Milford chronicle., 1891-07-31

/ laden with opium and rum; when the night
( air Of our cites is polluted with the laugh
/ ter that breaks mp from the ten thousand
! saloons Of dissipation and abandcnment
/ when the fires Of the second death already
are kindled in the cheeks Of some who
only a little while ago were incorrupt
! Never since the curse fell upon the earth
I has there been a time when It was such an
! unwise, such a cruel, such an awful thing
for the church to sleepl The great audi
ences are not gathered IN the Christian
churches; the great audiences are gathered
in temples of sin-tears OF unutterable woe
their baptism, the blood OF crushed hearts
the awful wine of their sacrament, bias
phemies their htany, and the groans OF the
lost world the organ dirge Of their worship.
! Again, il you want to be qualified to
meet the duties which this age demands OF
you, you must on the one hand avoid reck-
less iconoclasm, and on the other hand not
stick too much to things because they are
old The air is full of new plans. new
projects, new theories Of government, new
theologies, and am amazed TO see how so
many Christians want only novelty in
order to recommend a thing to their conf
dence; and so they vacillate and swing to
and fro, and they are useless and they are
unhappy New plans-secular, ethical,
philosophical, religious, cisatlantic, trans
atlantic. All, my brother do not adopt a
thing merely because it is new. Try it by
the realities OF a judgment day,
But, on the other hand, do not adhere to
anything merely because It is old. There
is not a single enterprise of the church or
the world but has sometimes been scOfIed
at. There was IA time when men derided
4
men met near haystack in Massachusetts
and organized the first missionary society
ever organized In this country, there went
laughter and ridicule all around the Chris
tian church They said the undertaking
was prepOster0us
And so also the work OF Jesus Christ
was assailed. People cried out, Whoever
heard Of such theories Of ethics and gov
ernmentg Whoever noticed such style
OF preaching as Jesus has?" Ezekiel had
talked of mysterious wings and wheels.
Here came man from Capernaum and
Gennesaret, and he drew his illustrations
from the lakes, from the sand. from the
rlvine, from the lilies, from the constalks.
How the Pharisees scoifedi How Herod
deridedl How Caiphas hissedl And this
Jesus they plucked By the beard, and they
spat in his face, ana they called him "this
fellowp' All the great enterprises in aud
out of the church have at times been
scotTed at, and there have been a great
multitude whD have thought that the !
chariot of Gods truth would fall to pieces |
If it once got out Of the old rut.
MILLIONS NEVER HEAR THE GOSPEL.
And so there are those who have no pa /
thence with anything Ike improvement in I
church architecture or with anything ike |
good, hearty, earnest church singing, and |
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 the |
Church of God would wake up TO an adapt 4
ability Of work. We must admit the sim \
pie fact that the churches Of Jesus Christ I
in this day do not reach the great masses. |
There are fifty thousand people in Edin |
burgh who never hear the Gospel. There !
are one 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 I'M
mediate ministrations Of Christ's truth,
and the Church of God in this day, instead I
Of being place full of living epistes, read
and known of all men, is more like dead |
letter" postoGice
nut SHY blG people, lLG WOLAu - Eo-
ing to be converted You must be patient.
The kingdoms of this world are to become
The kingdoms Of Christ" Never, unless
the church Of Jesus Christ puts on more
speed and energy. Instead of the church
the world, the world is convert
ng the church Here is a great fortress.
How shall it be taken2 An army comes
lad.sits around about it, cuts OF the sup /
plies and says, Now we will just wait un.
Ill from exhaustion aud starvation they
will have to give up Weeks and months,
md perhaps year, pass along, and finally
he fortress surrendeTs through that star
-ation and exhaustion But, my friends,
he fortresses OF sin are never to be taken
n that way If they are taken for God it
will be by storm. You will have to bring
Up the great siege guns Of the Gospel to the
'ery wall, and wheel the flying artillery
ntO line, and when.the armed infantry Of |
heaven shall confront the battlenents you [
will have to give the quick com mand |
Forward Charger
All, my friends, there is work for you to |
10 and for me to do in order to achieve this 1
rand accomplishment Here is pulpit,
nd n clergyman breaches in it. Your pulpit |
S the bank. Your pulpit is the store. Your
lulpit is the editorial chair. Your pulpit /
5 the anvil Your pulpit is the house !
caffolding. Your pulpit is the mechanics |
hop. may stand in this place and, I
through cowardice orthrough self seeking,
nay keep back the word / ought to utter; 1 \
yhile you, with sleeve rolled up and brow |
with toll, may utter the word /
hat will jar the foundation of heaven with
he shout Of a great victory. Oh, that to- :
ay this whole audience might feel that
he Lord Almighty is putting upon them
be hands Of ordination. Every one, 90 Z
1rth and preach this gospel You have !
S much right to preach as | have, or as
ny man has. Only dud out the pulpit
there God will have you preach, and there
reach. g.
Hedley Wears was a wicked man in the
inglish army. The grace of God came to
i'm. He became an earnest and eminent q
hristian. They scoffed at him and said, I
You are a hypocrite; you are as bad rs S
YER you were" Still he kept his faith in !
hrist, and after awhile, finding that they
1uld not turn him aside by calling him c
ypoclite, they said to him, "Oh, you are G
othing but a fanatic" That did not dis 1
lrb him He went on performing his q
hristian duty until he had formed all his q
'oop irto Bible class, and the whole en- t
lmpment was shaken with the presence Of a
Cd So Havelock went into the heather t
nipple in India while the English army C
as there, and put a candle into the hand a
each of the heather gods that stood ! S
round in the heather temple, aud by the
ght Of those candles, held up by the idols, d
eneral Havelock preached righteousness, t
smperance and Judgment to come. And
tho will say, on earth or in heaven, that {
Lavelock had not the right to preach2 a
THE MOVING PRAYER OF FAITH {
In the minister's house where prepared G
II college there was inan who worked v
= the name Of Peter Croy. He could
either read nor write, but he was s
ian OF God Often theologians would h
.op in the house-grave theologians-and u
{ family prayers Peter Croy would be
illed upon 70 lead. and all those wise men a
1t around, wonderstruek at his religious Il
When he prayed he-seached up
nd seemed to take hold Of the very throne
the Almighty. and he talked with God p
ntil the very heavens were bowed down Il
ito the sitting room. Oh, if were dying v