Dodge City times., 1889-08-08

and I will find Christian companion.
ship And he appears at the church
door some Sabbath day, snd the usher
greets him with q look, a. much % to
say, Why. you here? You arc the
last man I lever expected to see ct church!
Come, take this seat right down by the
door! Instead of saying, Good morn
ing; am glad you are here. Come;
will give you . frst-rate seat, right mp
by the pulpit" Well, the prodiesl, moi
yet discouraged. enters the prayer meet
ing, and some Christian man With more
zeal than common sense, says, Glad to
see you. The dying thief was saved,
and l suppose there is mercy for youl'
The young man, disguised, chilled,
throws himself back on his dignity, re.
solved he never will enter the house Of
God again. Perhaps not quite fully dis
couraged about reformation, he sides mn
BY some highly respectable man he used
to know going down the street, and i'm.
mediately 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 and the marks of dissipa-
ton, and instead of giving him q warm
grip OF the hand, offers him the tip end
of the long fingers of the left hand,
which is equal to striking q man in the
face.
Oh, how few Christian people under.
stand how much force and gospel there
is in q good, honest handshaking!
Sometimes, when you have felt the need
of encouragement and some Christian
man has taken you heartily by the hand,
have you not felt that thrilling through
every fiber of your body, mind and soul,
an encouragement that was Just what you
needed? You do not know anything at
all about this unless you know when q
man tries to return from evil courses of
conduct, he runs against repulsiOns in
Vulnerable. We say of some man, he
lives block or two from the church or
half mile from the church. There are
people in our crowded cities who live a
thousand miles from the church. Vast
deserts of indifference between them
and the house of God. The fact is, We
must keep our respectability, though
thousands and tens of thousands perish.
Christ sat with publicans and sinners.
But if there comes to the 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 shock
ing?" How these dainty, fastidious
Christians in all our churches are going
to get into Heaven I don't know, unless
they have an especial train Of cars,
and upholstered, each one o
car to himself! They cannot go without
the great herd of publicans and sinners.
Oh, We, who curl your lip of scorn at
the fallen, tell you plainly, if you had
been surrounded by the same influences,
instead of sitting to-day amid the cul-
tured and the refined and the Christian,
you would have been crouching wretch
in stable or ditch, covered with filth and
1t is not because you are
any better, but because the
mercy of God has protected you. Who
are you, that brought up in Christian
circles, and watched by Christian parent
age you should be SO hard on the fallen?
think men also are often hindered
from return by the fact that church are
too anxious about their membership and
too anxious about their denomination,
and they rush out when they see q 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. Oh, my friends! it
is a poor time to talk about Presbyterian
and Episcopal liturgies, and
love feasts, and baptisteries
to a man that is coming out of the dark
ness of sin into the glorious light of the
Gospel. Why, it reminds me of man
in q sea and q lifeboat 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 street," First get him ashore,
and then talk about the nom essentials
Of religion. Who cares what church he
Joins, if he only joins Christ and starts
for Heaven? Oh. you ought to have,
NY brother, an illumined face, and
hearty grip for every one that tries to
lurn from his evil way! Take hold Of
The same book with him, though his
designations shake the book, remember
ing that he that converteth o sinner
from the error of his ways shall save Q
'oul from death, and hide multitude Of
sins.
Now, have shown you these obsta-
lies because 1 want you to understand I
know all the difficulties in the way; but
am now to tell you how Hannibal may
scale the Alps, and how the shackles
nay be unrivited, and how the paths of
Tirtue forsaken may be regained. First
If all, my brother, throw yourself on
God. Go to Him frankly and earnestly,
md tell Him these habits You have, and
lsk Him If there is any help in all the
resources of omnipotent love, to give it
o you. Do not 60 with q long rigma-
.ole people call prayer, made up of
obs, and "ahs" and forever and for
,ver amens!" Go to God and cry for
,elp! help! help! And if you cannot
,ry for help just look and live. re-
in the war I was at Antietam
md went into the hospitals after the
'attle, and l said to a man, Where are
Tou hurt?" He made no answer, but held
Up his arms swollen and splintered.
Jaw where he was hurt. The simple fact
s when a man has wounded soul, all
le has to do is to hold it up before q
Lord and get it healed. 1t
lOes not take any long prayer. just
lold up the wound. Oh, it is no small
hing when a man is nervous and weak
md exhausted, coming from his evil
Ways, to feel that God puts to omnipo-
ent arms around about him and says:
Young man, will stand by you! The
Mountains may depart and the hills be
emoved, but I will never fail you
Ind then, as the soul thinks the news
s too good to be true, and cannot be-
ieve it, and looks up in Gods face,
iod lifts His right hand and takes IN
'ath, an affidavit, saying: As I live,
aith the Lord God, have no pleasure
n the death of him that dieth.
Blessed be God for such Gospel as
his. Cut the slices thin" said the
rife to the hush and, or there will not |
e enough to 60 all around for the chill
|ren; cut the slices thin" Blessed be |
iod there is q full loaf for every one |
hat wants it; bread enough and to
pare. No thin slices at the Lords ia |
lie. I remember when the Master |
street Hospital in Philadelphia, was
pened during the war, telegram !
anne saying: There will be 800 |
rounded men to- night, be ready to take |
are of them;" and from my church |
here went in some twenty or thirty men |
nd women to look after these poor |
rounded fellows. As they came, some |
rom one part of the land, some from |
mother, no one asked whether this man |
,as from Oregon or from Masaachu.