Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-30

darkness to the Egyptians. 1t was from a
cloud, tremendous cloud, that God made
reply. 1t was cloud that was the secret
place of thunder. So you cannot get away
from the consolation of my text by talking
that way. Let all the people under cloud
hear it.
This subject helps me to explain some
things you have not understood about GER
tain useful men and women. Many OF them
nave not a uDernbundance OF education. Ii
you had their brain in q post-mortem eh,
animation, and you could weigh IL, 1T would
not weigh any heavier than the average.
They have not anything especially Impress
I've IN personal appearance: They are nos
very fluent of tongue. They pretend to
nothing unusual in mental faculty or SOCIAL
influence, but you feel their power; you are
elevated in their presence; you are better
them. You know that in intellectual en-
dowment you are their superior, while In
the matter OF moral and religious 1nnuence
they are vastly your superior. why is tnlsl
To find the revelation of this secret you
must go back 80 or 40 or, perhaps, go years TO
the homestead where this man was brought
up
The Fountain of Righteous Life Found.
We have got to the fountain OF pious ana
gracious influences at last. This is the
place that decided those seven earthly and
immortal destinies. Behold! Beholdl That
is the secret place of thunder. Boys are
seldom more than their fathers will let
them be. Girls are seldom more than their
mothers will let them be.
But there come times when It seems that
parents cannot control their children. There
come times in a boys life when he thinks he
knows more than his father does, and re-
member now that knew more at 10 years OF
age than l have ever known since. Ihere
come times in girls life when she thinks
her mother is notional and does not under
stand what is proper and best, and the
sweet girl says, 80 pshaw!' ana she If uor
the time when she will not have to be die
tated to, and she goes out of the door or goes
to bed with pouting lips, and these mothers
remember for themselves that they knew
known since. But, father and mother do
not think you have lost your influence over
your child. You have a resource OF prayer
that puts the sympathetio ana omHnpo'emns mp M
not waste your time in reading nlmsy DOCKS
about the best ways to bring up children.
Go into the secret place of thunder.
The reasO that we ministers do not ac-
complish more, is because others do not
pray enough for US, and we do not pray
enough for ourselves Oh! pray for us!
Poor sermons in the pulpit are the curse OF
God on prayerless parish. People sayi
"Whst is the matter with the ministers In
our time? So many of them seem dis
satisfied with the Bible and they are trying
to help Moses and Paul and Christ out of In
consistencies and contradictions by liking
up the Bible"
Mere Intellectual Ministry Not Wanted.
There are too many unconverted minis
ters. Their hearts have never been changed
by the grace of God. A mere intellectual
ministry is the deadest failure this side Of
perdition. Alas for the gospel OF fcicles!
From apologetics and hermeneutics, and
dogmatics, good Lord deliver us! They are
trying to get their power from transcend
en- tai theology, or from profound exegesis, or
from the art Of splitting hairs between
North and Northwest side, instead of get
ting their power from the secret place OF
when he is alone, the door locked; on his
knees: at midnight; with such burden OF
souls upon him that makes him cry out, nrst
in lamentation and then in raptures. |
Let all the Sabbath school teachers, and
Bible class instructors. and all reformers,
and all evangelists, and all ministers know
that diplomas, and dictionaries, and en-
cyclopedias, and treatises, and libraries are |
not the source of moral and spiritual 1
achievement, but that the room OF prayer, |
where no one but God is present and no one /
but God hears, is the secret place of thunder. |
Secret? All, yes! So secret that compare /
lively few ever find it.
But who is sufficient for the work under /
takeo / call upon you who have long been L
my coaujutors to go into the secret place /
Of the Almighty. and from now until my /
work is done on the other side OF the sea, to /
have me in your prayers. In proportion to /
the intensity and continuance, and faith of |
the prayers, yours and mine, will be the re-
,ional circle, that will be well, but what I
most want is your importuning, your
supplication in the secret place of
thunder. God and you alone may make me |
he humble instrumen tRlIty in the redemp- |
ion of thousands of souls.