The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1881-05-12
Miscellameums.
REV, I. DEWITT TALMAGE
ESTHER, THE BEAUTIFUL.
The Necessity of Being an UnmIstAkable, Ag.
gressVe Christian.
EUBJEoT--"oHRIsTIAN EARNEsTNEss AND
ACTIVITY"

ACTIVITY"
Text-Esther Ala "Who knoweth
whether thou art come to the kingdom
for such time as this?"
Esther the beautiful was the wife of
Ahasuerus the abominable. The time
had come for her to present a petition to
her infamous husband in behalf of the
Jewish nation, to which she had once
belonged. She was afraid to undertake
the work lest she would lose her own
life; but her uncle, MordeCai, who had
brought her up, encouraged her with the
suggestion that probably she had been
raised up of God for that peculiar mis-
sion. "Who knoweth whether thou art
come to the kingdom for such time as
this2"
Esther had her God appointed work;
you and have ours. 1t is my business
to tell you what style of men and women
you ought to be, in order that you may
meet the demand of the age in which
God has cast your lot, Ifyou have come
expecting to hear abstraction discussed,
or dry teChnicalities of religion glori6e1,
you have come to the wrong church; but
If you would really like to know what
this age has right to expect of you as
Christian men and women, then am
ready, in the Lords name, to look you
in the face. When two armies have
rushed into battle, the officers of either
army do not want philosophical discus
sion about the chemical properties Of
human blood, or the nature of gunpow-
der; they want some one to man the bat
teries and swab out the guns. And now,
when all the forces of light and dark
ness, of heaven and hell, have plunged
into the fight, it is no time to give our.
selves to the definitions, and formulas,
and teChnicalities, and conventionalities
Of religion. What we want, is practical,
earnest, concentrated, enthusiastic and
triumphant help,
In the first place, in order to meet the
special demand Of this age, you need to
ean unmistskable, aggressive Christian.
Of half-and-half Christians we do not
want any more. The church of Jesus
Christ will do better without ten thou
sand of them. They are the chief ebsta.
Gle to the Church's advancement. am
speaking of another kind of Christian.
All the appliances for your becoming an
earnest Christian is at your hand, and
there is straight path for you into the
broad daylight of Gods forgiveness.
You may have come into the church the
bondmen of the world, and yet before
you go out you may become princes of
the Lord God Almighty. You may re-
member what excitement there was in
this country some years ago when the
Prince of Wales came here; how the
people rushed out by hundreds of thou
sands to see him. Why2 Because they
expected that some day he would sit
upon the throne Of England But what
was all that honor compared with the
honor in which God calls you-to be
sons and daughters of the Lord God AL
mighty; yea, to be kings and queens
unto God2 "They shall reign with him
for ever and evel."
But, my friends, you need to be ag.
gressive Christians, and not like those
persons who spend their lives in hugging
their Christian graCes, and wondering |
why they do not make any progress
How much robustness of health would a |
man have if he hid himself in dark |
closetG A great deal of the piety of the |
day is too exclusive. 1t chides itself 1t |
needs more of fresh air, more outdoor
exercise. There are many Christians
who are giving their entire life to self.
examination. They are feeling their
pulses to see what is the condition of
their spiritual health. How long would
a man have robust physical health if he
kept all the days, and weeks, and months
and years of his life feeling his pulse, in
stead of going out into earnest, active
everyday work?
A recent statistiCian says that human
life now has an average of thirty. two
years. From these thirty.two years you
must subtract all the time you take for
sleep and the taking of food and recrea.
lion; that will leave you about sixteen
years. From those sixteen years you
must subtract all the time that you are
necessarily engaged in the earning of
livelihood; that will leave you about eight
years, From these eight years you must
AXE all the days and weeks and months
all the time that is passed in sickness:
eaving you about one year to work for
God. D my soul, wake up! How darest
hou sleep in harvest time, and with so
ew hours in which to reap? Sol Htate it
ls simple fact, that all the time the
,ast majority of you viii! have for the ex. 5
elusive service Of God, will be less than
me yearl !
"But," /" says some man, II literally sup. {
,ort the gospel, and the gospel is prea. 9
he'd; all the spiritual advantages are =,
pread before men, and if they want to :
10 saved, let them come and be saved; [
lave discharged my responsibility" Ah, t
B that the Masters spirit? Is there not |
N old book somewhere that commands {
ls to 60 out into the highways and he'd. 7
es and compel the people to come in? +;
What would have become of you and
ne if Christ had not come down off the Z
ILLS OF heaven; and if he had not come t.
through the door of the Bethlehem car C
vansary; and if be had not, with the a
rushed hand of the crucifxion, knock. r
d at the iron gate of the sepulGher of
ur spiritual death, crying: Lazarus, a
ONE forth" Oh, my Christian friends, a
mis- is no time for inc etia, when all the p
,rces of darkness are in full blast;when a
cam printing presses are publishing in \
del tracts; when express railroad trains g
re carrying passengers of sin; when fast "
lippers are laden with opium and rum; 8
hen the night air Of our cities is pollu. b
ID with the laughter that breaks up @
ON the ten thousand saloons of dissi. q
alton and abandonment; when the fires =
the gecond death aPa a1vaodry l,;odIoJ