The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1881-03-24

heml Alas, one is washed off and gone.
There Is one more to be saved. Let us
push out for that one. Clutch the rope.
o, dying man, catch it as with death
grip, Steady now on the slippery places,
steady Thertl Savedl savedl Just as
| thought. For Christ has declared that
there are some still in the bre' kers
who shall come ashore. "Other sheep l
have which are not of this fold"
Christ commands his minister's to be
fishermen; and when / go fishing l
don't want to go among other churches
but into the wide world; not sitting along
Hohokus creek where eight or ten other
persons are sitting with hook and line,
but like the fishermen of New Found
land, sailing off and dropping net away
outside, forty or fifty miles from
shore. Yes, there are non.church goers
here who will come in. Next Sabbath
morning and evening they will be here
again or in some better church. They
are this moment being swept into Chris
tian associations. Their voices will be
heard in public prayer. They will die
in peace; their beds surrounded by Chris
tian sympathies, and be carried out by
devout men to be buried and on their
graves be Chiseled the words: Pret-
ious in the sight OF the Lord is the death
of his saints. And on resurrection day he
will get up with the dear children you
have already buried, and with yourChris-
t!an parents vino have already won the
palm, and all that grand and glorious
history begins today. "Other sheep |
have which are not of this fold" |
remark again, the heavenly shepherd is
going to find many OF his sheep
among those who are positive
reiecters of Christianity. l do
not know how you came to reject
Christianity. 1t may have been through
hearing Theodore Parker preach, or
through reading Remains Life Of Jesus"
or through the infdel talk of some
young man in your store. 1t may have
been through the trickery of some pro
fessed Christian man who disgusted you
with religion.
l do not ask you how you became 80;
you frankly tell me to night that you do
reject it. You do not believe that Christ
is divine being, although you admit he
was very good man. You dc not believe
that the Bible was inspired by God, al
though you think there are some very fine
things in it. You believe that the scrip.
turai description of Eden was only an al.
legory. There are fifty things that be.
lieve that you do not believe. And yet
you are an accommodating man;
everybody that knows you says
that of you. If l should ask you
to do kindness for me, or if any
one else should ask of you kindness,
you would do it. Now 1 have a kindness
to ask of you today. 1t is something that
will cost you nothing, and will give me
great delight. l want you, by ex-
pertinent, to try the power of
Christs religion. II should come
to you, and you were very sick,
and doctors had given you up, and
said there was no chance for you,
and l should take out bottle and
say: "Here is a medicine that will
cure you; it has cured fifty people,
and it will cure you" you would
say: 81 have no COZ fdenCe in it,"
l would say: Wont you take it to
oblige me2" "Well," you would say, "if
it's any accommodation to you, III take
it," My friend, will you be just as aC-
Commodating in matters of religion?
There are some of you who have found
out that this world cannot satisfy your
soul You are sick for the need of divine
mediCament. Now, come and tell you of
a physician who will cure you; who has
cured hundreds and hundreds who are
sick as you are. "Oh," you say, 81 have
no confidence in him." But will you not
try himp Accommodate me in this mat
ter; oblige me in this matter; just try
him. am very certain he will cure you.
You reply; 81 have no special confidence
in him; but if you ask me as a matter Of
accom- mediation, introduce him." So
introduce him. Christ, the physician,
who has cured more blind eyes, and heal
ed more ghastly wounds,and bound up
more broken hearts than all the doctors
since the time of EsCulapius. That divine
physician is here; are you not ready |
to try himP Will you not, as
pure matter of experiment, try him
and state your case before him
today? Hold nothing back from him.
If you can not pray; you do not know
how to pray any other way, say 70 Lord
J Jesus Christ, this is strange thing for
me to do; know nothing about the for
mulas of religion. These Christian peo.
pie have been talkingso long about VIII.
thou Canst do for me, am ready to take
whatever thou commanded me to
take. If there be any power in religion.
ls these people say let me have the ad-
vantage it," Will you try that exper.
iment today2 l do not, at this point Of
my discourse, say that there is anything
in religion, but l simply say, Try it, Try it.
Do not take my counsel, or the counsel
Of any clergyman, if you despise clergy
men. Perhaps we may be talking
professionally; perhaps we may be
in the matter; perhaps we
may be hypoCritiCal in our utteranCes;
we may preach because we are
paid to preach; perhaps our advice is not
worth taking. Then take the counsel of
some very respectable laymen, as John
Milton the poet; as VIM. Wilberforce the
as Isaac Newton the astronom.
9r; as Robert Boyle the philosopher; as
Locke the metaphysician. They never
preached, or pretended to preach,
and yet putting down, one his
telescope, and another his parlia-
nentary scroll, and another his elec.
,rician's wire, they all declared the
of Christ's religion to the
wants and troubles of the world. If you
will not take the recommendation of
ministers of the Gospel, then take the
recommendation OF highly respeC-
able laymen. Oh, men, skeptiCal
md struck through with unrest,
would you not like to have some
If the peace which broods over
,ur souls today2 l know all about your
loubts; have been through them all. l
nave gone through all the curricu
um. l have doubted whether there
a a God whether Christ ia God. I have