Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1892-08-05
REV. DR.. TALMLGE.
TIE BROOKLYN DIvINE'S sun.
DAY SERMON.
SUBJECT: THE Souls GRIEF
PREACHED IN LONDON.

give au outlue vi our SaViOur5 features
Some OF them present, as il were the side
face of Christ Others a bust of Christ bnt
Isaiah gives us the full length portrait OF
Christ. Other Scripture writers excel in
tome things. Ezekiel more weird. David
more pathetic, Solomon more epigrammatic.
Habakkuk more sublime, but when Won want
to see Christ coming out from the gates OF
prophecy in all His grandeur and glory, YOU
involuntarily turn to Isaiah
So that II the prophecies in regard to
Christ might he called the "Oratorio OF
the Messiah, the writing of Isaiah is the
"Hallelujah Chorus" where all the batons
wave and all the trnmpets come. Isaiah
was not a man picked up out of insignifi
| cance by inspiration. He was known and
honored. Josephus and Philo and Srach ex- :
tolled him in their writings What Paul was
among the apostles, Isaiah was among the
prophets.
My text finds him standing on a mountain
| OF inspiration, looking out into the future
beholdin9 Christ advancing and anxious
that all men might know Him, his voics
rings down the ages, Seek We the Lord
while He may be found" "Oh," says some
one that was for olden times" No, my
! hearer. Ii you have Travelled in other lands
! you lave taken circular letter of credit
| from some banking house III London, and in
! st. Petersburg or Venice or Rome or Ant
| WtTp OF DIuS>tlS OF urls you presenter tnAL
| letter and got financial help Immediately.
/ And | want you to understand that the text,
instead of being appropriate for ons age or
| for one land is a circular letter for all ages
and for all lands, and whenever it is pre-
! sented for help, the help comes Seek ye
! the Lori while He may be foun'."
come to-day with no hairspun theories
| OF religion, with no nice distinctions, with
no elaborate disqusiton, but with a plain
talk on the matters OF personal religion.
| feel that the sermon | preach this morning
will be the SAVIOR of life unto life or death
unto death. In other words, the Gospel Of
| Christ is n powerful me liclne; II either kills
! or cures. There are those who say: al
| would like to become Christian. | have
been waiting good while for the right
| kind OF influence to come And still you
are waiting. You are wiser in worldly
things than You are in reli yiouS things. And
yet there are men who say they are waiting
! to get to heaven-waitng, waiting, but not
with intelligent waiting. or they would get
on board the line OF Christian inhuen ces
! that would bear them into the Kingdom OF
God.
Now you know very well that to seek a
thing is to search for 1t with earnest endeav-
or Ifyou want TO see certain man in
London, and there is a matter Of mucI
money connected with your seeing him, and
you cannot at first find him, you do not
! give I'D the search. You look in the direct
ory, but cannot find the name; you go in
circles where you think perhaps he may
minge, and, having found the pa:t Of the
city where he lives, but perhaps not knowing
| the street, you 20 throu IN street after street
and from block TO block an you keep on
searching for weeks and for months.
You say, at is matter OF $1,000
whether | see him or not Oh, that men
we're as persistent in seeking for Christ!
Had YOU one half that persistence you woul
long ago have found Him who is the JOY OF
the forgiven spirit. Wemay pay our debts
we may attend church, we may relieve the
poor, We may be public benefactors, an1 yet
all our lie disoSey the text never seek God,
never gain heaven. Oh. that the spirit of
| God would help this morning while 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 tho
Lord while lie may be found"
remark, in the first place, you are to
seek the Lord through earnest and believing
PRAYER. God is not an autocrat or dcspot
seated on throne, with His arms resting on
brazen lions and a sentinel pacing up and
down at the foot of the throne. Goi is a
father seated in a bower, waiting for His
children TO come and climb on His knee and
get His kiss and His beneliction. Prayer is
| the cup with which we go to the fountain
of living water" and dip up refreshment for
our thirsty soul. Grace does not come to
the heart as we set cask OF water to catch
the rain in the shower. 1t is a pulley fast.
ened to the throne of God, which we pull.
bringing the blessing.
| 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, II you did not pray right
inwardly. and there would be no response
You might cry at the top of your voice, and
unless you had n believing spirit within,
your cry would not go farther up than the
shout OF plow5oy to his oxen. Prayer
must be believing, earnest, loving. You are
| in your house some summer day, and a
shower comes up and bird affrighted darts
into the window, and wheels around the
room. You seize il. You smooth its rut-
fed plumage. You feel its fiutterng heart.
You say, Poor thing, poor thing" Now
nrayer goes out Of the storm of this world III.
| To the window of Gods mercy, and lie
| catches it and He feels its huttering pulse,
and He puts il in His own bosom OF affection
and safety.
PRAYER is a warm, ardent pulsating exer.
else. It 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 oil great
price" There is an instance where prayer
made the waves of Gennesaret solid as
granite pavement Oh, how many wonder
ful things prayer has accomplished Have
you ever tried itY In the days when the
Scotch Covenanters were prosecuted and the
enemies were after them ono of tho head
men among the Covenanters prayed. W
Lord. we be as dead men unless Thou shalt
help us. q Lord, throw the lap OF Thy cloak
over these poor things" And instantly a
Scotch mist enveloped and hid the prosecuted
from their persecutors-the promise Literally
fulfilled. "While they are yet speaking l
will hear"
Oh, impenitent soul, have you ever triel
the power of prayer? God says: "He is
loving and faithful and patient" Do you
believe that2 You are told that Christ came
to save sinners. Do you believe thatH You
are told that all you have to do to get the
pardon of the Gospel is to ask for it. Do
vou believe that? Then come to Him and
saw 40 Lord. know Thou canst not lie
Thou hast told me to come for pardon, and
could get it. come, Lord. Keep Thy
promise and iberate my captive soul"
Oh, 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 maugor to hear prayer. he
will come in your place of bu.iness as He
confronted Matthew, the tax commissioner.
| If measure should cone before Congress
that you thought would ruin the Nation
how you would send in petitions and remon
strances. And yet there has been enougt
sin in your heart to ruin it forever, and you
have never demonstrated or petitioned
against it. II your physical health failed,
and you had the means, you would go anc
spend the summer in Germany and the win
ter in Italy, and you would think 1t very
cheap outlay II you had to go all around TN
earth to get back your physical health
Have you made any effort, any expenditure
any exertion for your immortal ana spiritua
Oh, that you might now begin to see
after God with earnest prayer Some OF yol
have been working for years and years 10
the support Of your families. Have yo