Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1888-04-06

| L
you first rate seat, right up by the pulpit"
Well, the pro1igal, not yet discouraged, en-
ters prayer meeting, and some Christian
man, with more zeal than common sense
says: Glad to see you; the dying thief was
saved. AMI suppose there is mercy for YOU" "
| The young man, dlSuste |, chilled, throws
himself on his dignity, re solved he win never
enter into the house OF God again. Perhaps
not quite fully discouraged aoout reforna-
ton, he sides up by some highly respectable
man he used to know, going down the street,
and Immediately the respectable man has an
errand down some other street Well tho
prodIgal wishing TO return takes some n1eui-
Der of Christian association by the hand;
or tries to. The Christian young man looks
at him, looks at the faded apparel ami the
marks of dissipation, instead OF giving him Il
warm grip of the hand, offers him the tip
ends of the long fingers of the left hand.
! which is equal to striking man in the face
Obi how few Christian people understan
how much force and gospel there is in a
| good, honest hanl shaking Sometimes
whom you have felt the nee1 of encourage
ment, and some Christian man has taken
| you heartily by the hand, have you not felt
thrilling through every fiber of your body,
mind and soul encouragement that was
| just what you neededl You do hot know
anything at all about tais unless you know
| when man tries to f5turn from evil courses
of conduct he runs against repusions innu-
merable We say of some man, he lives block
| or two from the church, or half a mile from
| the church; There are people in our crowded
cities who live 1000 miles from church. Vast
| deserts of indifference between them and the
| house of God The fact is we must keep our
respectfully, though thousands and tens Of
thousands perish. Christ sat with publicans
and sinners. But if there came to the house
of Col man with marks of dissipation upon
him people almost threw up their hands in
| horror "A much t0 Nig1t If shock
ing" How these dainty, fastidious Chris
tlans in all our churches are going to get into
| heaven | don't know. unles; they have a
| specal train Of cars, cushioned and uphol-
stored, each one a car to himself They can
not go with the great horde of publicans and
sinners. Oil We who curl your lip of scorn
at the fallen, tell you plainly, if you had
been surrounded by the same Influences, in
| stead of sitting to-day amid the cultured.
and the 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 bet.
| ter, but because the mercy of God has pro-
tected you. Who are you, that brought UP
| in Christian circles and watched by Christian
| parenUage, you should be SO hard on the
fallen?
think men also are often hindered from
| return by the fact that churches are too anX-
| ious about their membership and too anxious
about their denomination, and they rush out
when they seq 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 Immersion and what kind of a church he
is going to join. Oh my friends, it is a poor
time to talk about Presbyterian catechisms,
and Episcopal liturgies, and Methodist love
feasts, and baptistries to a man that is COM
ing out of the darkness of sin into the glori-
GUS light of the gospel. Why, it reminds me
of a man drowning in the sea, and life boat
puts out for him, and the man in the boat
says to the man out of the boat: "Now, if L
get you ashore, are you going to live on my
streetm First get him ashore, and then talk
about the non-eSsentia's of religion. Who
cares what church he joins, if he only joins
Christ and starts for heavens OH you ought
to have, my brother, an illumined face and
hearty grip for every one that tries to turn
from his evil way. Take hold Of the same
book with him though his dissipations shake
| verreth sinner from the ~error of his ways
shall save soul from death and hide null
titude of sins"
Now, | have shown you these obstacles be-
| cause | want you o 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 unriveted, and
| how the paths of virtue forsaken may be re-
gained. First of all, my brother, throw
yourself on God. Go to Him frankly and
earnestly and tell Him these habits you have,
and ask Him, if there is any help in all the
resources Of omnipoteut love, to give it to
| yoI. Do not 90 with long rigmarole people
call prayer made up of ''ohs, and "ahs," and
forever and ever, amens!" Go to God and cry
for help! help! helpl and if you cannot cry
for help, just look and live. l remember i'll
the late war, was at Antietam, and | went
into the hospitals after the battle and said to
a man: "Where are you hurt?" He made no
! I I
| splintered. saw where he was hurt. The
simple fact is, when a man has wounded
soul, all he has to do is to hold it up before
sympathetic Lord and get it healed. 1t does
not take any long prayer. Just hold up the
wound. Oh, it is no small thing when man
is nervous and weak and exhausted, coming
from his evil ways, to feel that God puts two
omnipotent arms around him, and says;
young man will stand by you. The mount
aims may depart and the hills be eremoved, but
| will never fail you" And then as the soul
thinks the news is too good to be true, and
cannot believe it, and looks up in Coils face,
God lifts his right hand and takes an oath,
an affidavit saying: las l live, saith the
| Lord God, | have no pleasure in the death OF
him that dieth." Blessed be God for such a
gospel as this. Cut the slices thin," said the
wife to the husband, ''or there will not be
| enough to go all around for the children; cut
the slices thin" Blessed be God there is q
full loaf for every one that wants it! Bread
enough and to spare. No thin slices at the
Lords table. | remember when the Master
Street Hospital, in Philadelphia, was opened
during the war, telegram came, saying
"There will be 800 wounded men tonight; be
ready to take care of them" and from my
church there went in some twenty or thirty
mel and women to look after these poor
wounded fellows. As they came, some from
one part of the land, some from another, nc
nGka1 NVhAthar M 4
gon, or from Massachusetts,, or from Mime
sofa, or from New York There was q
wounded soldier and the only question was
how to take off the rags the most gently, anC
put on the bandage, and administer tht
! cordial And when a soul comes to Cod He
your ancestry was Healing for all your
wounds. Pardon for all your guilt. Com
fort for all your troubles
Then, also, | counsel you, if you want Il
get back, to quit all your bad associations
One unholY intimacy will fill your soul with
moral distemper. In all the ages OF th
church there has not been an instance wher'
man kept one evil associate and was re
formed. Go home to-day, open your desk
take out letter paper, stamp and envelope
and then write letter something like this
'My Old CompanionS-l start this day fol
heaven: Until am persuaded you will joir
me in this, farewell"
| IuSh sigu youl hdth9 anu ssuu Iue ieCIei
by the first post Give up your bad com
panions or give up heaven 1t is not ten baC
companions that destroy a man, nor five bad
companions, nor three bad companions, MOI
two bad companions but one. What chance
is there for that young man saw along tbs
street, four or five young men with him
hating in front of grogshop, urging him tt
go in, he resisting, violently resisting, unit
after while they force him to go in, 1t wa
| a summer night and the door was left open
and saw the process. They held him fast
and they put the cup to his lips, and they
forced down the strong drink. What chance
| is there for such Young man7