Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1892-06-23
A FAREWELL SERMON
"PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMoR OF
GOD"

Ooasregauon 70 Hold Very High
ModeI-Take Jesus Christ for Pattern.
J BROOKLYN, June 12-Dr. Talmage pref
aced his sermon this morning with astate-
ment to the effect that he would sail on
Wednesday next for Europe, and might be
able to be present at the distribution in
the famine districts Of Russia of The Chris
tian Herald relief cargo, consisting Of
three million pounds of -four and other
supplies which goes out this week on the
steamship Leo, chartered for the purpose.
He congratulated the American people on
the generous spirit evinced by this mag
nifcent gift to the starving people. His
sermon was from the text, Ephesians vi,
II, Put on the whole armor of God"
There is in this text great rattle of
shields and helmets and swords. Soldiers
are getting ready for battle. We have
had recently in this church new enlist
ments and shall address myself to those
in this and other churches who are put
ting on the armor of God, and who NAV
feel themselves to be as yet only raw re-
'c-uits. Mastery retreat" is a term often
used in military circles, but in religion
there is no such thing. It is either glori-
ous advance or disgraceful and ignomi-
NOUS falling back. 1t would be strange
thing If all our anxiety about men ceased
the moment they were converted.
You would almost doubt the sanity of
that farmer who, having planted the corn
and seen it just sprout above ground,
should say; MY work is all done. have
no more anxiety for the field" No. There
is work for the plow and the hoe, and
there must be careful keeping up of the
fences, and there must be a frightening
away of the birds that would pillage the
field. And l say the entrance upon Chris
tian life is only the implantation of grace
in the heart. There is earnest, hard work
yet to be done, and perhaps many years of
anxiety before there shall be heard the
glorious shout of Harvest home"
The beginning to be Christian is only
putting down foundation; but after that
there are years of hammering, polishing,
carving, lifting. before the structure is
completed. 1t takes five years to make a
Christian character, it takes twenty years,
It takes forty years, it takes seventy years
If u man shall live so long. In other words,
a man dying after half a century of Chris
tiar experience feels that he has only
learned the "a B C's" of glorious alpha
bet. The next year will decide a great
deal in your history, young Christian man;
it will decide whether you are to be a burn
ing and shining light of the church, or a
spark Of grace covered up in barrel of
ashes.
1t will decide whether you are to be a
strong man in Christ Jesus, with gigantic
blows striking the iron mail of darkness,
or bedwarfed, whining grumbling sol
dier that ought to be drummed out of the
Lords camp with the "Rogues' March"
You have only just been launched The
voyage is to be made. Earth and heaven
and hell are watching to see how fast you
will sail, how we'll you will weather the
tempest and whether at last amid the
shouting of the angels, you shall come into
the right harbor. May God help me this
morning to give you three or four words of
Christian counsel, as l address myself
more especially to those who have just
now entered the Christian life.
A HIGH MODEL.
My first word of counsel is, Hold before
your soul very high model Do not say,
Il wish l could pray like that man, or
speak like this man, or have the consecra-
tion of this one." Say: Here is the Lord
Jesus Christ, perfect pattern. By that |
mean, with Gods grace, to shape all my
life" In other words you will never be
any more Christian than you strive to
be- If you build a foundation twenty by
thirty feet you will only have a small
house. If you build foundation one hun.
dred by one hundred feet, you will have a
large house. If you resolve to be only a
middling Christian, you will only be a
middling Christian. If you have no high
aspiration in worldly direction you will
never succeed in business
If you have no high aspiration in reli.
gious things you will never succeed in re-
ligion. You have a right to aspire to the
very highest style of Christian character.
From your feet there reaches out path OF
Christian attainment which you may take
and ! deliberately say that you may be a
better man than was Paul or David OF
Summerfield or Doddridge-a better WON.
an than Hannah More or Charlotte Eliza
beth. Why not? Did they have monop.
oily of Christian grace? Did they have a
private key of the storehouse of Gods
mercy? Does God shut you out from the
gladness and goodness to which they were
introduced?
Oh, no. You have just the same prom.
ises, just the same Christ, just the same
Holy Ghost, just the same offers of present
and everlasting love, and if you fall short
of what they were-aye, if you do not come
up to the point which they reached and &c
beyond tit is not because Christ has
shut you out from any point of moral and
spiritual elevation, but because you delib
erately refused to take it.
admit that man cannot become Chris
tian like that without struggle, but
what do you get without fighting for It'll
The fortresses of darkness are to be taken
by storm. You may by acute strategy
flank the hosts of temptation, but there
are temptations, there are evils, in the way
that you will have to meet face to face, and
it will be shot for shot, gun for gun, grir
for grip, slaughter for slaughter. The
Apostle Paul over and over again repre-
sents the Christian life as combat
When the war vessel Of Christ's church
comes into glory, bringing it's crew and its
passengers, it will not come in like o
North river yacht, beautifully painted and
adorned, swinging into the boathouse aftel
pleasure excursion. Oh, no. 1t will be
like vessel coming with heavy cargo
from China or India, the marks of the
wave and the hurricane upon it-sails rent
riggings spliced, pumps all working tc
keep her afoat, bulwarks knocked away
I see such vessel coming, and get out my
small boat and push toward her, and
shout; "Ahoy, captain What are you
going to do with those shivered timbersi
That was beautiful ship when you went
out, but you have ruined it." "Oh," says
the captain, 81 have fine cargo on board
and by this round trip have made tel
fortunes"
So i believe it will be when the Chris
tim soul at last comes into the harbor o.
heaven. 1t will come bearing upon it the
marks Of great stress of weather. You
can see by the very looks of that soul as il
comes into glory that it was driven BY {