Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1892-06-16

mlRnU as we'll, DuSlHeSS man, sNdTb ouu III
the morning without food and expect to
be strong all that day-you might as well
abstain from food all the week and expect
TO DO strong physically as to be strong
without prayer. The only way to get any
strength into the soul is by prayer, and the
only difference between that Christian
that is worth everything and that who is
worth nothing is the fact that the last
does not pray and the other does.
And the only difference between this
Christian, who is getting along very fast
in the holy life, and this, who is only get
ting along tolerably is that the first prays
more than the last. You can graduate a
mans progress in religion by the amount
of prayer, not by the number Of hours,
perhaps, but by the earnest supplication
that he puts up to God. There is no ex-
ccption to the rule Show me a Christian
man who neglects this kind of duty and
will show you one who is inconsistent
Show me nun who prays, and his
strength and his power cannot be exag-
Gerated. Why, just give to II man this
power of prayer and you give him almost
omnipotenCC.
This afternoon you will see two Sabbath
school teachers. That one does not gain
the attention of her class. This one does.
intellccts being about cqualg The first
thought only of her own apparel The
other came from great prostration before
God in earnest suppicatTn, asking that
Gods mercy might come upon the school,
and that in the afternoon she might gain
the attention of those five or six immortaS
that would be around her The one teacher
has no control over her class. The other
sits as with the strength of the Lord God
Almighty
\ minister comes into the pulpit lie
has magnificent sermon, all the sentences
rounded according to the laws of rhetoric
and fine scrmonizing, and the truth makes
no impression on the hearts of men. Poo
pie go away and say, VERY beautiful,
wasn't it," a plain man comes into the
pulpit. lie has been on his knees before
God, asking for an especial message that
day, and the hearts of men open to the
plain truth, the broken sentences strike
into their conscienccs, and, though the
people may dispense at the close of the scrv-
ices seemingly without having received
any impression, that night voices will be
lifted in some household, Men and brcth-
rem, what shall we do to be saved?" Oh,
this power of prayerl Pray Pray
Another word of counsel have to give
Be faithful in Bible research. A great
many good books are now coming ont. We
cannot read half Of them. At every rcvo-
| luton Of the printing press they are COM
| ing. They cover our parlor tables and are
| in our sitting rooms and libraries. Gloli-
| Gus books they are. We thank God every
| day for the work of the Christian printing
| press. But | have thought that perhaps
! the followers of Christ sometimes allow
| this religious literature to take their at
tention from Gods word and that there
| may not he as much Bible reading rs there
ought to be.
How is that with your own experience?
! just calculate in your minds how much
religious literature you have read during
the year, and then how large a portion of
| the Word of God You have read and then
contrast the two and answer within your
own soul whether you are giving more at
tention to the books that We're written by
the hand of man or that written by the hand
of God. Now you go to the drug store and
you get the mineral waters but Won bave
| noticed that the waters are not so fresh
or sparkling or healthful as when You get
these very waters at Saratoga and Sb::ron
getting them right where thy bubble
from the rock. And | have noticed the
same thing in regard to the truth Of the
Gospel; while there is a good deal of re
frcShment and health Of the Gospel of God
rs it comes through good books, find it is
better when | come TO the eternal rock of
| Gods Word and drink from that fountain
| that bubbles up fresh and pure to the life
| and the refreshment and the health Of the
soul.
READ THE BIBLE.
Read the Bible and it brings YOU into
the association of the best people that ever
lived. You stand beside Moses and learn
his meekness, beside Job and learn hi, pa
thence, beside Paul and catch something
of his enthusiasm, beside Christ and You
feel his love. And yet how strange it is
that great many men have given their
whole lives to the assaulting of that book.
! cannot understand it. Tom Paine work
cd against that book as though he received
large wages, and was inspired by the very
powers of darkness, confcssing that all the
time he was writing he did not have the
Bible anywhere near him How many
powerful intellccts have underworld to de.
stroy it. Hume, Boiingbrokc, Voltaire
have been after it. Ten thousand men
now are warning against the truth OF
Gods Word. What do you think OF
them? | think it is mean, and will prove
it, will prove it is the meanest thing
that has ever been done in all the centu.
turtles.
There is n ship at sea and in trouble
The captain and the crew are at their wits
end. You are on board. You are an old
seaman. You come up and give some good
counsel, which is kindly taken. That i.
all right. But suppose, instead of doing
that, in the midst of all the trouble YOU
pick up the only compass that is on board
and pitch it over the talrrail? Oh you say
that is dastardly But is it as mean a,
this? Here is the vessel of the world going
on with sixteen hundred millions of pas
sengcrs, tossed and driven in the tempest
and at the time we want help the inlide
comes and he takes hold of the only com
pass and lie tries to pitch it overheard. II
is contemplate beyond everything that i.
contemplate. Have you any better light
Bring it on if you have Have you any
better comfort to give US? Bring it on i
you have. Have you any better hone
Bring it on if you have, and then You ma,
have this Bible and | shall never want il
again.