The Penn's Grove record., 1891-01-23

p I4AF-EE. l 90 LtG AJ-H hA@kHeE was
tArorLh bearing Theodore Parker preach, or
whether It was reaiing Remains Life of
Jssus,n or whether it was through some
siepti- IL the store or fectory. Dr. it may be
-Irlba Div Is the case-thRt you were dis
gUslei with religion and disguised with
CLi.sti1uity because some man who pro-
fe ed to be a Christian defrauled Won, and
he beng a member of the church, nd you
ta.inE him as a representative Of the Chris
tan religion, you said, We'll, If that's re-
h-.-a, I don't want any Of it"
r I do not know how you came to reject
Christianity, but youfraukly tell me you do
re set it: you do not think the Bible is the
w9ri OF God, although there are many
thin in it ycu admire; you do not think
tat Christ was a divine being, although you
J thtut Hl was a very good man. You say,
III the Bible be true-the most Of tue Bible
b. tyua-I nevertheless think the earlier part
OF the Bible is an ~allegory." And there are
/ Gt.v thiugs that / believe you do not be-
iieEe. Nevertheless they tell me in regard to
yea that YOU are an accommodating, you
Gre an oJliging person. If 1 should come to
Yen and ask OF you a favor you would grant
il II IL we're possible. It would be a joy for
you 10 grant me a favor. Ii any of your
friends came to you and wanted an accom-
mediation and you could accommodate them,
bCS glad you would bel
Now | am going to ask of you a favor. l
want YOU to obli-e me. The accommodate
ton win cost you nothing, and you will give
ne treat happiness. OF course you will not
deny ne. I want you as an experiment to
trg She Christian religion. II it does not
st u the test, discard it; if it does, receive
IF YOU were very sick, and you had besn
given uO of the doctors, and l cana to you,
anal took a bottle OF medicine from my
pe.a-t and said. ''Hers is medicine l am
sur viii help you; ithas cured fifty people"
you would say, ION, 1 haven't any conf
jsn il it; they tel me all these medicines
as . matter Of accommodation to myself,
il ~ itY' ''Well," you say, So have no
( agi-r-i1n to irving it; IL it will be any sat.
i~,4rttou to you I will try it." You take il.
Nea YOU are sick in disquietude, sick in sin.
Heu re not happy. You laugh sometimes
W q yoU are miserable, There come surges
oil s. ,appiness over your soul that almost
sw, , you. You are unhappy, struck
thg ii with unrest. Now, will you not try
tins ejtaca, this febrifuge, this anodyne, this
Gosa2t medicinel
On" you say, 81 haven't any faita In it,
As q matter Of accommodation, let me in
tr-4uce you to the Lord Jesus Christ, the
havsa't any faith in Him" Well, now, will
you notjustlet him come and try His power
f On y .ur soul? Just let me introduce Him to
you. do not ask you to a k my word for
It. I DO not ass you take the advice Of cler-
, gyrnen. Perhaps the ~clergynen may be
prgfIticei; perhaps we nay be speaking
{ Pre-. ssionally; perhaps we may give you
wrong advice; perhaps we are morbid on
that subject; so I do not ask you to take the
I nIy..e OF clergymen. / ask you to take the
aGv1a Of very respectable laymen, such as
william Shakespeare, the dramatst; as
Wl,sam Wherefore, the statesman; as Isaac
Na@ ton, the astronomer; as Robert Boyle,
tire philosopher; as Locke, the metaphysi-
cisl. as Morse, the electrician.
JHsse men never preached-they never
~ lied to preach-but they come out, and
putting down, one his telescope. and another
The e.-etrician's wire, and another the par
! iiancutlry scroll-they come out, and they
I cclriu nd Christ as a comfort to all the peo-
pie. Il Christ that the world needs. Now l
/ do not ask you to take the advice of clergy
mon. Take the advice Of these laymen. 1t
dos n2s make any difference to me at this
~julctuTe what you have said against the
Gl1.e: i does not make any difference to me
at Ills jUncture how you may have carica-
tDrsl religion. Take the advice of men who
are prominent in secular affairs, as these
men /" Dom l have mentioned and others who
Immediately occur to my mind. You see |
to not SCOT at skepticism. l never scotfed
at sEapticisn. have been a natural skeptic.
! 4, HoJ know what the first word was that
| ut, red after entering the world, but l
thlu: It must nave been ''whyT
There were times when l doubted the exist
! enCe Z God, when / doubted the divinity Of
Christ. when 1 doubted the immortality OF
tue soul, when l doubted my WI existence,
when / doubted everything. I have been
! through the whole curriculum OF doubt, and
you eau tell me nothing new about it I
have come out from a great Sahara desert
into the calm, warm, sunshiny land OF the
Gospel, l know about the other land. /
have been there. You can tell me nothing
new about 1t. Aud know all about the
0ther condition Of which you do not know
the trlJn, h Of trusting in God aud in Jesus
Christ whom He has sent. So I am not
scoGin7 il regard to it.
1t outrsges me- to see how soon Christian
people give up the prodigal. I hear Chris
tan people talk as though they thought
the grace Of God were q chain of forty or
fifty Lake, and when they had run out
Of n mans iniquity. If a man were out
aunt!ag for deer, and got of the track
IF tie deer, he would hunt, amid the
bushes aud the brakes longer for the lost
game tlgn he would look for a lost soul.
They say if a man has had the delirium
5remeHs twice he annot be cured. They
say Il q woman has fallen from integrity
she amt be redeemed. All Of which is an
jDiGits SANDER on the Gospel Of the Son of
God. Men who say that know nothing about
practical religion in their own hearts. How
many tines viii God take back q nan
VITO aas iaIlenf Well, / cannot give you the
exact 1gures, but I eau tell you at what
ooint ae certainly will take him back. -Four
hundred and ninety times. Why do I say
our hundred n ninety timess Because
The Bib!o says seventy times seven Now t3-
ire that Gus you who do not think a man
IAN fell four times, eight times, ten times,
;wenty times. one hundred times, four hun
ired t:a;ea and yet be saved. -Four hundred
lnj nlLeiF timesi Why, there is a great
multitude be- ore the throne of God who
plunged INTO all the depths Of iniquity.
There were no sins they did not commit; but
hey we're washed Of body and washed Of
mind and washed Of soul, and they are be-
,ore the throne of God now forever happy. l
wy Jha5 20 encourage any man who feels
here is no chauce for him.
Good Iemplars will not saw you, although
sh4y are Grand institutions. Sons OK Tenn
2erance will not save you, although there is
10 better society on earth. Signing the tenn
/ oerarcs pledge will not save you, although 10
s a gran. thing to do. No one but God can
ave vOL Do not put your confidence in
bromide Of potassium or any thing that the
,r5ta1rar~ can mix. Put you trust in Godl
After the church has cast you OF, and tine
| 9llk has cast you OF, and social circles have
last You of. and all good society have cast
you CT, and father has cast you OF, and
mother has cast you Off, at your first cry for
lslp God viii bend clean down to that ditch
II your in.quity to help you out, Oh, what
IGoItIei Isl Long suffering and graciousl
There may be in this house soue whose
saud -ramoles 50 with dissipation they could
ltraiy hold a hymn book. l say % such il
.hey ara here: you will preach the Gospel
~. You viii yet some OF you, carry the
loly communion through the aisles, and you
vii b acceptable TO everybody because
verToody viii know you are saved and
9uTIdel by the grace OF God, and a conss-
rated man, wholly consecratsI Your bust.
ness hes got to coms up, you physlcs
heath is to be rebuilt your family is TO IL
restored, the Church of God on earth and
IN heaven is to rejoice over your coming,
"Other sheep have I which are not Of this
fo.d.n II this is not the Gospel / do not
know what the Gospel is. 1t can scale any
heiEat. it can fsthom any depth, 1t can com
pass any ininity. I think n reason why
there are not more people saved is we do
net swing the door wide enough open,
Now there is only one class Of persons 10
this house about whom I nave any despond.
srcy, and that 10 those who have been hear.
Ing the Gospel for perhaps twenty, thirty,
forty years. Their outward life is moral,
but they tel you frankly they do not lo7ethe