The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-08-05

speaking VIII hear"
o. impenitent soul, have you ever
tried the power of prayer? God says
"He is loving and faithful and patient
Do you believe that? You are told that
Christ came to save sinners. Do you be
lieve that? You are told that all you
have to do to get the pardon of the gos'
pei is to ask for it. Do you believe that.
Then come to Him and say: 80, Lord,
know Thou canst not lie. Thou hast
told me to come for pardon, and l could
get it l come, Lord, keep Thy promise
and liberate my captive soul"
o, that you might have an altar in the
parlor, in the kitchen, in the store, in
the barn, for Christ will be willing TO
come again to the manger to hear
prayer He would come in your place
of business as he confronted Matthew,
the tax commissioner. If measure
should come before congress that you
thought would ruin the nation, how you
would send in petitions and remon-
strances. And yet there has been
enough sin in your heart to ruin it for
ever and you have never demonstrated
or petitioned against it. If your
physical health failed, and you had the
means, you would go and spend the
summer in Germany and the winter in
Italy. and you would think it a very
cheap outlay if you had to go all around
the earth to get back your physical
health. Have You made any effort, any
expenditure, any eXertion for your i'm
mortal and spiritual health? No, you
have not taken one step.
o that you might now begin to seek
after God with earnest Prayer. Some
of you have been working for years
and years for the support of your fami-
lies Have you given one half day to
the working out of your salvation with
fear and trembling? You came here
this morning with an earnest purpose,
take it, as have come hither with an
earnest purpose, and we meet face to
face. and tell you, first of all, if you
want to find the Lord, you must pray.
and pray and pray.
remark. again, you must seek the
Lord through Bible study. The Bible
is the newest book in the world. so"
you say, st was made hundreds of
years ago, and the learned men of King
James translated it hundreds of years
ago" I confute that idea by telling
YOU it is not five minutes old, when
God, by His blessed Spirit retranslates
it into the heart. If you will, in seek
ing of the way of life through Scripture
study. implore Gods light to fall upon
the page you will find that these prom
ises are not one second old, and that
they drop straight from the throne of
God into your heart.
There are many people to whom the
Bible does not amount to much. If
they merely look at the outside beauty,
why it will no more lead them to Christ
than Washington's farewell address or
the Koran of Mahomet or the Shaster
of the Hindoos. 1t is the inward light
of Gods word you must get or die.
o my friends if you merely want to
study the laws of language do not go to
the Bible. 1t is not made for that.
Take Howe's Elements of Criticism. 1t
would be better than the Bible for that.
If you want to study metaphysics bet
ter than the Bible will be the writings
of William Hamilton. But if you want
to know how to have sin pardoned, and
at last to gain the blessedness of
Heaven, search the Scriptures, ''for in
them We have eternal life"
When people are anxious about their
souls-and there are some such here to-
day-there are those who recommend
good books. That is all right. But l
want to tell you that the Bible is the
best book under such circumstances.
Baxter wrote, "a Call to the Uncon-
verted. '' but the Bible is the best call
to the unconverted. Philip Doddridge
wrote, ''The Rise and Progress of
Religion in the Soul,' but the Bible
is the best rise and progress. John
Angel James wrote, advice to the
Anxious Inquirer" but the Bible is the
best advice to the anxious inquirer.
o the Bible is the very book you need,
anxious and inquiring soul! A dying
soldier said to his mate: ''Comrade,
give me a DROP The comrade shook
up the canteen and said: ''There isn't
drop of water in the canteen." 80, >
said the dying soldier, that's not what
I want; feel in my knapsack for my
Bible" and his comrade found the Bible
and read him a few of the gracious
promises, and the dying soldier said:
''Ah. that's what l want. There isn't
ANYTHING like the Bible for dying sol
dier. is there, my comrade?" o, blessed
book while we live Blessed book when
we die
l remark again. we must seek (Tod
| through church ordinances 'What,
say you, cant man be saved with
out going to church?" Ireply there
are men, / suppose, in glory, who have
never seen a church: but the church is
the ordained means by which we are tC
be brought to God; and if truth affects
US when we are alone, it affects us more
nightly when we are in the assembly
the feelings of others, emphasizing
our own feelings The great law o.
sympathy comes into play and a truth
that would take hold only with the
grasp of a sick man beats nightly
against the soul with thousand heart
| throbS.
When you come into the religious cir
Gle, come only with one notion and only
with one purpose-to find the way x
Christ When 1 see people critiea
about sermons and critical about tone:
of voice, and critical about sermonic de
livery they make me think of man il
prison. He is condemned to death, but
an officer of the government brings q
pardon and puts it through the wicket
of the prison and says: Here is YOU
pardon. Come and get it" What! dc
expect me to take that pardon, Offered
with such a voice as you have
ond with such an awkward manner