Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1889-12-25

Christ was not smooth sailing. So you
have found it; so have found it. Did You
ever notice the end of the life of the apostles
of Jesus Christ? You would say, if ever
mon ought to have had smooth life,
smooth departure, then those men. the dis
ciples OF Jesus Christ, ought to have had
such departure and such a life. st. James
lost his head. ST. Philip was hung to death
on pillar. St. Matthew had his life dash
ed out wi b a halbert. ST. Mark was drag
ged to death through the streets. ST.
James the Less was beaten to death with
fuller'sclub. st. Thomaswas struck through
with spear. They did not find following
Chris smooth sailing. Oh, how they were
all tossed in the tempestl John Huss in the
fire; Hugh McKailin the hour of marty yrdom;
the Albigenses, the Waldenses, the Scotch
Covenanters-did they find it smooth sail
ing? But why go into history when We
can draw from our own memory illustra-
tions of the truth of whatI say? Some
young man in store trying to serve God,
while bis employer SCOTS at Christianity;
the young men 10 the same store, antago
nistic to the Christian religion, teasing him,
tormenting him about his religion, trying
to get him mad. They succeed in getting
him mad, saying, "You're pretty Chris
tian"' Does that young man find it
smooth sailing when he tries to follow
Christ? Or you remember a Christian girl.
Her father despises the Christian religion;
her mother despises the Christian religion;
her brothers and sisters scoff at the Chris
tian religion; she can hardly find quiet
place in which to say her prayers. Did
she find it smooth sailing when she tried to
follow Jesus Christ? Oh, mol All who
would live the life of the Christian re-
ligion must suffer persecution; if you do
not find it in one way, you will get it in
another way. The question was asked:
"Who are those nearest the throne?" And
the answer came back: s'These are they
great failing, as the original has it; great
failing, great pounding-and had their
robes washed and made white in the blood
of the lamb" Oh, do not be disheart-
ened! Take courage. You are in glorious
companionship. God will see you through
all trials and he will deliver you. My SUBJ
ject also impresses me with the fact that
good people sometimes get very much
frightened.
In the tones of these disciples as they
rushed into the back part of the boat, l
find they are frightened almost to doath.-
They say: "Master, carest thou not that
we perish?" They had no reason to be
frightened, for Christ was in the boat. l
suppose if we had been there we would
have been just as much affrighted. Per-
haps more. In all ages very good people
get very much affrighted. 1t is often so in
our day, and men say: "Why, look at the
bad lectures; look at the various errors
going over the Church of God; we are
going to founder; the Church is going to
perish; she is going down." Oh, how
many good people are affrighted by iniquity
in our day and think the church OF Jesus
Christ is going to be overthrown, and are
just as much affrighted as were the dis
ciples Of my text. Don't worry, don't
fret, as though iniquity were going to
triumph over righteousness. A lion goes
into a cavern to sleep. He lies down, with
bis shaggy pane covering the paws
the mouth of the cave-cavern and say,
s'We have captured him. Gossamer
thread after gossamer thread, until the
whole front of the cavern is covered with
the SPIDERS web, and the spi nan say:
''The lion is done; the lion is fast. After
while the lion has got through sleeping;
he rouses himself, he shakes his name, he
walks out into the sunlight; he does not
even know the SPIDERS web is spun, and
with his voice he shakes the mountain.-
SO men come spinning their sophistries and
skepticism about Jesus Christ; he seems to
be sleeping. They say: "We have cap.
tured the Lord; He will never come forth
again upon the nation; Christ is captured
forever. His religion will naver make any
conquest among men," But after awhile
the Lion of the tribe of Judah will rouse
himself and come forth to shake nightly
the nations. What's spiders web to the
aroused lion? Give truth and error a fair
grapple and truth will come off victor.
Bat there are great many good people
who get affrighted in other respects; they
are affrighted in our day about revivals.-
They say: "Oh! this is strong religious
gale; we are afraid the Church of God is
going to be upset, and there are going to
be great many people brought into the
Church that are going to be of no use to
it," and they are affrighted whenever they
see revival taking hold of the churches
AS though a ship captain, with five thou
sand bushels of wheat for cargo, should
say some day, coming upon deck: Throw
overheard all the cargo;" and the sailors
should say: ''Why, captain, what do you
meant Throw over all the cargo?" "Oh."
saws the captain, eve have peck of chaff
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 great many Christians who want
to throw overheard all ths thousands and
tens Of thousands of souls who are the sub
iects of revivals. Throw all overheard
because they are brought into the kingdom
of God through great revivals, because
there is peck of chaff quart of chaff. a
pint of chaff! say, let them stay until the
last day; the Lord will divide the chaff
from the wheat Do not be afraid of a
great revival! Oh, that such gales from
heaven might sweep through all our
churches! Oh, for such days as Richard
Baxter saw in England. and Robert Nc
Cheyue saw in Dundee! Oh, for such days
as Jonathan Edwards saw in Northampton!
1 have often heard my father tell of the
fact that in the early part of this century a
revival broke out at Somerville, N. j., and
some people were very much agitated about
it. They said, "Oh, you are going to
bring too many people into the church at
once;" and they sent down to New Bruns-
wick to get John Livingston to stop the re-
vival. Well, there was no better soul in
all the world than John Livingston. He
went and looked at the revival; they want
eQ Dllu IO StOp IL. ho StOou III tno pulplb
on the Sabbath, 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 az old man, leaning heavily on his
staff-a very old man. Aud he lifted that
staff and took hold of the small end of the
staff ard began to let it fall slowly through
between the finger and the thumb, and he
said: "Oh, thon impenitent, thou art fall
ing now--falling from life, falling away
from peace and heaven, falling as certainly
as that cane is falling through my baud
falling certainly, though perhaps falling
slowlyr' And the cane kept on falling
through John Livingston's hand. The re-
ligious notion in the audience was over
powering, and men saw a-type of their
dnom, as.the cane kept falling and falling,
until the knob of the cane struck Mr..
T,jyinrstcn's hand and he cIasncd il