The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1891-01-21

thC ASNCis WhCh WO ouoAA " SuSh OsAASe
in any Christian undertaking. Power
from on the level when other pulpits
are in accord with ours. Power from
on the level when the religious and sec
ular press forward our Christian under
tallings. But power from on the levels
is not sufficient Power from on high is
what we need to take possession OF us.
Power straight from God. Supernatural
power. Omnipotent power, all-conquer-
ing power. Not more than one out
of thousand of the ministers have it
continuously. Not more than one out
of ten thousand Christians have it all
the time. Given in abundance these
last ten years of the nineteenth century
would accomplish more for God and the
church and the world than the previous
ninety years of this century.
A few men and women in each age OF
the world have possessed it. Caroline
Fry, the immortal Quakeress, had it,
and three hundred of the depraved and
suffering of Newgate prison under her
exhortation repented and believed.
Jonathan Edwards had it, and North
ampton Westinghouse heard the out
burst of religious emotion as he spake
of righteousness and judgment to come.
Samuel Budget, the Christian mer-
chant, had it, and his benefactions
showered the world. John Newton
had it. Bishop Latimer had it. Isabel
la Graham had it. Andrew Fuller had
it. The great evangelists, DR.. Baker
and DR.. Nettleton and Truman Osborn
and Charles G. Finney had it. In my
boyhood l saw Truman Osborn rise
to preach in the village church
at Somerville, N. j., and be-
fore he had given out his text or uttered
a word, people in the audience sobbed
aloud with religious emotion. 1t was
the power from on high. All in greater
or less degree may have it. Once get it
and nothing can stand before you. Sa-
tan goes down. Caricature goes down.
Intidelity goes down. Worldliness goes
down. All opposition goes down.
Several times in the history Of the
church and the world has this power
from on high been demonstrated. In
the seventeenth century, after great
season of moral depression, this power
from on high came down upon John Til
lotson and Owen and Flavel and Baxter
and Bunyan, and there was deluge Of
mercy higher than the tops Of the high
est mountains Of sin. In the eighteenth
century, in England and America, re-
ligion was at low water mark. Will
liam Cowper, writing of the clergy of
those times, said:
Except few with Els spirit blest,
Hophni and Phineas may describe the rest
The infdel writings of Shaftesbury and
Hobbs and Chubb had done their work.
But power from OF high came upon
both the Wesleys and Lady Huntington
on the other side of the Atlantic, and
upon William Tenant and David Brain
ard Of this side the Atlantic, and both
hemispheres felt the tread of a pardon
ing Cod Coming to later date, there
may be in this audience an aged man
or woman who can remember New
York in 1881 when this power from on
uCoCChuCu lhOoC WOhulouSly. IL
came upon pastors and congregations
and theaters and commercial estab-
lishments. Chatham Street Theater,
New York, was the scene of a most ire
mendous awakening. A committee of
Christian gentlemen called upon the
lessee of the theater and said they
would like to buy the lease of the thea
ter. He said: "What do you want it
for?" They replied: 'For church"
"For wh-a-a-t?" said the owner "For
church, was the reply. The owner
said: You may have it and ! will give
you 81, 900 to help you on with the work. :"
Arthur Tappan, a man nilghtily perse-
cuted in his time, but a man, as saw
him in his last days, as honest and pure
and good as any man ever knew, step
ped on the stage of old Chatham Thea
ter as the actors were closing their
morning rehearsal and said: 'There
will be preaching here tonight on
this stage" and then gave out and sang,
with such people as were there, the old
hymn:
The voice of free grace cries, escape to the
mountain.
For all that believe Christ has opened fount-
ain.
The bar-room of the theater was
turned into prayer-room, and 800 per-
sons were present at the first meeting.
For seventy successive nights religious
services We're held in that theater, and
such scenes of mercy and salvation as
will be subjects of conversation and
congratulation among the ransomed in
glory as long as Heaven lasts. But l
come to later me-1S57-remem-
bered by many who are here.
remember it especially as l had just
entered the office of the ministry. 1t
was year of hard times. A great panic
had h"ng hundreds of thousands of peo-
pie penniless. Starvation entered hab-
itations that had never before known a.
want. Domestic life, in many cases, be-
came tragedy. Suicide, garroting,
burglary, assassination were rampant.
What an awful day that was when the
banks went down. There has been
nothing like it for thirty years and l
pray God there may not be any thing
like it in the next thirty centuries. Talk
about your Black Fridays! 1t was Black
Saturday, Black Sunday, Black Mon
day, Black Tuesday, Black Wednesday,
Black Thursday, as well as Black Fri
DAY.
This nation in its extremity foil help
less before the Lord and cried for par
don and peace, and upon ministers and
laymen the power from on high de-
scended. Engine houses, warerooms,
hotel parlors. museums. factories from