Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1893-12-14

shows such mental discipline as You find in
PauPs argument about justification and
the resurrection. have not found any
thing In Milton finer in the way OF imRg
nation than can find in Paurs illustra-
tions drawn from the amphitheater.
There was nothing in Robert Emmett
pleading for his life, or in Edmund Burke
arraigning Warren Hastings in Westmin-
ster hall, that compared with the scene in
the courtroom, when before robed officials
Paul bowed and began his speech, saying,
81 think myself happy, King Agrippa, be
cause / shall answer for myself this day"
| repeat, that a religion that can capture a
man like that must have some power in it,
It is time you stopped talking as though
all the brain of the world were opposed to
Christianity. Where Paul leads, we can
afford to follow.
THE WORLDS TALENT FOR CHRIST.
/ am glad to know that Christ has in the
different ages Of the world had in his dis
cipleship Mozart and a Handel in music;
a Raphael and Reynolds in painting; an
Angelo and a Canova in sculpture; Rush
and Harvey in medicine; Grotius and
Washington in craftsmanship; Black
stone, Marshall and Kent in law, and
the time will come when the relipdon OF
Christ will conquer all the observatories
and universities, and philosophy will,
through her telescope, behold the morning
star of Jesus, and in her laboratory see
that all things work together for good"
and with her geological hammer discover
the Rock of Ages"
Oh, instead of covering and shivering
when the skeptic stands before you and
talks of religion as though it were pusil-
luminous thing-instead of that take your
New Testament from your pocket and
show him the picture of the intellectual
giant Of all the ages prostrated on the road
to Damascus while his horse is flying wild
ly away, then ask your skeptic what it was
that frightened the one and threw the other?
Oh, no, it is no weak gospel. 1t is a glo-
rious gospel. 1t is an all conquering gos-
pei. 1t is an omnipotent gospel. 1t is the
power of God and the wisdom of God unto
salvation.
Again, learn from the text a man can
not become aChristian until he is unhorsed.
The trouble is, we want to ride into the
kingdom of God just as the knight rode
into castle gate on palfrey, beautifully ca
parisoned. We want to come into the king
dom of God in fine style. No kneeling down
at the altar, no sitting on anxious" seats,
no crying over sin, no begging at the door
of Gods mercy. Clear the road, and let us
come in all prancing in the pride of our
soul. No, we will never get into heaven
that way. We must dismount
There is no knight errantry in religion,
no fringed trappings of repentance, but an
utter prostration before God, going down
in the dust, with the cry "Unclean, I'M
cleanr'-a bewailing of the soul, like David
from the belly of hell-a going down in the
dust until Christ shall by his grace lift us
up as he lifted Paul Oh, proud hearted
hearer, you must get off that horse May a
light from the throne of God brighter than
the sun throw you'll Come down into the
dust and cry for pardon and life and heaven.
THE PERsECUToR REDEEMED.
Again, learn from this scene of the text
that the grace of God can overcome the per-
secutor. Christ and Paul were boys at the
same time in different villages, and Paul's
antipathy to Christ was increasing. He
hated everything about Christ. He was
going down then with writs in his pockets
to have Christ's disciples arrested. He was
not going as a sheriff goes, to arrest a man
against whom he had no spite, but Paul
was going down to arrest those people be.
cause he was glad to arrest them. The
Bible says, He breathed out slaughter. "
He wanted them captured, and he wanted
them butchered. I hear the click and
clash and clatter of the hoofs of the gal.
Looping steeds on the way to Damascus.
Oh, do you think that proud man on
horseback can ever become Christiani
Yesl There is voice from heaven like q
thunderclap uttering two words, the second
word the same as the first, but uttered with
more emphasis, SO that the proud eques.
trian may have no doubt as to who is
meant: Saul! Saulw That man was saved
and he was prosecutor. And so God can
by his grace overcome any prosecutor. The
days of sword and fire for Christians seem
to have gone by. The bayonets of Napoleon
pried open the '.inquisition" and let the
rotting wretches out. The ancient dun
geons around Rome are today mere curiosi
ties for the travellers.
The Coliseum, where wild beasts used tc
suck up the life of the martyrs while the
emperor watched and Lola Paulina sal
with emerald adornments worth 80, ,0O0, ,0O(
sesterces, clapping her hands as the Chris
tians died under the paw and the tooth Of
the lion-that Coliseum is ruin now. The
scene of the Smithfield fires is hay mar
ket. The day of fire and sword for Chris
tians seems to have gone by, but has the
day Of persecution ceased? No. Are you
Dot caricatured for your religion? In pro
portion as you try to serve God and be
faithful to him are you not sometimes NAL
treated?
That woman finds it hard to be Chris
tian, as her husband talks and ieers while
she is trying to say her prayers or read the
Bible. That daughter finds it hard to be 6
Christian with the whole family arrayed
against her-father, mother, brother and
sister making her the target of ridicule
That young man finds it hard to be a Chris
tian in the shop or factory or store when
his comrades jeer at him because he will
not 60 to the gambling hell or other places
of iniquity. Oh, no, the days of persecution
have not ceased, and will not until the end
of the world. But, oh, you prosecuted ones
is it not time that you began to pray fol
your prosecutors? They are no prouder
no fiercer, no more set in their way thar
was this prosecutor of the text. He fell
They will fall if Christ from the heavens
grandly and gloriously look out on them.
God can by his grace make Renan be
lieve in the divinity of Jesus and a Tyndal
In the worth of prayer. Robert Newton
stamped the ships deck in derisive indigna
tion at Christianity only little while be
fore he became a Christian. Out OF my
house." said father to his daughter, ''i1
you will keep praying" Yet before many
months passed the father knelt at the same
altar with the child, and the Lord Jesus
Christ is willing to look out from HEAVIER
upon that derisive opponent of the Christian
religion and address him not in glitterine
generalities, but, calling him by name
John! Georgel Henry-Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou?"
THE CHIEF OF SINNERS.
Again, learn from this subject that
there is hope for the worst offenders. II
was particularlv oJltrapaous that SaII