Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1891-08-07


presses are publishing iufdel tracts; when
express railroad trains are carrying mes
sengers OF sin; when fast clippers are laden
with opium and rum; when the night air OF
our cities is polluted with the laughter that
breaks I'D from the ten thousand saloons Of
dissipation and abandonment; when the fires
of the second death already are kindle1 in
the cheeks OF some who only little while
ago were iLcorrupt. Never since the curse
fell upon the earth has there been time
when it was such an unwise, such a cruel,
such an awful thing for the church to sleep!
The great audiences are not gathered in the
Christian churches; the great audiences are
gathered In tenn pies of sin-tears of unutter-
able woe their baptism, the blood of crushed
hearts the awful wine of their sacrament,
blasphemies their litany, and the groans of
the lost world the organ dirge Of their
worship.
Again, if you want to be qualified to meet
the duties which this age demands of you,
you must on the one hand avoid reckless
icOnociasm, 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
lam amazed to see how so many Christians
want only novelty in order to recommend
thing to their confidence; and so they vacil-
late and swing to and fro, and they are use
less and they are unhappy. New plans
secular, ethical, philosophical religious, els
atlantic, transatlantic. All, my brother, do
not adopt 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 single enterprise of the church or the
world but has sometimes been scOtfed at.
There was time when men derided even
Bible societies. and when 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-
DOSterOuS.
And SO also the work Of Jesus Christ was
assailed. People crie1 out ''WhOever heard
of such theories of ethics and government?
Whoever noticed such style of preaching
as Jesus has?' Ezekiel had talked of mys-
terious wings and wheels. Here came man
from Capernaum and Gennesaret and He
drew His illustrations from the lakes from
the sand from the ravine, from the lilies
fron the cornstalks. How the Pharissas
scoffedJ How Herol derided! How Caiphas
Missed! And this Jesus they plucked by the
beard, and they spat in His face, and they
called Him this fellow" All the great en-
terprises in and out of the church have at
times been scoffed at, and there have been
great multitude who have thought that the
chariot of Gods truth would fall to pieces if
it once got out of the old rut
And SO there are those who have no pa
tience with anything like Improvement in
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 rhet cal Suits. Oh, that the
Church of God would wake up to an adapt
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 E linburgh
who never hear the Gospel There are 0ns
VlnIo
Gospel. There are at least three hun Trad
thousand souls in the city o: Brooklyn WHO
rome not under the i'm mediate administrations
OF Christs truth, and the Church OF Go in
this day, instead of being place full Of
living epistles, read and known OF all men,
is more like lead letter" pos50tfice.
But" say the people, 1.-THE world is going
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 convert
ing the world, the world is converting the
church. Here is great fortress How shall
IL be taken? An army comes and sits around
about it, cuts off the plies and says Now
we will lust wait until from exhaustion and
starvation they will 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 fOrtresseS Of sin are never to
be taken in 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 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, there is work for YOU to
10 and for me to do in order to achieve this
grand accomplishment! Here is a pulpit,
and 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
oouse scaffolding. Your pulpit is the me-
shop. may stand in this place and.
through cowardice or through self seeking, |
nay keep back the word [ ought to utter: |
While you, with sleeve rolled up and brow
with toll, may utter the word !.
that will jar the foundation Of heaven with
the shout of a great victory. Oh, that to- !
lay 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 have as much
light to preach as have or as any man has
Only find out the pulpit where God will |
Gave you preach, and there preach.
dedley Wears was a wicked man in the
English army. The grace of God came to
him. He became earnest and eminent
Christian. They scoffed at him and said, |
You are 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
hypocrite, they said to him, ooh, 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 encarnp-
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 tie light of those |