The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1892-08-04
CRISIS OF TIE SOUL.
DR.. TALMAGE ON THE IMPORTANCE
OF OPPoRTUNE ACTION.

tssish's Vivid Presentation of the Per-
sonalitY of Christ-A Present Saviour.
Ouonoh Not the SpirIt-Ths Bible IL
Now Every Hour to the Truly Converted.
LONDON, July 24.-The attendances
at the services conducted by Rev. DR..
Talmage continue as great as ever. At
every stopping point during his preach.
ing tour he is greeted by phenomenal
The sermon selected for
this week is entitled 1.-The Souls
Crisis" from Isaiah lv, 6, ''Seek We the
Lord while he may be found"
Isaiah stands Lead and shoulders
above the other Old Testament authors
in vivid descriptlveness OF Christ. Other
prophets give an outline of our Sayiour's
features. Some Of them present, rs it
were; the side face of Christ; others q
bust OF Christ. But Isaiah gives us tho
1ull length portrait of Christ. Other
Scripture writers excel IN some things
more weird, David more pa
thetic, Solomon more epigrammatic,
Ha0akkuk more sublime-but when YOU
want to see Christ coming out from the
gates of prophecy in all his grandeur
and glory you involuntarily turn to Isa-
iah. So that if the prophecies in regard
to Christ might be called the "Oratorio
OF the Messiah" the writing of Isaiah ls
the ''Halleluiah Chorus" where all the
batons wave and all the truplpets come
in. Isaiah was not man picked up out
OF lnslgniGcance by inspiration. He
was known and hOnOred. Josephus and
Philo and Sirach eXtolled him IN their
writings. What Paul was among the
apostles Isaiah was among the prophets.
come today with no hairspun theo-
RES ofreligion, with no nice distinctions,
with no elaborate disquisitlon, but with
plain talk on the matters OF personal
religion. feel that the sermon | preach
this morning will be the SAVIOR of life
unto life or Of death unto death. In
other words, the Gospel of Christ is Il
powerful medicine; it either kills or
cures. There are those who say: ~
would like to become Il Christian.
have been waiting good while for the
right kind of influence to come" And
atill you are waiting. You are wiser
III worldly things than you are in religi-
GUS things. And yet there are men who
say they are waiting to get to heaven
waiting, waiting, but not with intelh-
gent waiting, or they would get on board
the line Of Christian influences that
would bear them into the kingdom of
God.
Now you know very well that to seek
thing is to search for 1t with earnest
endeavor. If you want to see a certain
man In London, and there is a matter of
much money connected with your seeing
him, and you cannot at first find him,
you do not give up the search. You
look in the directory, but cannot find
the name; you 60 in circles where you
think perhaps he may minglc, and hav-
ing found the part OF the city where he
lives, but perhaps not knowing the
street, you 60 through street after street
and from block to block, and you keep
on searching for weeks and for months.
You say, at Is n matter of 100000
whether l see him or not" Oh, that
men were as persistent In seeking for
Christ! Had you one-half that persis-
tence you would long ago have found
him who is the Joy of the forgiven spirit.
We may pay our debts, we may attend
church, we may relieve the poor, we
may be public benefactors, and yet all
our life disobey the text, never seek
God, never gain heaven. Oh, that the
idea OF God would help this morning
While l try to show yOu In carrying out
the idea of my text first, how to seek
the Lord, and in the next place, when
to seek him. 'Seek ye the Lord while
he may be found"
remark, in the first place, YOU are
to seek tho Lord through earnest and
believing prayer. God is not an auto.
crat or despot seated On throne with
his arms resting on brazen lions and
sentinel pacing up and down at the foot
OF the throne. God Is father seated in
bower, waiting tor his children to come
and climb on his kuee and get his kiss
and his benediction. Prayer is the cup
with which we 90 to the "fountain OF
living water" and dip up retreshment
for our thirsty soul. Grace does not
come to the heart as we set cask of
water to catcl. the rain in the shower.
1t ls pulley fastened to the throne of
God which we pull, bringing the bless
ing.
l do not care SO much what posture
you take IN prayer, nor how large an
amount OF voice you use. You might
get down on your face before God, if you
did not pray right inwardly, and there
would be no response. You might cry
at the top OF your voice, and unless ycu
had a believing spirit within, your cry
would not 60 farther up than the shout
OF a plow boy to his oxen. Prayer must
be believing, earnest, loving. You are
IN your house some summer day, and n |
shower comes mp, and bird allrighted |
darts into the window and wheels around
the room. You seize 1T. You smooth
its ruilled plumagc. You feel its tlut.
terlng heart. You say, "Poor thing,
poor thing!" Now a prayer goes out
OF the storm of this world into the win.
dow Of Gods mercy, and he catches it,
and he feels it's iluttering pulse, and he
puts 1t In his own bosom of affection and
safety.
Prayer is warm, a, dent, pulsating
exercise. 1t is the electric battery
which touched thrills TO the throne OF
God! 1t Is the diving bell in which we
go down into the depths of Gods mercy
and bring up ''pearls of great price.H
There Is an instance where prayer made
the waves o. Gennesaret solid a. gran.
lte pavement Oh how mopy won do,