Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1891-07-17


vast concourse of people assembled this
morning ON the historic camp ground
at High Bridge, KY, to hear DIR. Tai
mage preach. They came from all the
surrounding cities, towns and neigh
borhood. A large contingent from
Louisville and another from Cincinnati
were present. Many of the visitors
have remained here since yesterday
afternoon, when DIR. Talmage preached
in the same place. The text of his
sermon this morning was from Acts
3 Is: ave are Witnesses"
Standing amid the hills and groves
of Kentucky, ana before this great null
titude that no man can number, most
of whom / never saw before and never
will see again in this world, l choose a
very practical theme. In the days OF
George Stephenson, the perfector of the
locomotive engine, the scientists
proved conclusively that n rail
road train could never be driven
by steam power successfully without
peril; but the rushing express train
from Liverpool to Edinburgh, and from
Edinburgh to London, have made all ma
tions witnesses of the splendid achieve
ment. Machinists and navigators
proved conclusively that steamer
could never cross the Atlantic Ocean;
but no sooner had they successfully
proved the impossibility of such an un-
dertaking than the work was done
and the passengers on the
Cunard and the Inman and the
National and the White Star lines are
witnesses. There went up guffaw
of wise laughter at Prof. Morse's
proposition to make the lightning of
heaven his errand boy, and it was
proved conclusively that the thing
could never be done; but now all the
news of the wide world put in your
hands every morning and night, has
made all nations witnesses.
So in the time of Christ 1T was proved
conclusively that it was impossible for
him to rise from the dead. 1t was
shown logically that when a man was
dead, he was dead, and the heart and
the liver and the lungs having ceased
to perform their offices, the limbs
would be rigid beyond all power
of friction or arousal. They showed
1t to be an absolute absurd
ity that the dead Christ should ever get
up alive; but no sooner had they proved
this than the dead Christ arose, and the
disciples beheld him, heard his voice,
and talked with him, and they took the
witness stand, to prove that to be true
which the wiseacres of the day had
proved to be impossible; the record of
the experiment and of the testimony is
in the text: "Him hath God raised from
the dead, whereof we are witnesses"
Our weapon in this conflict is faith,
not logic; faith, not metaphysics; faith,
not profundity; faith, not scholastic
exploration. But then, in order to
have faith, we must have testimony,
and if five hundred men, or one thous-
and men, or five hundred thousand
men, or five million men get up and
tell me that they have felt the religion
of Jesus Christ. a JOY, comfort, n
help, an inspiration, am
bound as fair-minded man
to accept their testimony.
want Just now to put before you three
propositions, the truth of which think
this audience will attest with over
wbelming pnanimity. The first propo-
sition is: We are Witnesses that the re-
ligion of Christ is able to convert soul.
The Gospel may have had a hard time
to conquer us, we may have fought it
back, but we were vanquished. You
say conversion is only an imaginary
thing. We know better, "We are
witnesses" There never was so great
change in our heart and life on any
other subject as on this. People laughed
at the missionaries in Madagascar
because they preached ten years
without one convert; but there are
many thousands of converts in NADIA
gascar to-day. People laughed at DR..
Judson, the Baptist missionary, be-
cause he kept on preaching in Burmah
five years without single convert; but
there are many thousands of Baptists
in Burmah to-day. People laughed at
DIR. Morrison, in China, for preaching
there seven years without single con-
version; but there are many thousands
of Christians in China to-day. People
laughed at the missionaries at Tahiti
for preaching for fifteen years without
single conversion, and at the mission
aries for preaching in Bengal seven
teen years without a single CONVEX
sion; vet in all those lands there
are multitudes of Christians to-day.
But why go so far to find evidences OF
the gospels power to save soul? "We
/ are witnesses" We were 90 proud that
no man could have humbled us; We
were so hard that no earthly power
could have melted us; angels of God
were all around about us; they could
not overcome us; but one day, perhaps
at Methodist anxious seat, or at a
| Presbyterian catechetical lecture, or al
burial, or on horseback, a power
seized us, and made us get down
and made us tremble, and made
us lSneel, and made us cry for
mercy, and we tried TO wrench our
selves away from the grasp, but we
could not. 1t flung us fiat, and when
we arose we were as much changed as
Gourgis, the heather, who went into @
prayer-meeting with a dagger and q
gun, to disturb the meeting and destroy
it, but the next day was found crying
"Ohl my great sins! Oh! my great
SaviorI" and for elevenlyears preached
the Gospel of Christ to his fellow
mountaineers, the last words on hi:
dying lips being "Free grace" oh, il
was free grace!
Now, il should demand that al
those people here present who have
felt the converting power of religion
should rise, SO far from being ashamed
they would spring to their feet will
more alactrity than they ever sprane
TO the dance, the tears mingling with
their exhilaration as they cried. eve