The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1893-04-27


ing questions, why? or how? How can
They cannot understand it. Neither
can I. How can God be complete
sovereign, and yet man free agent?
They cannot understand it. Neither
can I, They cannot understand why
a holy God lets sin come into the world.
Neither can T. They say, Here is.
a great mystery; here is a disciple Of
fashion, frivolous and goddess all her
days--she lives on. to be an octogen-
alian. Here is a Christian mother
training her children for God and for
heaven, self crifcing, Christianlike,
indispensable seemingly, to that house
hold-she takes the cancer and dies
The skeptic says, II can't explain that
Neither can T.
! Oh, I can see how men reason them
selves into skepticism. With burning
feet l have trod that blistering way
l know what it is to have a hundred
nights poured into one hour There
are men in this audience who would
give their thousands of dollars if they
could get back to the old religion of
their fathers. Such men are not to
be caricatured, but helped, and not
through their heads, but through their
hearts. When these men really do
come into the kingdom of God, they
will be worth far more to the cause of
Christ than those who never examined
the evidences of Christianity. Thomas
Chalmers once a skeptic, Robert Hall
once a skeptic, Christmas Evans once
skeptic, but when they did lay hold of
the gospel chariot, how they made it
speed ahead! ~.
If, therefore, I stand this morning
before men and women who have drift
ed away into skepticism, L throw out
no scott; [ rather implead you by the
memory of those good old times when
you knelt at your mothers knee and
said your evening prayers, and those
other days of sickness when she
watched all night and gave you the
medicines at just the right time, and
turned the pillow when it was hot, and,
with hand long ago turned to dust,
sOothed your pains, and with that
voice you will never hear again unless
you join her in the better country, told
you never mind-you would be better
by and by; and by that dying couch
where she talked so slowly, catching
her breath between the Words-by all
those memories ask you to come and
take the same religion. 1t was good
enough for her-it is good enough for
you.
Aye, I make a better plea; by the
wounds and the death-t hrOe of the son
Of God, who approaches you this NOM
ing with torn brow and lacerated hands
and whipped back. crying: Come unto
me, all We who are weary and heavy
laden, and will give you rest.''
Other persons apologize for not enter
ing the Christian life because of the in
| corrigibility of their temper Now, we
admit it is harder for some people to
become Christians than for others; but
| the grace of God never came to a
mountain that it could not climb, or to
an abyss that it could not fathom, OF to
| a bondage that it could not break. The
,, widest horse that ever trOd Arabian
sands has been broken to bit and trace
The maddest torrent tumbling from
mountain shelving has been harnessed
to the mill-wheel and the factory band,
setting a thousand shuttles all a-buzz
and a-clatter; and the widest, the
haughtiest, the most ungovernable man
| ever created, Aby<the grace of God may
be subdued and sent out on ministry of
kindness, as God sends an August thun:
der storm to water the wild flowers
down in the grass.
Good resolution, reformatory effort
will not effect the change. It takes 8
, mightier arm and a mightier hand t(
bend evil habits than the hand thai
a stronger lasso than ever held the
buffalo on the prairie. A man cannon
go forth with any human weapons an6
contend successfully against the Titans
armed with uptorn mountain. But yol
have known men into whose spirit thu
influence of the gospel of Christ came
until their disposition was entirely
changed. So it was with two s.mer
chants in New York. They were yer!
antagonistic. They had done all they
could do to injure each other. The,
were in the same line Of business. On
of the merchants was converted t.
God. Having been converted, he asket
the Lord to teach him how to bea
himself toward that business antag
onist, and he was impressed with tn
fact that it was his duty when a Gus
toner asked for a certain kind of good
which he had not, but which he knew
that his opponent had, to reco1nmen'
him to go to that store. I suppose tina
is about the hardest thing the mai
could 90, out, Delng thoroughly COZ
verified to God, he resolved to do tina
very thing, and being asked for a Gel
t tain kind of goods which he had not
, he said: you go to such and such
store and you will get it, After
while Merchant No. ? found these Gus
, toners coming, SO sent, and he foun
also that Merchant No. / had been COZ
} verified to God, and he sought the sam
( religion. Now they are good friend
+ and good neighbors, the grace of Go
: entirely changing their disposition.
1 Converting grace has lifted the drunl
, ard from the ditch, and snatched th
, knife from the hand Of the ASSASSIN
2 and the false key from the burgla
? and in the pestiferous lanes of til
: city met the daughter of sin under tn
. dim lamplight, and scattered her so
/! row and her guilt with the word.
1 ."Thy sins are forgiven and sin n
S more For scarlet sin a scarlet atom
e nent. l. sE-t
e Other persons apologize for not ente
: ing the Christian life because of til
|. inconsistencies Of those who profes
!. religion There are thousands Of poo