The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1890-01-24


will only tell me how" and the great ques-
tion asked by thousands in this aasemblage
is: Chow? how?" And while answer your
question look up and utter tho prayer which
Rowland Hill SO often uttered in the midst of
his sermons: master, help!' How are you
to trust in Christ? just as you trust any
one. You trust your partner in business
give you note payable three months hence,
you expect the payment of that note at the
end of three months. You have perfect con-
fidence in their word and in their ability. You
go home to-day. You expect there will b.
food on the table You have confidence in
that. Now. ask You to have the same con-
fidence in the Lord Jesus Christ. He says:
'You believe; I take away your sins;' and they
are all taken away. WHAT you say, ..be-
fore pray any more? Before read my
Bible any more? Before cry over my sins
any more?" Yes, this moment. Believe
with all your heart and you are saved. Why,
Christ ID only waiting to get from you what
What is that? Confidence. II these people
whom you trust day by day are more worthy
than Christ, if they are more faithful than
Christ, if they have done more than Christ
ever did, then give them the preference; but
If you really think that Christ is as trust
worthy as they are, then deal with him as
fairly. "Oh, says some one in q light way,
I DVAOSS OudU OuFlSU was OOrLl Ill OGCuI0-
hem, and l believe that he died on the
Cross" Do you believe it with your head
or your heart? l will illustrate the differ
ence lou are in your own house. In the
morning you open newspaper, and you
read how Capt. Braveheart on the sea
risked his life for the salvation of his pas
sengers You say: "What a grand fellow
he must have been His family deserves very
well OF the country" You fold the newspa-
per and sit down at the table, and perhaps
do not think of that incident again. That is
historical faith. But now you are on the seq,
and 1T is night, and You are asleep, and are
awakened by the shrek of ''fire!" You rush
out on the deck. You hear, amid the wiring
ing OF the hands and the fainting, the cries:
mo hope! we are lost! we are lost!' The
soil puts out its wings offire, the ropes make
burning ladder in the night heavens, the
spirit OF wreck Kisses in the waves, and on
the hurricane deck shakes out it's banner of
smoke and darkness. "Down with the life
boats?' cries the captain. "Down with the
life boats" People rush into them. The
boats arc about full. Room only for
one more man. You are standing on the
deck beside the captain. Who shall it be?
says: '7You.S You jump and are " saved
He stands there and dies. Now, you believe
that Capt Braveheart sacrificed himself for
his passengers, but you believe it with love,
with tears, with hot and long continued ex-
clamations, with grief at his loss and joy at
your deliverance. That is saving faith. In
other words, what you believe with all the
heart. and believe in regard to yourself On
this hinge turns my sermon; aye, the saliva
ton of your immortal soul.
You often go across q bridge you know
nothing about You do not know who built
the bridge, you do not know what material
it is made OF; but you come to it, and walk
md cly A. =
an arched bridge blasted from tho Crock of
Ages" and built by the architect of the
whole universe, spanning the dark gulf be-
tween sin and righteousness and all God
asks you is to walk across it; and you start,
and you come to it, and you stop, and you
go little way on and you stop, and you fall
o. and, and you experiment; You say; How
of marching on with = firm step asking no
questions, but feeling that the strength of
the eternal God is under you, o, was there
ever prize offered 80 cheap as pardon and
heav en- are offered to you? For how much?
A million dollars? 1t is certainly worth more
than that. But cheaper than that you can
have it.. Ten thousand dollars? Less than
that. One dollar? Less than that One
farthing? Less than that. without
money and without price," No money to
pay. No journey to take. No penance to
suffer. Only just one decisive action of the
souE Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. and
thou shall be saved" Shall try to tell
you what it is to be saved? I can.
not tell you. No man, no angel can tell
you. But can hint at it. For my text
brings me up to this point: ''Thou shalt be
saved" 1t means happy life here, and a
peaceful death and u blssful eternity. 1t is
agrand thing to go to sleep at night, and to
get up in the morning, and to do business oil
In-~ foo1 klck 1>ok- H.
and God. No accident, no sickness, no per-
secution, no peril, no sword can do any per
manent damage. l am forgiven child of
God, and he is bound to see me through.
The mountains may depart, the earth may
burn, the light OF the stars may be blown
out by the blast of the judgment hurricane;
but lie aud death, things present and things
to come. are mine. Yea farther than
that-it means peaceful death.
Mrs. Hemans, Mrs, Sigourney, DR.. Young
and almost all the poets have said hand
some things about death. There is nothing
beautiful about it. Whom we stand by the
white and riged features OF those whom we
love, and they give no answering pressure of
the hand and no returning kiss of the lip, we do
not want anybody poetizing around about
US. Death islonesomcness, and midnight, and
the wringing of the heart until the tendrils
snap and curl in the torture unless Christ be
with u.s. confess to you to an infinite fear. q
consuming horror, OF death, unless Christ
shall be with me. l would rather go down
into q cave of wild beasts of q jungle of rep
tiles, than into the grave. unless Christ goes
with me. Will you tell me that l am to be
carried out from my bright home and put
away in the darkness? I cannot bear dark
ness. At the first coming of the evening
must have the gas lit, and the further on in
life get the more like to have my friends
about me. And am to be put off for thou
sands of years in a dark place, with no one to
speak to? When the holidays come and the
gifts are distributed, shall add no JOY to the
merry Christmas or the "Happy New
Year," All, do not point down to the
hole in the ground, the grave, and
call it beautiful place; unless there be some
supernatural illumination, shudder back
from it. My whole nature revolts atit But
now this glorious lamp is lifted above the
grave, and all it's darkness is gone and the
way is clear. look into it now without a
shudder. Now my anxiety is not about
death; my anxiety is that may live Alright,
for know that my lifei y consistent when [
come TO the last hour and this voice is silent.