The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1890-03-08

a lightning-footed errand boy. So it is
the old Bible, but with new applications,
new uses, new interpretations. You must
remember that during the last 300 years
words have changed their meaning and
some of them now mean more and some
less. do not think that John Calvin
believed, as some say he did, in The
damnation of infants, although some Of
the recent hot disputes would seem TO
imply that there is such u thing as the
damnation OF infants.
A man who believes In the damnatiOn
Of infants himself deserves to lose
Heaven. do not think any good man
could admit such a possib, lily. What
Christ will do with all the babies in the
next world 1 conclude from what He did
with the babies in Palestine when He
Rugged and kissed them. When some
Of you grown people go out of this world
your doubtful destiny will be an embar-
rassment to ministers officiating at your
~obsequies who will have to be cautious
so as not to hurt surviving friends. But
when the darling children go there are
no ''ifs" or ''buts' or ''guesses."
The defect in some OF the creeds Is
that they try to tell us all about the de-
crees of God. Now the only human be-
ing that was ever competent to handle
that subject was Paul and he would not
have been competent had he not been
inspired. / believe In the sovereignty
Of God and / believe in mans free agen-
cy, but no one can harmonic the two.
A man who heartily accepts Christ is a
Christian and the man who does not
accept him Is not and that is all there is
of 1t. He need not believe in election
or reprobation. He need o believe in
the eternal generation of the Son. He
need not believe in everlasting punish
ment. He need not believe In infant
baptism. He need not believe In ~plenary
inspiration. Faith in Christ Is the
criterion, is the pivot, is the indispensa-
bic. But there are those who would add
unto the tests rather than subtract from
them. There are thousands who would
not accept persons into church member
ship II they drink wine or II they smoke
cigars or IL they attend the theater or II
hey play cards or II they drive q fast
lorse. Now, I do not drink wine or
,moke or attend the theater, never
,layed a game of cards and do not drive
fast horse, although l would II I owned
ne. But do not substitute tests which
he Bible does not establish. There lie
me passage of Scripture wide enough
% let all In who ought to enter and to
eeep out all who ought to be kept out:
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and
hou shalt be saved"
Again, there are Christians who are
inder sepulchral shadows and hindered
md hoppled by doubts and fears and
nns long ago repented Of. What they
1eed Is to understand the liberty OF the
sons Of God. They spend more tune IN
der the shadow Of Sinai than at the base
Of Calvary. They have been singing
the only poor hymn that Newton ever
wrote:
It's q point I long to know,
OFT it causes anx Gus thought
Do II We the Lord or no,
Am I His or am I notp
Long to know. do you? Why do you
not find out? Go to work for God, and
you will very soon find out. The man
who is all the time feeling Of his pulse
and looking at his tongue to sec wheth-
er 1t Is coated, is morbid and can not be
physically we'll. The doctor will say:
'.Go out Into the fresh air and into act
i've life and stop thinking OF yourself
and you win get well and strong" So
there are people who are watching their
spiritual symptoms, and they call 1t self
examination and they get weaker and
sicklier in their faith all the time. Go
out and do something nobly Christian.
TaEo hn1u avnnrion and fha- a-o-i,o
yourself, and, instead of Newton's sat
urnine and bilious hymn that 1 first
quoted, you will sing Newton's other
hymn:
Amazing grace. how sweet the sour
That saved a wretch like mel
once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind. but now I see.
What many Of you Christians most
need Is to get your grave clothes of. ]
rejoice that you have been brought from
the death Of sin to the life of the Cos
pei, but you need to get your hand loose
loose and your soul loose. There is nc
sin that the Bible 80 arraigns and pune.
lures and fagellates as the sin of unbe-
lief, and that Is what Is the matter with
you
Christ is used to climbing. He
climbed to the top Of the Temple. He
climbed to the top Of Mount Olivet. He
climbed to top Of the cliffs about Naz-
areth. He climbed to the top of Col
gotha. And to the top of the hills and
the mountains Of your transgression He
is ready to climb with pardon for every
n OF you. The grosn of Calvary is
mightier than the thunder Of Sinai.
Full receipt Is offered for al your In
debtedne s. 4 one throw Q stone at
midnight into q bush whore the hedge
bird roost 1t Immediately begins to
sing; and into the midnight hedges
~ your dependency these words
] huri, hoping to awaken you
70 anthem. Drop the unes in
the minor key and take the major. Do
you think 1t pleases the Lord for you to
be carrying around with you the debris
and carcasses Of old transgressions?
You make me think of some ship that
has had q tempestuous time at sea, and
now that II proposes another voyage.
keeps on Its davits the damaged life
boats, and the splinbers OF o shivered
mast, and the broken glass Of . smashed
skylight My advice Is: Clear the
decks, overheard with the damaged rig
ging, brighten UP the salted ~smokestack.
open Q new log book, haul In the planks,
lay out o new course and set sail for
Heaven. You have had spiritual dumps
long enough. You will please the Lord
mors-by being happy than by being
miserable.
Again, my text has good advice con-
corning any Christian hampered and
bothered and bound by fear Of his own
dissolution. To such the Book refers
when It speaks OF those who through
fear OF death were all their lifetime
subject 10 bondage. The most OF US,
even II we have the Christian hope, are
towards about death. II Q plank fall
bat how pale We look. IL the Atlantic
ocean plays with the steamship. pitch
ing IL toward the heavens and letting II
suddenly drop how we the Christian
passengers pester the steward or stew
ardess as TO whether there Is any dan
ger and the captain. who has been al
night on the bridge and chilled through,
coming in for q cup of coffee, Is assailec
with a whole battery Of questions as tc
what no thinks OF the weather. And
many OF the best people arc, a. Pau
says, throughout their lifetime In bond
age by fear Of death.
One OF the first roalIzations In getting
out Of this world. ! think. VIII be tina
In this world wa were very much pan
up and had crarnped apartments anc
wore kept OF the linits.
y