News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1889-12-26

chaff that has got into this 5000 bushels OF
wheat, and the only way to get rid of the
chaff is to throw all the wheat overheard .
Now, that is a great deal wiser than the talk
of a great many Christians who want to
throw overheard all the thousands and tens
of thousands of souls who are the subjects OF
revivals. Throw az overheard because they
are brought into the kingdom of God through
great revivals, because there is peck of
chaff, quart of chaff, pint of chaffI / saw
let them stay until the last day; the Lord
will divide the chat from the wheat. Do
not be afraid of great revival.
Oh, that such gales from Heaven might
sweep through all our churches! Obi for
such days as Richard Baxter saw in England
and Robert McCheyne saw in Dundeel Oh,
for such days as Jonathan Edwards saw in
Northampton | have often heard my father
tell of the fact that in the early part of this
| century revival broke out at SOmerville, n.
| j., and some people were very much agitated
bring too many people into the church at
| once" and they sent down to New Bruins
wick for John Livingston to stop the revival.
| Well, there was no better soul in all the
world than John Livingston. He went and
| looked at the revival; they wanted him to
stop it. He stood in the pulpit on the Sab
| BATH and looked over the solemn auditory,
and he said: ''This, brethren, Is in reality
the work of God; beware how you try to
stop it." And he was an old man, leaning
And he lifted that staff and took hold of
| the small end of the staff and began to let it
fall slowly through between the finger and
the thumb, and he said E'Oh thou impen-
| ltent, thou art falling nOw-falling from life,
falling away from peace and heaven, falling
as certainly as that cane is falling through
my hand-falling certainly, though perhaps
falling sowly!' And the cane kept on fall
ing through John Livingston's hand. The
religious emotion in the audience was over
powering, and men saw type of their
doom, as the cane kept falling and falling,
until the knob of the cane struck Mr. Living
ston's hand, and he clasped it stoutly and
said ''But the grace of God can stop you as
l stopped that cane;" and then there was
gladness all through the house at the fact of
pardon and peace and salvation. ''Well,"
said the people after the service, 81 guess
you had better send Livingston home; he Is
making the revival worse" Oh for gales
from heaven to sweep all the continents
The danger Of the church of God is not in
reVivas.
If l have sorrow and trouble, and~yS-r-.,...-
sympathy, go and kneeI down at the back
part of the boat and say: sob, Christ weary
one OF GenEesaret, sympathiZe with all nv
sorrows, man of Nazareth, man of the cross"
a man, man. But if want to conquer my
spiritual foes, if want to get the victory over
sin, death and hell, come to the front of the |
boat, and | kneel down, and L say: 80, Lord
Jesus Christ, thou who doth hush the tenn
pest, hush all my grief hush all my tempta-
ton, hush all my sinp' A man, a man: a |
God, God.
Oh, yes Christ can hush the tempest. You
have had trouble. Perhaps it was the little
child taken away from you-the sweetest
child OF the household, the one who asked the
most curious questions, and stood around YOU
with the greatest fondness, and the spade
cut down through your bleeding heart Per-
maps 1t was an on y son, and your heart has
ever since been like desolated castle, the
owls of the night hooting among the fallen
arches and the crumbling stairways Per-
haps it was an aged mother. You always
went to her with your troubles. She was in
your home to welcome your children into life,
and when they died she was there to pity
you; that old hand will do you no more kind
ness; that white lock of hair YOU put away in
The casket or in the locket didn't look as it
usually did when she brushed it away from
ler Wrlnkled brow in the home circle or in
,he country church.
Or your property gone, you said II have
30 much bank stock, have so MANY govern
nent securities, | have so many houses, |
rave SO many farms-all gone, all gone"
Why, sir, all the storms that ever trampled
With their thunders, all the shipwrecks, have
lot been worse than this to you. Yet you
AVE not been completely Oyerthrown. Why?
Jhrist says: Il have that little one in nv
,eeping. l can care for him as well
IS you can, better than you can, o bereayed
notherW flushing the tempest. When your
property went away God said: ''There are
reasures in heaven, in banks that never
freak" Jesus hushing the tempest. There
) one storm into which we will all have to
un.
The moment when we let 90 of this world
nd try to take hold of the next, we will want
II the grace possible. YOnder l see Chris
ian soul rocking on the surges of death all '
be powers of darkness seem let out against .
hat sOul-the sWirling wave. the thunder of
he sky, the shrek of the wind, all seem to
mite together; but that soul is not troubled;
here is no signing, there are no tears; plenty
tears in the room at the departure, but he
yeeps no tears-calm, satisfied and peaceful;
Il Is well. BY the flash of the storm you see
be harbor just ahead, and you are making
Of that harbor. All shall be well, Jesus .
eing our guide.
Into the harbor of heaven now we glide;
We're home at last. home at last,
Softly drift on the bright. silV'ry tide,
|
Tor 81 ia rs NC .s-ssr
We stand secure on the glOrified shore;
Glory to God! we will shout evermore,
We're home at last.