Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1891-08-06


come ini What would have become Of you
and me II Christ had not come down OF
the hills OF heaven, and IL he had not come
through the door Of the Bethlehem cara
vansary, and II he had not with the crushed
hand Of the crucinxion knocked at the iron
gate OF the sepulcher Of our spiritual
death, crying, Lazarus, come forthP
Oh, my Christian friends, this Is no time
for inertia, when all the forces Of darkness
seem 70 be In full blast; when steam print
ing presses are publishing inhdel tracts;
when express railroad trains are carrying
messengers OF sin; when fast clippers are
laden with opium and rum; when the night
air of our cites Is polluted with the laugh
ter that breaks up from the ten thousand
saloons of dissipation and abandonment;
when the fires of the second death already
are kindled in the cheeks Of some who
only q little while ago were incorrupt
Never since the curse fell upon the earth
has there been a time when it was such an
unwise, such a cruel, such an awful thing
for the church to sleepi 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, II 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 80
many Christians want only novelty in
order to recommend 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 1t is new. Try It by
the realities of 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 scoffed
at. There was time when men derided
even Bible societies; and when few young
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 preposterous.
And SO also the work of Jesus Christ
was assailed. People cried out, whoever
heard of such theories Of ethics and gov
ernmenti Whoever noticed such style
of preaching us Jesus hasi" Ezekiel had
talked of mysterious wings and wheels.
Here came a man from Capernaum and
Gennesaret, and he drew his illustrations
from the lakes, from the sand, from the
ravine, from the lilies, from the constalks.
| How the Pharisees scoffedl How Herod
deridedI How Caiphas hissedl And this
Jesus they pfucked by the beard, and they
spat in his face, and they called him this
fellowp' All the great enterprises In and
out of the church have at times been
scoffed at, and there have been a great
multitude who 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 like improvement in
church architecture or with anything like
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 tht
Church Of &c would wake up to an adapt
ability of work. We must admit the sim
pie fact that .he churches Of Jesus Chris
In this day do not reach the great masses
There are fifty thousand people in Edin
Aurgh who never hear the Gospel. Their
are one million people in London wht
| never hear the Gospel. There are at least
three hundred thousand souls in the cit!
of Brooklyn who come not under the i'm
mediate mipistrations of Christ's truth
and the Church of God in this day. instead
of being place full of living epistles, reaG
and known of all men. is more like "deat
letter" postoffice.
"But," say the people, "the world is go
ing to be converted. You must be patient
The kingdoms Of this world are to becom
the kingdoms of Christ" Never, unles
the church of Jesus Christ puts on NOR
speed and energy Instead Of the churc
converting the world, the world is convert
ing the church Here is great fortress
How shall it be takens An army come
and sits around about It, cuts Off the sur
plies and says, "Now we will just wait ur
til from exhaustion and starvation the
will have to give up" Weeks and months
and perhaps year, pass along, and fnall
the fortress surrenders through that stai
walton and exhaustion. But, my friends
the fortresses of sin are never to be take
!: in that way. Ii they are taken for God
will be by storm. You will have to brin
up the great siege guns of the Gospel to th
very wall, and wheel the flying artiller
| into line, and when the armed infantry {
, heaven shall confront the battlements 20
/ will have to give the quick comman,
! Forward! Chargep'
. All, my friends, there Is work for you
. do and for me to do in order to achieve tn
I grand accomplishment Here is pulpi
, and clergyman breaches in it. Your pulp
| is the bank. Your pulpit is the store. Yor
pulpit is the editorial chair. Your pulp
| is the anvil. Your pulpit is the hou:
scaffolding. Your pulpit is the mechanic
: shop. l may stand in this place an
| through cowardice orthrough self seekin
5 may keep back the word ought to ute
D while you, with sleeve rolled up and bro
l besweated with toll, may utter the VOL
4 that will jar the foundation OF heaven wit
. the shout of great victory. Oh, that t
!. day this whole audience might feel thi
0 the Lord Almighty Is putting upon the
|. the hands of ordination. Every one, s
9 forth and preach this gospel You ha'
0 as much right to preach "a have, or
i any man has. Only find out the pulp
r where God will have you preach. and the
+ preach.
n Hedley Wears was wicked man in Il
t English army. The grace Of God came