Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1891-08-01
REV. DR.. 7ALMAGE.
The Eminent Brooklyn Divine's Sun
day Sermon.
Subject: Opportunities for Christians
preached at Madison, Wis.,

preached at Madison, WIS.,
TEXT: WHO knoloeth ,uhether thou art
/ come TO the kingdom for such a time as tbs"
/ Esther iv, IA.
Esther the Beautiful was the wife OF
Ahasuerus the Abomiaable The time had
come for her to present petition to her in
! famous husband in behalf of the Israelitish
| nation, to which she had once belonged She
4 was afraid TO undertake the work lest she
should lose her own life; but her uncle Nor
decai who had brought her up, encouraged
her with the suggestion that probably she
mad been raised up OF God for that peculiar
mission. who knoweth whether thou art
4 come to the kingdom for sucn a time as
4 thlsg Esther had her God-appointed work;
l you and have ours. 1t is my business to
1 tell you what style OF people we ought to be
4 IN order that we may meet the demand of
/ the age in which God has cast our lot II Won
have come expecting TO hear distractions
( discussed or dry technicaiities of religion
( gloriied, you have come to the wrong place;
I but if you really would like to know what
! this age has a right to expect of YOU as
/ Christian men ami women then am ready
! IN the Lords name TO look you in the face
I When two armies have rushed into battle
( the officers of either army do not want phil
/ osophical discussions about the chemical
properties OF human blood or the nature of
( sunpowder They want some one to man
the batteries and swab out the guns. And
now, when all the forces of light and dark
ness, of heaven-and hell, have plunged into
the fight, it is no time to give ourselves to
the definitions and formulas and technicali-
ties and conventonaiities of religion. What
We want is practical, earnest, concentrated,
enthusiastic and triumphant help. What We
need in the East you in Wisconsin need.
In the first place, i'll order TO meet the
special demand of this a ye, you need to b.
an -fat III -
half and half Christians we do not want any
more. The church of Jesus Christ will be
better without ten thousand of them. They
are the chief obstacle to the chureh's adj
vancement. L am speaking of another kind
OF Christian. All the appliances for your
becoming an earnest Christian are at your
baud, and there is straight path for YOU in
to the broad daylight of Gods forgiveness.
You may have come here to-day tine bonds
men OF tie world, an yet before you 90 out
OF these doors you may become the princes
of the Lord God Almighty. You know what
l excitement there is in this country when
foreign prince comes to our shores. Why?
Because it is expected that some day he will
sit upon a throne. But what is all that
honor compared with the honor to which
God calls you-to be sons and daughters of
the Lord Almighty; yea to be queens and
kings unto God! "fhey shall reign with
Him forever aud forever"
But, my friends, you need not be aggres-
sive Christians, and not like those persons
who spend their lives in hugging their Chris
tlan graces and wondering why they do not
make any progress. How much robustness
of health would a man have if he hid him
self il a dark closet? A great deal of piety
of the day is too exclusive. 1t hides itself
1t needs more fresh air, more outdoor exel-
else. There are many Christians who are
giving their entire life to self examination.
They are feeling their pulses to see what is
the condition of their spiritual health. How
/ long would man have robust physical health
if he kept all the days and weeks and months
and years of his life feeling his pulse instead
OF going out INTO active, earnest, everyday
work.
! ! was once amid the wonderful, bewitch-
ing cactus growths of North Carolina [
never was more bewildered with the beauty
OF flowers, and yet when | would take up
one of these cactuses and pull the leaves
apart, the beauty was all gone You could
hardly tell that it hal ever been a flower.
And there are great many Cnristan peo-
pie in this day just pulling apart their
I Christian experiences to see what there is
in them, and there is nothing attractive
left. This style OF self examination is a
damage instead of an advantage to their
Christian character. | remember when [
was boy used to have small piece in
the garden that | called my own, and
planted corn there, aud every few days |
would pull it up to see how fast it was
growing. Now, there ara great many
Christian people in this day whose self ex-
animation merely amounts to the pulling
up of that which they only yesterday or
the day before planted.
Oh, my friends! if you want to have
stalwart Christian character, plant it right
out of doors in the great field of Christian
usefulness, and though storms may como
upon it, and though the hot sun of trial may
fk l,,.,.,
comes great tree, in which the fowls of
heaven may have their habitation. [ have
no patience with these flowerpot Christians
They keep themselves under shelter, and all
their Christian experience in small, exciu-
sive circle when they ought to plant it in
the great garden OF the Lord, so that the
whole atmosphere could be aromatic with
their Christian usefulness What we want
in the church of God is more Drawn of piety.
The century plant Is wonderfully sugges-
tive and wonderfully beautiful, but l never
look at it without thinking OF its parsimouy.
1t lets whole generations go by before it puts
forth one blossom; 50 | have really
more heartfelt admiration wnel | sea
the dewy tears in the blue eyes OF
the violets they come every spring NV
Christian frien Is time is going by 50 rao-
idly that We cannot afford to be idle
/ recent statistician says that human life
now has an average of only thirty-two years
} FROM THESE InlrbE Two years you must sub
/ tract all the time you take for sleep and the
taking Of food and recreation; that will leave
. YOU about sixteen years From those sixteen
years you must subtract all the tms you are
necessarily engaged in the earning of liveli-
+ hood; that will leave you about eight years
From those eight years you must take all the
days and weeks and months-all the length
of time that is passed in childhood and sick
ness, leaving you about one year in which to
+ work for God. Oh, my SOUL wake up HCsy
Garest thou sleep in harvest time and with so
few hours i'll which to reap? So that state
1t as simple fact that all the time that the
/ vast majority of you will have for the ex-
. elusive service of God will be less than one
year
But, says some man. II literally support
the GoSpel, and the church is open and the
Gospel preached; all the spiritual advau-
tages are spread before men, and if they
want to be saved let them come anl b
saved; have discharged all my RESPONSE
/ bllty.' All! is that the Masters spirit9 Is
there not an old Book somewhere that com
mands us to go out into the highways and
hedges and compel the people to come in?
what would have become of you and me if
Christ had not come down Off the hills of
heaven, and il He had not come through the
door OF the Bethlehem carayansary, and if
He had not with the cru shell hand of the
crucifxion knocked at tbs iron gate of the
sepucher of our spiritual death, crying,
lazarus come forth I"
On, my Christian friends, this is no Tina
for inertia, when all the forces OF darkness
seem to be in full blast; when steam printing
presses are pub isniug inGde tracts; when
express railroad trains are carving mes
ssngers OF sim when fast clippers are laden
with 'ium and rum; when the night air of
our cities Is poliutet with the lau Zhter that
breaks up from the ten thousand saloons OF
dissipation and Abandonment; when the tirss
o. the second death already are kintlet in
the cheeks of some vino only little while
ago were incorrupt Never since the curse
fell upon tine earth has there been a tine
when 1t was such an unwise, suca crusi
such an awful thing for the church to slespl
Inc great audiences are not gathered in the
Christian churches; the great au licences ars
gathered in temples of sin--Caars OF unutter-
able woe their baptism, the blood of crushs
hearts the awful wine OF their sacra neat
hlasphemies their litauy, AMI the groaus OF
the lost world the organ dirge OF their
worship.
Again, if you want to bs qualified to meet
the duties which this age demands OF you,
you must on the one hand avoid reckless
iconoc!asn, an 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 theoiogies, ami
lam amazed to see how 50 many Christians
want only novelty in order to recomme end a
thing TO their confidence; AMI so they yacil-
late and swing to and fro. ani they are use
less and they are unhappy. New plans
secular, ethical, philosophical religious els
atlantic, transatlantic. Alb, 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