National Republican., 1886-08-16

OnflbI lb u DIVING OelnB, hltnOugn you au-
nit that He was avery good man. You do
not believe that @e Bible was inspired of
God, although you think that there are
some very fine things In IL. You believe
that the scriptural description Of Eden was
only an allegory. There are fifty things
that believe that you do not believe.
And yet you are an accommodating man.
Everybody that knows you says that Of
| YOU. II should ask you to do kindness
| for me, or II any one else should ask OF you
kindness, you would do It. Now have
kindness to ask OF you to-day. 1t is some
thing that will cost you nothing and will
| give me great delight. want you by ex-
| pertinent to try the power Of Christ's re-
ligion. 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 | should take out little bottle and
say, "Here is a medicine that will cure you;
1t has cured fifty people, and It will cure
In IT." az would say: "wont you take It
to oblige mepn "Well,n you would say,
"if IT'S any accommodation to you I'll take
it.n My friend, will you be just as accom-
modating in matters Of religionY
There are some OF you who have found
| out that this world cannot satisfy your soul.
You are like the man who told me after the
service was over: III have tried this
world and found IL an insult
ficient portion. Tell me Of something bet
ter.n You have come TO that. You are
| sick for the need Of Divine medicament.
Now come and tell you OF Physician
| who Will cure you, who has cured hundreds
and hundreds who were sick as you are.
uOh,n you say, 81 have no confidence I'm
Himn But will you not try HimY Ac-
commodate me In this NATTER; oblige me In
this matter; just try Him. l am very GER
tain he will cure you. You reply: "Ihave
no special confidence in Him; but II you ask
/ mn n nf q NIEV, ia.
duce Him." So introduce Hlm-Christ,
the Physician who has cured more blind
eyes, and healed more CHASTITY wounds and
bound up more broken hearts than all tho
doctors since the time Of Ksculapius.
That Divine Physician is here. Are you
not ready TO try Him? VIII you not as q
| pure matter OF experiment state your case
before Him nowH hold nothing back from
Him. II you cannot pray, II you do not
know how TO pray any other way, say: "0h,
Lord Jesus Christ, this is a strange thing
for me to dol l know nothing about the
formulas OF religion. These Christian peo-
| pie have been talking so long about what
Thou canst do for me, l am ready to do
whatever Thou commanded ME to do.
am ready TO take whatever Thou COM
mandest me to take. II there be any power
IN religion, as these people say, let me have
the advantage Of it."
VIII you try that experiment. donot
/
there is anything In religion; but simply
say, try 1t, try it. Do not take my counsel
or the counsel Of any clergyman, II you
despise clergymen. Perhaps we may be
talking professionally. perhaps we may be
preiudiced In the matter; perhaps we may
be hypocritical In our utterances; perhaps
our advice is not worth taking. Then take
the counsel of some very respectable lay
men--as John Milton, the poet; as William
Wilberforce, the statesman; as Isaac New
ton, the astronomer; as Robert Boyle, the
philosopher; as Locke, the metaphyslcian.
They never preached or pretended to
preach; and yet putting down, one his tele-
scope, and another his parliamentary
scroll, and another his electrlcian's wire,
they all declare the adaptedness Of Christ's
religion to the wants and troubles OF the
world. II you will not take the recon-
mendation Of ministers Of the Gospel, then
take the recommendation Of highly respect
able laymen. Oh, men skeptical and struck
through with unrest would you not like to
have some Of the peace which broods over
our souls to-dayP know all about your
doubts. 1 have been through them all.
have gone through all the curriculum. 1
have doubted whether there is God,
whether Christ is God. have doubted
whether the Bible was true. have doubted
the immortality Of the soul. Ihave doubted
h my own existence. have doubted every
thing; and yet, out Of that hot desert OF
doubt, have come into the broad, luxu
RANT, sunshny land of gospel hope, and
preaching to you and asking you to come
In. However often you may have spoken
, against the Bible, or however much you may
have caricatured religion, step ashore from
! that rocking and tumultuous sea. II
you go away adhering to your inf
delities, you will not sleep one wink to-
night. You do not want your children to
come up with your skepticism. You can
| not afford to die In that midnight darkness,
can your II you do not believe In any
thing else you believe In love-a fathers
love, mothers love, wlfe's love, q
child's love. Then let me tell you that
God loves you more than them all. Obi
| you must come In. You will come in. The
. great heart Of Christ aches to have you
come In, and Jesus this very moment
whether you sit or stand-looks into your
! eyes and says: "Other sheep have, which
are not of this fold"
III. Again / remark that the Heavenly
Shepherd is going to find a great many
sheep among those who have been flung o.
evil habit. 1t makes me mad to see Chris.
tian people give up prodigal as lost
There are those who talk as though the
7 grace OF God were o chain Of forty or fifty
links, and after they had run out there was
\ nothing to touch q very bad case. II they
were hunting and got of the track of the
8 deer they would look longer among thu
; banks and the bushes for the lost game thar
: they have been looking for that lost soul
, People tell us that II q man has deliriuu
| tremens twicesthat he cannot be reclaimed
Q that after woman has fallen from her in
tegrity she cannot be restored. The Biblt
0 has distinctly intimated that the Lord Al
mighty is ready to pardon 400 times
: that is seventy times seven. There are
I men before the throne Of Goo
! who have wallowed in every kline
80 at...I I.,N I,,N Nh, a
a and washed in His blood, they stand there
a radiant now. There are those who plunged
r In the lowest hell of abomi nation, who for
!, the tenth time have been lifted up, and
finally, by the grace Of God, they stand IN
, heaven gloriously rescued by the grace
I promised to the chief Of sinners. / wan
0 to tell you that God loves to take hold OF
f; a very bad case. When the church casti
you off, and when the club room casts yor
: off, and when society casts you OFT, and
4 when business associates cast you of
0 and when father casts you of, and wher
Q mother casts you of, and when everybody
!. casts you off, your first cry for help will
. send the eternal God clean down into th,
Q ditch Of your suffering and shame. TIL,
T Good Templars cannot save you, although
y they are grand institution. The Sons O
Q Temperance cannot save you, although the!
0 are mighty for good. Signing the temper
Q ance pledge cannot save you, although he
= ieyeinit. Nothing but the grace OF the Eter
u nal God can save you, and that will II yor
J. willth row yourself omit. man said TO me
!. "Unless God helps me l cannot be delly
Q cred. have tried everything, sir; but nov
= have got into the habit OF prayer, an,
9 when come to drinking saloon l pra
}; that God will take me safely past, and
! pray until l am past. He does help me. !
l For every man given to strong drink ther
Q are scores Of traps set, and no one but th
u everywhere present God can see that MAJ
b through OH they talk about the cata
combs Of Naples, and the catacombs Of Rome