The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-03-27

say: "Why do you preach that gospelP
Why don't you preach gospel humani-
tartan, gospel without any repentancein
it, and tell people they are all right, and
you would be popular Why talk about sin?
Talk about redemption" Then l had the
grace to say: sect thee behind me, satan.
/ would rather take five persons in the
right direction than take 10000 In the
wrong" The redemption OF the gospel Is
q complete farce if there is no ruin. 1.-THE
whole need not physician, but they that
are sick" And if any one preach any
other gospel than this, though he be an
angel from heaven. says the apostle, let
him be accursed. There must be the
clicking of the horses hoofs before there
can be the ringing of the travels. So
when a man comes to me to talk about re-
ligion / say to him: 'Do you feel yourself
to be a sinner2" If he say, "Well-er-I
-er-yes," that hesitancy makes me know
that that man needs ride on Nehemiah's
horse in the midnight of conviction and
the midnight of exploration, and before
he has gone great while in the midnight
ride, he will in his heart say: "God be
merciful to me, sinner" and before the
morning comes he will put the reins down
on the horses neck, and he will take his
feet out of the stirrups, and he will get
down on the ground and get down on his
knees and say: 'tHave mercy upon me-
My subject also impresses me with a speci-
men OF busy and triumphant sadness. II
any man in all the world had right to
go moping and to give up everything
aS lost it was Nehemiah. Far away
from home, expatriated. You say he
was a cup-bearer in the palace OF
Shushan. 1t was a splendid place. No
doubt of it. The hallway was 200 feet
square and the ceiling lowered over thirty
SIX pillars, each one over sixty feet high.
Splendid place. But did you ever know q
fine house 10 eXtinguish homesickness?
Then see this man riding among the DESC
late streets of Jerusalem and along by the
upturned grave of his father and along by
the defaced affairs of his God. Why is it
not a wonder he did not go to his room
and say: 'Woe is me! the temples down,
the alters down and the tomb of my father
has been sacrileged. Woe is me. / wish
l had never been born. 1 wish / were
dead" Not so said Nehemiah. Grief
sure enough; grief enough to excite the
commentary of the king, bat he was not
overthrown by his grief. Sorrow was not
intended to rally us, to arouse us, to in
spire us. And all the fires of your
troubles and all the poundings of mis-
fortune and prosecution and disaster are
only TO fit us for practical usefulness.
Paul, whipped, shipwrecked, imprisoned,
but going right on keeping the faith. The
Italian Algerius in his prison, sitting down
to write q letter and dating il from "the
deiectable orchard of the leonine prison."
That is what call triumphant sadness.
know a mother who buried her baby on
Friday and on the following Sabbath APP
peared in the house of God and said:
'Give me class; give me class of chill
dren; give me really poor children; give
me a class off the back street. My child
has gone to God; want now to devote my
life to caring for other children" Beauti-
full! That is what call triumphant sad
ness. Oh, do not give up. Whatever
your trial. whatever your hardship, young
man, middle aged man, old man, man or
woman in trouble, do not give up. The
eternal God is thy refuge. Are there those
here who have gone clear off into sin and
hardly expect to get back2 Do not give up,
my brother. do not give up. How dare you
give up when on the bosom of the eternal
God you may breathe out all your sins
and all YOUR sorrows? All the doors of
mercy are wide open to-day. Not one,
but twelve. On the east three gates, on
the west three gates, on the north three
gates, on the south three gates. Is there
anyone who has gone so lar astray she is
cast out of Christian society. cast out of
the church of God2 Is there any such
person in all this august assemblage, or
will there be one person to whom this
sermon shall come? If there be such a
one, let me say, do not give up. One like
unto the Son of God comes to you and
says: Go and sin no more" and He saws
to your accusers: LET him that is with
out sin cast the first stone"