The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-01-23

partures out of this world Why, many
OF you can remember whole generation
gone out Of the world. Over some OF
them, oh, Christian man, you might have
had an influence, but you did not use the
influence. They are gone. Where is the
fountain where we can wash our hands
clean from the blood of immortal souls?
Here comes another generation. Now is
our time. Tomorrow may be too late.
Tonight may be too late. This afternoon
may be too late. Now may be our time to
reach them. Oh, that God would whelm
us with the realities. Oh, that He would
kill our stupidity, that He would pull
from under us our touches of ease, that
He would hurl us to the front. 1t seems
to me, men and women of Brooklyn,
men and women of America, it seems
to me it IS time for something al
most desperate if this world is to be saved
at all, if these mighty denominations
abroad in our city are to be overthrown
and God is to be honored in the salvation
of men and nations. Ordinary solicitation
will not do the work. We need q mo-
mentum born of whole nights spent in
PRAYER. As to our own church, you
know that the very second Sabbath after
this church was opened and the commun-
ION was spread we received 32S on pro-
fession OF faith in Jesus Christ, and at
another time 200, and at another time
400,and at another time 500,and atanother
time 700. But we have not seen such an
awakening as l expect to see. | expect
some day the people will assemble and
every man, woman and child in the
assemblage will find God. The whole
audience under mighty sweep of Gods
eternal spirit swept into the kingdom.
Attendant upon this church and among
its very best supporters are many who
tell me they are not Christians. They are
frank about it. Among them are many
of my very best friends. When a week
from tomorrow night this church will be
open for the annual pew assignment and
some professors of religion will be striving
to see how little they can do for the cause
of God, or for the support OF Christian In
situations, those men, who are men OF the
world, will be doing their very best, and
the more they can do the more they will
be rejoiced. If sickness should come TO
my household and we needed watchers,
they would be the men and the women
whom we would want there, and though
others might fall asleep they would be
wide awake until dawn. III were making
my last will and testament and / had
property l wanted to divide among my
family could trust every dollar to them
these men of the world who make no pre-
tension at all. Yet they are not Christians.
They tell me they are not. Whose fault
is it? Mine? | sometimes think it is.
l sometimes think if l had been more
earnest they would have long ago entered
the kingdom of God. Oh, that to-
day they would test and see that the Lord
is gracious. Oh, men and women
with whom l have so long been
u-br
not now cross the line and have this sub
iect settled for time and settled for eter-
nifty? Now is the day of salvation. Then
how about the eighty or one hundred
thousand strangers, who, during the past
twelve months, have tioateC in and out OF
these services? Or the eighty or one hun
dred thousand strangers who will float in
and out the services during the coming
twelve months? If John Livingston, in
the kirk of Scotland, a church that would
hold, perhaps, 700 people, had 500 con-
verted under one sermon, why not thou
sands brought to God in this assemblage,
for it was not John Livingston that con-
verted them, but the Holy Ghost. who was
still abroad in the world, and is here to-
day. If John Knox could put the lever
of his prayer under Scotland and shake
it, ought not YOU to be able to get the
lever of your prayer under this
city and shake everything from East
River to New Utrecht, and from
New Utrecht to Long Island City. l do
not know how you feel, my brethren and
sisters in Christ, but my heart breaks to-
day with a longing l have for the saliva
ton OF the people. 1t seems to me if
God denies this l cannot endure it.
Whether by my lie or by my death, let
the blessing come. II over the mound OF
my grave more can climb into the king
dom of God, then let me sleep the last
sleep. Oh, for an earnestness that would
make one sleepless from 10 o'clock at
night until in the morning with anxiety
for the salvation of the people. If there
comes such a night in the history of any
Christian man or any Christian woman
here, let that night be overwhelming with
penitence and glorious with pardon.
Let there be wailing, wailing, wall
ing. Let there be shouting, shouting,
shouting. But lest you might not
see the setting of this days sun,
let this hour be the hour in which you
shall come into humiliation before God
below which there is no lower depth.
Oh, for a blood-red prayer that would bow
the heavens and bring all the unforgiven
to the feet of a pleading sympathetic
Christ and that would shake the place as
with tempest and earthquake and make it
as solemn as though we heard the raptur-
Gus or agonizing moderation of three
worlds. Let me say to men and women
of the world, wait not for the church.
Come in over their corpses. If they lie
down in your path, climb over them.
invite you to grace irrespective of the
church. Whosover will. the furthest out
and furthest down, come this day to the
feet of Christ. Do not wait for the church
to do its duty.
Religious Notes.