, your sin tonight is that Won
viii not come. You hope TO save yourself
by good works. But you can never can get
The rest for your soul until you accept
the invitation which Jesus gave. Your
OWE strength viii fdi! you. The hour is
coming when yOug very strength will be
your weakness. When sickness aud death
comes, how weak, how wanting we are in
something which cannot be reached, No
human arm, no human philosophy, can
strengthen the soul in that hour. But here
IS the simple method Of finding peace.
"COme unto me-" says Jesus, ''and I viii
give YOU rest If He is rejected, no other
name is given. II lie is accepted our 81
Walton is sure.
At the conclusion of Mr.. Whites re-
marks, Mr.. Bliss sang, with intense feeling
and tenderness, Of
The ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter Of The fold.
Bur one was out ON the hills away
Far on from the gates OF gold.
Lord, whence are those bIood-drOps all the way
That mark out the mountains track
They were she'd for one who has gone astray
Ere the shepherd could bring him back.
Lord whence are Thy hands 50 rent and torn?
They are pierced tonight by many thorn,
And all through the mountains, thunder riven,
And up from the rocky steep
There rose cry 70 tie gate Of heaven
Reioicll I have found I-y sheep,
and the angels echoed around the throne
Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!
THE SECOND MEETING.
Mr.. White then stated that during the
signing Of the last hymn, "Just as l am,
without one plea" those who desired might
retire, and a second meeting would be held,
which would be the best part of the whole.
The audience would then hear from the
testimony Of Christian believers whether
these things that had been spoken Of were
true. Nearly the whole congregation re-
manned in their seats. A verse Of "COme,
We sinners" was sung, after which Mr..
Whittle called upon ali who wished to con-
fess Christ to say few words.
The first to rise was a young man who
had Just beer. converted. He said he wish \
ed that those Who were in the condition
that he occupied two months ago could
realize the comfort which ne felt now. An
other young man, near the stage, offered
the same testimony.
Mr.. Bliss sang a verse Of "Where are the
nine97
Short testimonies then followed from a
score or more persons Of both sexes and all
ages. One man had been serving the Lord
forty years, and found his belief in Christ /
Just as strong now as when be first be-
.ieved. Another old man said he had come |
.hirty-five miles to attend tho meeting, and !
he wished to say how dear Christ was to |
him. He had been a protesting Christian |
since 1885. Sometimes two or three rose |
1t a time TO speak, and it required a little |
skillful management on the part Of the |
leader TO get them started right.
After about twenty minutes Of these ex-
arcises Mr.. Bliss called upon those desiring |
% make a start in the better life TO rise |
while Mr.. Bliss sang almost persuaded |
low to believe One by one arose in va
IOus parts Of the house, and then at the re-
quest Of Mr.. White they all arose togeth-
II. There were not less than forty or fifty. |
The meeting was then dismissed. Sew
,raI, however, remained behind to talk with /
he revivalists Of religious matters.
Personal.
Q. T. Lelley, agent for the FrdHklin,
ky,) Patriot, is in the city.