Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1891-08-01

ability of work, We must admit the sim
pie fact that the churches OF Jesus Christ in
this day do not reach the great masses.
There are fifty thousand people in Edinburgh
who never hear the Gospel There are Que
million people in London who never hear the
Gospel. There are at least three hundred
thousand souls in the city OF Brooklyn who
come not under the immediate ministrations
of Christ's truth, and the Church of Go in
this day instead of being a place full Of
living epistles read and known of all men,
is more like dead letter postoffics.
But" say the people, ''the world is going
to be converted You must be patient Tho
kingdoms of this world are to become the
kingdoms of Christi Never, unless 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. Hereis a great fortress. How shalt
it be takens An army comes and sits around
about it, cuts off the supplies and SAYS, Nov
we will Just wait until from exhaustion and
starvation they viii have to give up" Weeks
and months, and perhaps year, pass along
and finally the fortress surrenders through
that starvation and exhaustion. But, my
friends the fortrssses of sin are never to
be taken in that way. Ii they are taken for
God it viii be By storm. You will have to
bring up the great siege guns OF the Gospel
to the very wall, and wheel the flying artii-
lery into line, and when the armed infantry
of heaven shall confront the battlementS you
will have to give the quick command: For
ward. Charge
All, my friends, thsrs is work for youtD
do aud for me to do in order to achieve this
gran1 accomplishment! Here is a pulpit,
and a clergyman breaches in it. 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 the
house scaffo.ding Your pulpit is the me-
chanic'S shop. | may stand in this place and,
through cowar1ies or through self seeking,
may keep back the word | ought to utter;
while you, with sleeve rolled up and brow
besweated vito toll, may utter the word
that will jar the foundation of heaven with
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 has.
Only find out the pulpit where God will
have you preach, and there preach,
Hedley Wears was wicked man in ths
English army. The grace of God came to
him. BE became an earnest and eminent
Christian They scoffed at him and said
You are a hypoerite; you are rs bad az
ever YOU weren Still he kept his faith in
Christ, and after awhile finding that they
could not turn him aside by calling him
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 Bible class, aud the whole encamp
ment was shaken with the presence OF God.
So Havelock went into the heather temple
in India while the English army was there,
and put candle into the hand of each OF
the heather gods that stood around in the
heather temple, and by the light of those
candles held up by the idols, General Have
lock preached Righteousness, temperance ano
Judgment to come. And who will say, OF.
earth or in heaved, that Havelocl had not
the right to preach?
In the minister's house where | prepared
for college there was a man who worked, BY
the name of Peter Croy. He could neither
read nor write. but he was man OF God.
Often theologians would stop in the house
grave theolog ians--and at family prayers
Peter Croy would be called upon to lead, an |
all those wise men sat around, wonderSUrucS
at his religious efficiency. When he praye |
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. On, II l
were dying | would rather have pain Peter
Croy stand by my bedside and common
my immortal spirit TO God than some heart
less ecclesiastic arrayed IL costly canon
icals Go preach this Gospel. You say you
are not licensed In tbs name of the IIor
Almighty, this morning Ilicens9 you Go
preach this Gospst-preach it in the Sabbath
schools, i'll tha prayer N lettings, in tha high
ways, in the he iges. Woe be unto you if
you preach it no..
tremarl, again, that in or Ter to be quail
fie to meet your duty in this particular age
you want unboundej faith in thu triumph Of
the truth AMI the overthrow of wickedness
How dare the CAristian church ever get dis
courageiY Have YOU not the Lord Almighty
on our side? How long did it take God to
STAY the hosts of Sannacherib or burn So
dom or shake down Jericho9 How long wilt
1t take God, when He once arises in His
strength to overthrow all the forces of iniq-
uity? Between this time and that there
may be long elsons of darkness-she char.
lot wheels Of Gods Gospel may SO I'm to drag
heavily, but here is the promise, and yonier
Is the throne: and when Commissioners has
lost its eyesight and Omnipotence falls back
inpotanU and Jehovah is driven from His
throne, then the church of Jesus Christ can
afford to be deSpondelt, but never until
then. Despots may plan and armies may
march, and the con crosses OF tae nation may
seem to think they are adjusting all the az
fairs OF the world, but the mighty men o.
tho earth are only the dust of the chariot
Uhee.s OF Gods providence.
| think that before the sun of this century
sAall SCI, bhe iasS tyranny may Iall, du {!
with a Spen OF of demonstration that shah
be the aStonshment of the universe God will
set forth the brightness and pomp and glory
aud perpetuity OF His eternal government.
Out of the starry flags and emblazone1 in
sigma of this world tod will make path for
ills own triumph, and returning from un
versal conquest He viii sit down the grand
est, strongest, highest throne of earth His
footstool.
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