The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1881-05-19
miscellaneous.
REV. I. Dewitt TALMAGE.
FORWARD !-.THIs IS THE DIVINE
COMMAND,
In the Battle With the World, the Flesh, and
the Deyil...There Is No Such Thing as Mas
terIy Inactivity.

memorable day in the Brooklyn Taber.
uacle. Three hundred and twelve new
members we're received. DR.. Talmsge
rave them the right hand of fellowship
As they stood in the aisles in the pres
ence of an immense crowd of people.
There was several Ciergymen around the
platform, which was adorned with flow
ers. Over five hundred persons have
been converted during this revival in
the Tabernacle. The membership is
now 1851, which is by far the largest
Presbyterian member ship in the world,
SUBJECT THOROUGH CHRISTIANS.
TEYT: Exodus xiv, l5: "Go forward"
"Masterly retreat" is term ofteu used
in military circles, but in religion there
is no such thing. # is either glorious
advance or disgraceful and ignominous
falling back, address the more than
three hundred new members added to-
day, and, indeed, all Christians, in the
order given to the Israelites by the
Lord through Moses, "Go forward" 1t
would be strange thing ifall our anx'
iety about men ceased the moment they
were converted. You would almost
doubt the sanity of that farmer who,
having planted the corn and seen 1t just
sprout above the ground, would say;
"My work is all done. l have no more
anxiety for the field" No; there is
work for the plow and the hoe, and
there must be a careful keeping up of
the fences, and there must be frighten-
ing away ofthe birds that would pillage
the field. And l say the entrance upon
Christian life is only the implantation
of grace in the heart. TheIe is earnest,
hard work yet to be done, and perhaps
many years of anxiety before there shall
be heard the glorious shout Of harvest
home" The beginning to be a Chris
tian is only putting down the foundation,
but there are years of hammering, pol
ishing, carving, lifting, before the struC.
ture is completed. 1t takes five years to
make a Christian character; it takes
twenty years, it takes forty years, it
takes seventy years, if man shall live
so long. In other words, a man dying
after half century of Christian exper-
ience feels that he has only learned the
"a B C'," of glorious alphabet. 1t is
May now in the natural world. The
May blossoms will coon scatter, but the
pumps are busy in the trees, the apple
tree, the pear tree and the plum tree,
sending forth fountains Of lie that will
after awhile hang out in luscious fruit.
And 80 it is in the hearts of many of
you this May morning. The May bios
Boms ofyour first experience will scatter,
and we are anxiously watching whether
all these spring blossoms will show
themselve in the grand, ripe, glorious
fruit OF Christian character. The next
year will decide great deal in your
history, young Christian man. 1t will
decide whether you are to be burning
and shining light of the church or a
spark Of grace covered up in a barrel OF
ashes. 1t will decide whether you are
to be strong man in Jesus Christ, with
gigantic blows strikinl the iron mail of
darkness, or a bedwarfed, whining,
grumbling soldier that oughtto be drum
med out of the Lords camp with the
"Rogue March" You have only just
been launched; the voyage is to be
made. Earth, heaven and hell are watch
ing to see how fast you will sail, how
we'll you will weather the tempest, and
whether at last, amid the shouting of
the ans els, you shall come into the
right harbor. May God help me this
morning to give you three or four words
of Christian counsel, as address myself
more especially to those who have just
now entered the Christian life.
My first word Of counsel is, hold be.
fore your soul very high model. Do
not say, II wish l could pray like that
man or speak like this man, or have the
ConseCratlon of this one" Say: Here
is the Lord Jesus Christ, perfect pat
tern. By that mean, with Gods grace,
to shape all my life" In other words,
you will never be any more of Chris
tian than you strive to be, lfyou build
a found ton twenty by thirty feet, you
will have only small house. If you
build foundation one hundred by one |
hundred feet, you will have large |
house. Ifyou resolve to be only mid.
ding Christian, you will be only mid
ding Christian. If you have no high
aspiration in a worldly direction, you
will never succeed in Business. If you
have no high aspiration in religious things,
you will never succeed in religion. You
have right to aspire to the very highest |
style of Christian character. From your
feet there reaches out path of Chris.
tian attainment which you may take,
and | delbertely say that you may be a
better man tnan was Paul, or David, or
Summerfeld, or Doddridge; better
woman than Hannah More, or Charlotte
Elizabeth. Why not? Did they have a
a monopoly of Gods graCeP Did they
have private key Of the storehouse Of
Gods mercyP Does God shut you out
from the goodness and gladness to which |
they were introduced Oh, no; you
have just the same promises, just the
same Christ, just the same Holy Ghost,
Just the same offers of present and ever.
lasting love, and if you fall short of
what they were-aYe if you do not come
up to the point which they reached and
60 beyond it, it is not because Christ has
shut you out from any point of moral
and spiritual elevation, but because you
deliberately refused to take it. l admit
that a man cannot become q Christian
like that without struggle; but what do
you get without fighting for itP The
fortressps Of darkness are to be taken by
ukorun Van nav hy aoufa utr fauv nnpL