The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1892-06-15

ices seemingly without having received
any impression, that night voices will be
lifted in some household, Men and breth-
rem, what shall we do to be saveds" Oh,
this power of prayerl Prayl Pray
Another word of counsel have to give.
Be faithful in Bible research. A great
many good books are now coming out. We
cannot read half of them. At every revo-
luton of the printing press they are COM
ing. They cover our parlor tables and are
in our sitting rooms and libraries. Glori-
Gus books they are. We thank God every
day for the work of the Christian printing
press. But l 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 be as much Bible reading as there
ought to be.
How is that with your own experienced
Just calculate in your minds how much
religious literature you have read during
the year, and then how large portion of
1le 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 were 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 you have
noticed that the waters are not so fresh
or sparkling or healthful as when you get
these very waters at Saratoga and Sharon
getting them right where they bubble
from the rock. And | have noticed the
same thing in regard to the truth of the
Gospel; while there is good deal of re-
freshment and health of the Gospel of God
as it comes through good books, find it is
better when L 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 thatever
lived. You stand beside Moses and learn
his meekness, beside Job and learn his 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
ed against that book as though he received
large wages, and was inspired by the very
powers of darkness, confessing that all the
time ne was writing he did not have the
Bible anywhere near him. How many
powerful intellects have endeavored to de-
stroy it, Hume, Bolingbroke, Voltaire
nave bcCu dibSE IT, 1Cn bnOuSdnu ulcu
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 a 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 is
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 taffrail? Oh, you say,
that is dastardly. But is it as mean as
this? Here is the vessel of the world going
on with sixteen hundred millions of pas
sengers, tossed and driven in the tempest,
and at the time we want help the infdel
comes and he takes hold of the only COM
pass and he tries to pitch il overheard. 1t
is contemplate beyond everything that is
contemptible Have you any better light?
Bring it on if you have. Have you any
better comfort to give us? Bring it on if
you have Have you any better hope?
Bring it on if you have, and then you may
have this Bible and l shall never want il
again.
But / can think of a meaner thing than
that. and that is an old man going along
on the mountains with a staff in one hand
and a lantern in the other. Darkness has
come on suddenly. He is very old, just
able to pick his way out amid the rocks
and precipices, leaning on his staff with
one hand and guiding himself with the
light in the other. You come up and say:
Father, you seem to be lost. You are a
long way from home. Yes" he replies.
And then you take him by the hand and
lead him home. That is very kind of you.
But suppose instead of that you should
snatch the staff from his hands and hurl
it over the rocks, and snatch the lantern
and blow # out? That would be das-
tardly, contemplate until there is no
depth of contempt beneath it. If you have
better staff, give it to him. If you have
better light, give it to him.
A LIGHT TO OUR FEET.
When God has put the staff Of the Cos
pei in our hands and the lamp of Gods
word to light our feet are you going to
take from US our only support and our only
illumination love the sting of the wasp
and the rattlesnake better than do the
man who wants to clutch the word of God
from my grasp. There are people here who
have been reading it good while. 1t is
precious book to their souls. 1t has been
so in time of darkness and trouble. There
was soldier who fell in battle, and after
he had fallen he said in feeble voice to
his comrade, Give me drop" His COM
rade replied, There is not a particle Of
water in my canteen." oh" he said, 81
didn't mean that. Look in my knapsack
and you will find Bible there. Get out
that old Bible and just give me drop out
of that" And his comrade found the BIZ
BILE and read few passages. The dying
soldier said, "Oh, George. there is nothing
like that, is there, for dying SOLDIER"
Cling to your Biblel If this Bible should
be destroyed, if all the Bibles that have
ever been printed should be destroyed, we
could make up a Bible right out of this
audience. From that Christian mans ex-
perience | take one cluster of promises,
and from that old Christian mans expert
ence another, put them all together. and
think | would have Bible
You see, my friends l have not tried to
hide the fact that 1 have large expectation
OF you who have entered the Christian life.
Do not be discouraged. Press on toward
the prize, God beside you and heaven be-
fore you. Keep your courage up. Look
in thirty years from now upon this church.
Another man in the pulpit Other faces
In the pews. Another man leading the
song. Others carrying around the aims
boxes of the church. All changed. Thirty
years have gone, and / look into the faces
of the people, and say: "Why, it seems
TO me I have seen these reople som