The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1886-05-20

dlggef put hn Gnu W MS hlhplllon una ms
life with ono stroke, Mary Queen of Scots
wrote on the window OF her castle;
From the top OF all my trust
Miahap hath laid mo In tho dust,
The queen dowager Of Navarro was Of
fered for her wedding day costly and
beautiful pair of gloves aud she put them
on, but they were poisoned gloves and they
took her life. Better bare hand OF cold
priyRtion than a warm and poisoned glove
OF ruinous succesa "Oh," saya some
young man In the audience, VI believe
what You are preaching. am going
10 do that very thing In the morning
Of my life am going 10 deyour the prey,
and In the evening / shall divide the
spoil Of Christian character ] only want
q little while 10 SOW my wild oats and then |
will be good.n Young man, did you ever
take the census Of all the old peoplol How
mnny old people are there In your houso2
One, two, or nOne3 How many In vast
assombaga like thisi only here and
there gray head, like the patches Of
snow here aud thora IN tn iioldi on late
April day. The fact is thRt the tides Of
the yoOrB aTc so strong that men 90 down
under them before they got to bo 90, before
they ct 10 be Oh, before they got 10 DO 40, boz
lNll lHNN kNA w w hNt NllNl - NhAf NNAllk
brother resolve now that yon will spend
the morning OF your days IN doyoudng tho
prey the probability Is that you will never
divide the spoil In the evening hour. lilo
who pos poucs until old age tho religion
Of Jesus Christ posiponea II forever
Where nre the men who, thirty years ago,
resolved 10 become Christians IN old age,
putting II Off certain nnmhorol yennp
I d 4
collision or the steamboat explosion, or tho
flip ON the ice, or the falling ladder or the
sudden cold put nu onl 10 their opportuni-
ties, They have uHyur had uu opportunity
since aud never viii have 0n opportunity
0gun, They locked the door OF heaven
against thc RS u' anil they threw away the
key, and n lHry could now hrault Jail and
como mp slnpkug TO this audience ] do
not think they would take two minute. 10
persuade us ull To repentance, Ihoy chdNod
the world and they died ln the uhlso, Tho
wounded tiger turned on them, They
iuilod 10 take the game that they pursued
Mounted on Il swift coursorth they loOped tho
hodgo, bul the courfcr fol- on them and
crushed thom, Proposing 10 hWtcr their
soul for the world they lost both and got
n0iihor
While this Ia IN encouragement TO old
people who are yet unpardonod, Il is no one
coufagomont TO the young who Ore putting
of the day OF grace, This doctrine that
the old may bo ropcnlOnt Is 10 bo taken
cautiously. II Ia medicine that kills or
cures. The same medicine given TO diff
ferent patients IN one case saves life and in
the other destroys It, This possibility Of
repentance at tho close Of life may euro
the old man whilo II kills the young, DO
cautious IN taking H.
Again, my subject is descriptive Of those
who come to n sudden and radical change.
You have noticed how short time Il IL
from morning TO night In winter eight or
ton hours. You know that u winter day
has very brief life, The heart Of tho
longest day beats twouty-fow times and
then Is dead. How quick the transition
IN the character Of these Beni0minltcsl
SIN the morning they shall doyow tho
prey, and NJ night they shall divide tho
spoil" ls " possible that there shall bo
such transformation In any Of our char
ActersY Yes, man may be Ot o'clock In
the morning nm all-deyouring wording,
and Ot o'clock Otnight he may bo apooce-
ful distHbutiyo Christian Conversion "
instantaneous, A man passes into tho
kingdom OF God quicker than down tho
sky runs the zigz0g lightning, man may
be anxious about his soul for great many
years. that does not make him Christian.
A man may resolve ON the reformation Of
his character and have that resolution go-
ing on n great while, that does not mako
him n Christian. But the very instant that
he filings his soul on the mercy Of Jesus
Christ, that instant is lustrntion, omnno-
patton, resurrection Up TO that point ho
~ going In the wrong direction; 0itor that
point he is going In the right direction.
Before that moment he is q child Of sin;
after that moment h0 Ia q child Of God,
Before that momont hollward; 0ftcr that
moment, hoOyenwOrd, Before that
momont, deyouring the prey; after
that moment, dividing tho spoil.
Five minutes is ~ good ~ five
years. My hoaror you know very well
that the best things you have done you
have done In flash. You made up your
mind In nm instant TO buy or sell, or 10 iu-
vest or to stop, or to start. II you had
missed that one chance you would have
missed II forever. Now just Os prociptOtO
and quick and spontaneous will DO tho
ransom OF your soul, This morning you
are making a calculation, You aro on tho
track OF some financial or social game.
With your pom or pencil you Nre pursuing
II. This very morning you Oro doyouring
the proyj but Tonight you will bo In
differont mood. You find that all heaven
IL offered you. You wonder how You can
got II for yourself and foryour family. You
wonder what resources II will give You now
and hereafter. You nro dividing peace and
comfort and satisfaction and Christian ro-
ward in your soul. You OrO dividing tho
spoil
On Sabbath night At tho close Of tho
service ! said to somo persons. "Whon did
you first become serious about your soul2n
And they told me- "Io-nightn And
said to others. "Whon did you give your
heart TO God2" And They said "To.night."
And said to still Others: "Whon did you
resolve 10 sorvo tho Lord oll the days Of
your liloW And they sOid "To-night."
saw by their apparel that when the groco Of
God struck thom they were doyourng tho
prey, but saw also In the food Of joyful
tears, and In the kindlmg ropturcs on their
brow, and in their oxhilaront and trans
porting utteronces that they were dividing
the spoil. AZ night with one touch OF
electricity, oil theso lights blaze. Oh /
would TO God TINT the darkness Of your
souls might bo brokon up, and that by ono
quick, overwhelming instantaneous flash
OF illumination you might bo brought into
the light and the liberty of the sons Of
God
You see That religion Ia different thing
from what somo Of you people supposed.
You thought II was deoadonoe, you
thought religion was omaciation, you
thought II was highway robbery; that II
struck one down and left him half dead;
TINT II pluokod out the eyes, that II plucked
out the plumos OF The soul; that II broke
the wing and crushed the boak as Il camo
clawing with its black tolons through tho
air. No, that IL not religion What h ro-
ligion2 II Ia dividing the spoil. II Ia taxi
ing dcfenseless soul and panoplyine u
for eternal conquest. It's The distribution
Of prizes by the kings hand, every medal