Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1891-01-23

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probably is the case-that you were dis |
gusted with religion and disguised with |
Christianity because some man who pro-
fessed % be a Christian defrauded you, and .
he being a member Of the church, and you !
taking him as a representative OF the Chris |
tian religion, you said, Well II that's re-
hgion, / don't want any OF it,"
donot know how you came 20 reject
Christianity, but you frankly tell me you do
reject it; you do not think the Bible is the
word Of God, although there are many
things in il you admire; you do not think
that Christ was a divine being, although you
think He was a very good man. You say,
''If the Bible be true-the most of the Bible
be true-I nevertheless think the earlier part
of the Bible is an allegory.' And there are
fifty things that believe You do not bs-
Heye Nevertheless they tell me in regard 10
YOU that you are an accommodating, you
are an oblieing person. IL should come to
you aud ask Of YOU favor you would grant
IL il il were possible. lt would be a Joy for
you TO grant me a favor II any Of your
friends came to you and wanted an accom-
mediation and you could accommodate them,
how glad you would be!
Now am going to asa OF you a favor.
want you to oblige me. The accommoda-
ton will cost you nothing, and you will give
me great happiness or course you will not
deny me. want You as an experiment to
stand the test discard it; If it does, receive
1t.
II you were very sick. and you had been
given up of the doctors, and | came to you,
and took a bottle OF medicine from my
pocket and said Here is medicine am
sure will help you; 1t has cured fifty people
you would say, "Oh, l haven't any conf
dence in it; they tell me all these medicines
will fail me-" "Well," say, will you not,
as matter of accommodation to myself,
Just try itE' WELL you say, II have no
objection TO trying it; II 1t will be any sat.
isfaction TO you will try it." You take it.
Now you are sick in disquietude, sick in sin.
You are not happy. Yor laugh sometimes
when you are miserable There come surges
OF unhappineSS over Jour soul that almost
swamp you. You are unhappy, struck
through with unrest Now, will you not try
this solacr this febrifuge, this anodyne, this
Gospel mt dicine?
"Oh," you say, II haven't any faita in itn
AS a matte OF accommodation, let m1 in
troduce you to the Lord Jesus Christ the
Great Physician. why" YOU say. ~
haven't any faith in Him. Well, now, will
you not just let him come and try His power
on your soul? Just let me introduce Him TO
you do not ask you to take my word for
/ it. | do not ask you take the advice OF cler-
gymen. Perhaps tho clergymen may be
| professionally; perhaps we may give you
wrong advice; perhaps we are morbid on
| that subject; so 90 not ask You to take the
advice OF clergymen. | ask you TO take the
| advice of very respectable laymen, such as
| William Shakespeare, tina dramatist; as
William Wherefore, the statesman; as lsaac
/ Newton, the astronomer; as Robert Boyle,
/ the philosopher; as Locke, the metsphysi-
clan: as Morse, the electrician.
} These men never prpaChel-they nayer
: pretended TO preach-but they come out, ald
putting down, one his telescope and another
/ the electricians wire and another the par
liamentary scroll-they come ont, and they
commend Christ comfort to all the peO-
pie, Il Christ that the world needs. Now |
do not ask you to take the advice OF clergy
men. Take the advice OF these laymen. IL
does not make any difference to me at this
juncture what you have said against the
Bible; it does not make any difference TO me
at this juncture how you may have carica-
tured religion. Take the advice OF men who
are prominent in secular affairs as these
men whom have mentioned and Others who
Immediately occur TO my mind. You see
do not scott at skepticism. | never scoffei
at skepticism. Ihave been a natural skeptic.
do not know what the first word was that
| uttered after entering the world, but
think it must have been "whyr
There were times when doubted the exist
ence of God, when doubted the divinity OF
Christ, when I doubted the Immortality Of
the soul, when doubted my own existence,
when doubted everything | have been
through the whole curriculum Of doubt, and
you can tell me nothing new about it |
have come out from great Sahara desert
into the calm, warm, Sunshiny land OF the
Gospel. | know about the other Land. |
have been there. You can tell me nothing
new about it. And know all about the
other condition of which you do not know
anything-the peace, the comfort, the Joy,
the triumph Of trusting in God aud in Jesus
Christ whom He has sent. 30 | am not
soothing in regard TO it,
1t outrages me to see how soon Christian
people give up the prodigal. | hear Chris
tian people talk as though they thought
the grace of God were a chain of forty or
fifty links. and when they had run out
then there was nothing to touch the depth
of a mans iniquity. II q man were out
! hunting for deer, and got off the track
OF the deer he would hunt, amid the
: busheS and the brakes longer for the lost
game tnan he would look for lost soul.
They say If man has had the delirium
tremens twice he canpot be cured. They
say If a woman has fallen from integrity
she cannot be redeemed All OF which is an
, infinite SANDER on the Gospel of the Son Of
God. Men who say that know nothing about
practical religion in their own hearts. How
many times will God take back a man
, who has faleny Well, cannot give you the
! exact figures, but eau tell you at what
point He certainly will take him back. Four
hundred and ninety times. Why do | say
four hun lred and ninety times' Because
the Bible says seventy times seven. Now fig
ure that out, you who do not think a mar
: can fall four tunes, eight times, ten times
: twenty times, one hundred times, four hun
+ dred times and yet be saved. Four hundred
!. and ninety times Why, there Is q grea'
l multitude before the throne of God who
plunged into all the depths OF iniquity
+ There were no sins they did not commit; bu
e they were washed Of body and washed O.
i mind and washed of SOUL and they are be
$ fore the throne of God now forever happy.
7 say that to encourage any man who feel
Q there is no chance for him.
} Good Templars will not save you, although
9 they are grand institutions Sons OF lem
I perance will not save you, although there Is
r no better society on earth. Signing the tenn
perance pledge willno save you, although
Q is grand thing to do. No one but God cal
save you. Do not put your confidence II
} bromide of potassium OF anything that tn
apothecary can mix. Put you trust in God
After the church has cast you Off, aud tn
3 bank has cast you Off, and social circles hay
r cast you off, and all good society have cas-
} you off, and father has cast you of, ant
mother has cast you off, at your first cry TO
, help God will bend clean down to that ditcl
of your iniquity to help you out. Oh, wha
: God He isl Long suffering and gracious
There may be in this house some who's
, hand trembles SO with dissipation they coulc
, hardly hold a hymn book. l say to such L
|, they are here: "You will preach the Gospe
! yet. You will yet some of you, carry tn,
/ holy communion through the aisles, and yot
a will be acceptable TO everybody becaus'
a everybody will know YOU are saved anC
: purified by the grace Of God, and conse
Grated man, wholly consecrated. Your bust
t ness has got 20 come up, your physica
, health is to be rebuilt, your family is to b'