The Penn's Grove record., 1891-08-07

anything merely because it Is old. There Is
not a single enterprise of the church or the
world but has sometimes been scoffed at.
There was a time when men derided even
Bible societies; and when a few young men
met near a haystack in Massachusetts, and
organized the first missionary society ever
organized in this country, there went laugh
ter and ridicule all around the Christian
church. They said the undertaking was pre-
posterous.
And so also the work of Jesus Christ was
assailed. People cried out, "Whoever heard
of such theories of ethics and government
Whoever noticed such a style Of preaching
FERROUS wings and wheels. Here came a mar
from Capernaum and Gennesaret, and He
drew His illustrations from the lakes, from
the sand, from the ravine, from the lilies,
from the ~cornstalks. How the Pharssees
scoffedi How Heroi deridedt How Ceiphas
hissedl And this Jesus they plucked BY the
beard, and they spat In His face, and they
called Him this fellowf' ALI the great en-.
terprises in and out Of the church have at
times been scoffed at, and there have been a
great multitude who nave thought that me
chariot of Gods truth would fall to pieces II
1t once got out Of the old rut.
And so there are those who have no pa
tience with anything like improvement IN
church architecture or with anything ike
good, hearty, earnest church Singing, anu
they deride any form Of religious discussion
which goes down walking among everyday
men rather than that which makes an ex-
cursion on rhetorical stills. Oh, that sne
Church of God would wake up to an adapt
ability OF work. We must admit the SIM
pie fact that ths churches OF Jesus Christ in
this day do not reach the great masses.
There are fifty thousand peoplein Edinburgh
who never hear the Gospel. There are ons
million people in London who never hear the
Gospel. There are at least three hunirai
thousand souls in the city OF Brooklyn who
N not under tue immediate ministrations
of Christs truth, and the Church Of God in
this day, instead Of beingea place full of
living epistles, read and known of all men,
is more like a dead letter" postofflcs.
But" say the people, ''the world is going
to be converted. You must be patient. The
kingdoms of this world are to become the
church OF Jesus Christ puts on more speed
and energy. Instead of the church convert
ing the world, the world Is converting the
church. Here is a great fortress. How shall
it be taken? An army comes and sits around
about it. cuts off the supplies and says, Nov
we will just wait until from exhaustion AMI
starvation they will have to give up" Weeks
and months. and perhaps a year, pass along,
and finally the fortress s~urrenders through
that starvation and exhaustion. But, my
friends, the fortresses OF sin are never to
be taken in that way. II they are taken for
God it will be by storm. You will have to
bring up the great siege guns OF the Gospsl
to the very wall, and whsel the flying artil-
leryfnto line, and when the armed infantry
of heaven shall confront the battlements you
will have to give the quick command: "For-
wardI Charger
All, my friends, there is work for you to
do and for me to do in order to achieve this
grand accomplishment Here is a pulpit
and a clergyman breaches in 1t. Your pull
pit is the bank. Your pulpit is the store.
Your pulpit is the editorial chair. Your
pulpit is the anvil. Your pulpit is ths
house s~caffolding. Your pulpit Is the ma
chanic's shop. l may stand in this place and,
through cowardice or through self seeking.
may keep back the word 1 ought to utter;
while you, with sleeve rolled up and brow
besweated with toll, may utter the word
that will jar the foundation of heaven vita
the shout Of a great victory. oh, that to-
day this whole audience might feel that the
Lord Almighty is putting upon them the
hands of ordination. Every one, go forth
and preach this Gospel. You bave as much
right to preach as | have, or as any man mas.
Only find out the pulpit where God will
have you preach, and there preach.
Hedley Wears was a wicked ran in the
English army. Tn grace of God came to
him. He became an earnest and eminent
| Christian. They scoffed at him and said.
"You are a hypocrite; You are as bad as
ever you were" Still he kept his faith in
Christ, and after awhile, finding that they
| could not turn him aside by calling him a
hypocrite, they said to him, "Oh, you are
| nothing but a fanatic" That did not dis
turb him. He went on performing his Chris
| tan duty until he had formed all his troop
! into a Bible class, and the whole encamp-
| mept was shaken with the presence OF God.
| 50 Hayelock went int the heather temple
in India while tbs English army was there,
/ and put a candle into the hand of each OF
\ the heather gods that stood aroun In the
| heather temple, and by the light Of those
| candles, held up by the idols. General Have
| lock preached Righteousness, temperance and
| Judgment to come. And who will say, on
| earth or in heaved, that Havelock had not
] the right to preachs
In the minister's house where l prepared
| for college there was a man who worked, by
| the name of Peter Croy. He could neither
| read nor write, but he was a man OF God.
| Often t~heologians would stop in the house
| grave t-heologians--and at family prayers
| Peter Croy would be called upon to lead, and
| All those wise men sat around, wonderstruck
| at his religious efio .ency. When he prayed
| he reached up and seemed to take hold OF
| the very throne of the Almighty, and he
talked with God till the very heavens were
| bowed down into the sitting-room. Oh, if ]
were dying | would rather have plain Peter
Grow stand by my bedside and commend
nv Immortal spirit to God than some heart
| Less ecclesiastic arrayed in costly canon
| icaIs. Go preach this Gospel. You say you
| are not licensed. In the name of the lor>
| Almighty. this morning I iicenss you. Go
| preach this Gospel preach it in the Sabbath
| schools, in the p~rayer-msstin "a In the high
ways, in the hedges. Wos be unto you "
| Won Draaeh IT not.
remark, again, that in order to be quail
! fed to meet your duty in this particular age
| you want unbounlel faith in the triumph Of
| the truth and the overthrow of wickedness,
| How dare the Christian church ever get dis
! c~ouraged2 Have you not the Lord Almighty
on our side, How long did 1t take God to
| slay the hosts of Sennacherib or burn So
dom or shake down Jericho? How long will
| it take God, when He onca arises In His
| strength to overthrow all the forces OF inia-
| uity? Between this time and that there
| may be long seasons of darkness-the char
lot wheels of Coils Gospel may seem to drag
| heavily, but here is the promise, and yonder
Is the throne; and when Ominiscience has
lost its eyesight and ~Omnipotenee falls back
| inpotant ani jehovah is driven from His
throne, then the church OF Jesus Christ can
afford to he Respondent, but never until
then. Dsspots may plan n armies may
march, and the congresses of the nation may
l Se9ll 10 BDlIh lucy are bujuStilS MI ble al
fairs of the world, but the mighty men of
the earth are only the dust of the chariot
wneeis OF Gods providence.
/ think that before the sun OF this century
shall set the last tyranny may fall, and
with a splen lor of demonstration that shat
be the astonishment of the universe God viii
set forth the brightness and pomp and glory
and p~erpetuity OF His eternal government,
Out OF the starry flags n emblazoned in
sigma of this world God will make q nath for
Ills own triumph, and returning from un,
versal conquest He will sit down, the grand
est, strongest highest throne Of earth His
footstooi.
Then shall all natioas' soag ascend,
To Thee, our Ruler, Father, Friend,
Till heavens high arch resounds agaIl
With peace on earth. good will to men,"
I preach this sermon because l want to
encourage all Christian workers in every
possible department.. Hosts OF the living
God, march onl march on! His spirit will
bless you. His shield will defend you. Hi:
sword will strike for you. March oni march
onl The last despotism win fall, and pagan
ism will burr its idols, and Mohammedanism
will give up its false prophet and the great
walls of superstition will coma down in
thunder and wreck at the long, oud blast OF
the Gospel trumpet. March ont March oni
The besiegement will soon be endei. Only
a few more steps on the long way; only-s
g