The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1886-12-10

right down by the doori" instead Of say
ing: "Good morning! am glad you are
here. Come, l will give you first-rats
seat, right by the pulpit" Well, tho prod
igal. not yet discouraged, enters q prayer
meeting, and some Christian man. with
more zeal than common sense, says: s'Slad
to see you. The dying thief was saved, and
l suppose there is mercy for you" The
young man, disguised, chilled, throws him
self back on his dignity, resolves he nev er
will enter the house Of God again. Per-
haps not quite fully Disguised about refor-
nation, hs sides up by some highly respect
able man he used to know, going down the
street, and Immediately the respectable
man has an errand down some other street
Well, the prodigal, wishing to return, takes
some member of Christian Association by
the hand, or tries to. The Christian young
man looks at him, looks at the faded apparel
andjthe marks of dissipation, and instead Of
giving him a warm grip of the hand offers
him the tip end Of the long fingers of the left
hand, which is equal to striking man in
the face.
Oh, how few Christian people under
stand how much force and gospel there is
in a good, honest hand-shaking! Some
times. when YOU have felt the need Of en-
enlargement, and some Christian man has
taken you heartily by the hand, nave you
not felt thrilling through every fiber
of your body, mind ard soul an encourage
ment that was Just what you neeledi You
do not know any thing at all about this I'M
less you know when a man tries to return
from evil courses of conduct he runs
against repulsions innumerable. We say
of some man, he lives block or two from
no oh or hal mil tha -ht,r
There are people in our crowded cities VINO
live one thousand miles from church. Vast
deserts of indifference between them and
the house of God Tho fact is, we must
keep our responsibility, though thousands
and tens of thousands perish. Christ sat
with publicans and sinners. But if
there come to tho house OF God a
man with marks of dissipation upon
him. people throw up their hands in horror,
as much as to say: "Isn't it shocking"
How these dainty, fastidious Christians in
all our churches are going to get to Heaven
/ do not know, unless they have an especial
train Of cars. cushioned and upholstered,
each one a car to himself! They can not 60
with the great herd of publicans and sim
ners. o We, who curl your lip with scorn at
the fallen, tell you plainly, if you had
been surrounded by the same influences,
instead Of sitting to-day amid the cultured
and refined and the Christian, you would
have been a crouching wretch in stable or
ditch, covered with filth and abomination!
1t is not because you are naturally any
better, but because the mercy OF God has
protected you. Who are you that, brought
up in Christian circles, and watched by
Christian parcntage, you should be so hard
on the TALENT
Think men also are often hindered from
return by the fact that churches are too
anxious about their membership and too
anxious about their denomination, and
they rush out when they see man about
to give up his sin and return to God and ask
him how he is going to be baptized whether
by sprinkling or by immersion. and what
kind of church he is going to Join. o! my
friendsl it is poor time to talk about
Presbyterian catechisns, and Episcopal
liturgies, aud Methodist love-feasts, and
Baptistries, to a man that is coming out of
the darkness of sin into the glorious light
of the Gospel. Why. it reminds me Of man
drowning in the sea, and a hfe-boat puts
out for him and the man in the boat says to
the man out of the boat: Now, if / get
you ashore, are you going to live in my
streetf' First get him ashore, and then
talk about the non-essentials of religion.
Who cares what church he joins, if he only
Joins Christ and starts for Heavenl o, you
ought to have. my brother! an illumined
face and a hearty grip for every one that
tries to turn from his ell way. Take hold
of the same book with hin. though his dis
sipations shake the book, remembering
that he that converteth a sinner from the
error of his way shall save u soul from
death and hide a multitude of sins.
Now, l have shown you these obstacles
because want you to understand l know
all the difficulties in the way; but l am now
TO tell you how Hannibal may scale the
Alps, and how the shackles may be unriv-
eted, and how the paths of virtue forsallen
may be regained.
First of all, my brother, throw yourself
on God. Go to Him frankly and earnestly,
and tell Him those habits you have, and ask
Him if there is any helpin all the resources
Of Omnipotent love, to give it to you. Do
not go with long rigmarole people call
prayer, made up Of "ohs'' and "ahs' and
forever and forever amensr' Go to God
and cry for help! help! help! and if you
can not cry for help. Just look and live.
remember in the late war l was at Ante
tam, and Invent into the hospitals after the
battle, and I said to man: "Where are
you hurtr' He made no answer, but held
up his arm, swollen and splintered. saw
where he was hurt
The simple fact is, when a man has a
wounded soul, all he has to do is to hold it
up before a sympathetic Lord and get it
healed. Oh! it is no small thing, when a
man is nervous, and weak and exhausted,
coming from his evil ways, to feel that God
puts two Omnipotent arms around about
him, and says: young man, l will stand
by you. The mountains may depart and
the hills be removed, but will never fail
YOU" And then, as the soul thinks the
news is too good to be true, and can not be-
lieve it, and looks up in Gods face, God
lifts His right hand and takes an oath, an
affidavit. saying: LAS live. saith the Lord
God, have no pleasure in the death Of him
that dieth'
Blessed be God for such Gospel as this
"Cut the slices thin," said the wife to the
husband, ''for there will no: be enough to
60 all around for the children; cut the
slices thin" Blessed be God there is full
loaf for every one that wants THREAD
enough and TO spare. No thin slices at the
Lords table. 1 remember when the
Master Street hospital in Philadelphia was
opened during the war telegram came
SAYING: There will be three hun
dred wounded men tonight, be ready
to take care of them" and from
my church there went some twenty or
thirty men and women to look after these
poor wounded fellows. AS they came, some
from one part Of the land, some from an
other, no one asked whether this man was
from Oregon, or Massachusetts,, or Mime
sofa, or from New York There was a
wounded soldier, and the only question was
how to take off the rags most gently, and
put on the bandage, and administer the cor
dial And when soul comes to God, He
does not ask where you came from or what