Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1888-07-07
THE LACK OF FAITH
DR.. TALMAoE PREACHEs TO A
CHAUTAUQUA MEETING.
% Il Want Of Confidence which DrinEs
About Crises In Commercial and
Spiritual Affairs-Faith Makes
. Christian-Do They
81
Laugh In Heaven

Like Jesus" lie took for his text: Unto
you therefore which believe lie Is pre-.
cions."-I. Peter ill.,. Following Is the
sermon:
ave had for many years IN this cour.
try commercial depression. What was
the matter with the stores: With the
harvests: With the people Lack Of faith.
Money enough, goods enough. skillful
brains enough, industrious hands enough,
but no faith. Now what damages the
commercial world, damages the spiritual
Our great lack is faith. That is the hinge
on which eternity turns. The Bible says
we are saved by faith "Oh - says some.
says some one In the audience. II have
faith. ! believe that Christ came down to
save the world.' reply that In worldly
matters when you have faith You always
act upon Il. For instance, if | could
show you business operation by which
you could make 5000 you would immc.
diaicly go into II. You would prove your
faiih in what tell you by the prompt nc.
tion. Now. IL what you call faith In
Christ has led you 10 surrender Your en-.
tire nature To Jesus AMI io corresponding
action in your lii, II is genuine faith, and
II il has not il is not faith ut all.
There are some things which believe
with the head. Then there are other
things which can believe with the heart.
believe. for instance. that Cromwell liv-
ed. That is n matter of the head. Then
there are other things which | believe
with the heart aud not will, the head.
That is. have no especial reason for he.
licving them. and yet want TO believe
them. anl the wish is the father TO the
expectation. But there Is very great
difference between that which we believe
about ourselves aud that which we believe
about o,Ecrs. For instance. you rcmcm.
her not great while ago there WAS n dis
asicr in Pennsylvania amid the mines; ;
there WAS an explosion amid the lamps,
AMI many lives were lost. In the morn.
ing y"u p:ckrl up your newspaper and
SiN ~
in Pennsylvania. You said: And what u
sal thing il Is: how many lives lost !.
q, what sorrow - Then you read lit
tie farther an. There had i,ccn mn almost
miraculous effort 10 gel those men out
an, few hal hrcn saved. o." ynu said.
"wla, n brave thing. what u grand thing
that was. How welt II was DONE Then
you lnl,l, Il the pal cr III and sat down to
your morning rcmst. Your appetite had
moi been interlrrrt with. during that day,
perhaps. yon ihou. h, only two or three
times Of the disaster. But suppose you
and had been in the mine, and the dy-
ing had been all around MS, and we had
heard the packers just above Us rs they
were trying to work their WY down, and
after while we saw the light, and then
the lifc-buckei let down through the
shaft, and suirocate,l and llalf.dcad, We
Ind jus, strength enough to throw our.
selves over into II. aud Ind been hauled
out into the light. Then what an appre.
citation we would have had Of the agony
and the darkness beneath, and the joy of
dcliycrancc That Is the difference he.
tween believing thing about others and
believing il about ourselves.
FAITH MAKES \ CHRISTIAN.
We take up the Bible and read that
Christ came 10 save the world THAT
was beautiful" you say, "a fine specimen
of scli.denial. That was very grand In
deed" But suppose II Is found that We
ourselves were down In the mine of sin
and in the darkness, and Christ stretched
down Ills arm of mercy through the
gloom and liiied us out Of the pit, and set
our feet on the Rock Of Ages, and put a
new song into our mouth: o, then It Is
II matter oi handclapping; !, is matter
u. congratulalion II Is a matter of deep
emotions. Which kind of faith have you.
my brother:
II Is iaiih that makes Christian, and It
Is The proportion Of faith that makes the
difference between Christians. What was
il that liiled Paul, AMI Luther, and Pay
son. and Doddridgc above the ordinary
level of Christian character. II was the
simplicity, the brilliancy, the power. and
the splendor of their faith. %. that we
had more Of II God give us more faith to
preach and nore faith to hetr. "Lonl!
we believe. help Thou our unl,cliefr "To
You which lclicvc lie is precious
First remark Christ is precious io the
believer. as Saviour from sin. 4 man
says: ITO whom are you talking: ! am
one Of the most respectable men In this
ncighborhood :; ,lo you call me sinner :"
Yes. "The hear, Ia dcceiifhl above all
things and desperately wicked" You
say "linw do you know anything abon,
my !cari :" know that about Il, for God
announces |, in Ills Word; and what God
says is always right, When man be-
comes Christian people say That man
sets himself aliovc us." oh M. Instead
OF setting himself up he throws himself
down. lie cries out II was Inst once.
but now | am found was Hind once.
hut now can see. lproSirnic myself at
the fooi Of the cross of the SayiouI's mer.
cy."
What a grand thing il Is To feel that all
the lad wonls have ever uttered, and
ail the had deeds have ever done. and
all the Ind thoughts that have gone
through my mind are Ms though they had
never lcen, for the sake of what Christ
has done. You know there isa difference
in stains Sonlc can bc washed out ~
water. but others require chemical pre-
paraiion- The sin of the heart Is 50 black
and indclihlc mark that. no human aT'
plicaiion can clcnre Il, while the blood "f
Jesus Christ can wash Il out forever. oh.
the infinite. the omnipoteni chemistry "f
the Gospel! Some men says: II believe
all that. Ibelieve God has forgiven the