The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1893-04-22

night and gave you the medicines at
just the right timely all these mem
cries | ask you to come and take the
same religion. 1t was good enough for
her-it is good enough for you.
Aye, | make Il better plea; by the
wounds and the death-throc of the Son
of God, who approaches you this morn
ing with torn brow and laceratcd hands
and whipped back, crying: Come unto
me-, all We who are weary and heavy
laden, and | will give We rest"
Other persons apologize for nOtenter-
ing the Christian life because of the in
oorrigibility 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, OF to
an abyss that it could not fathom, or to
"a bondage hat il could not break.
Good resolution, re~formatory effort,
will not effect the change. 1t takes II
mightier arm and II mightier hand to
bend evil habits than the hand hat
bent the bow of Ulysses, and it takes Il
stronger lasso than ever held the buff
falo on the prairie. A IA cannot go
forth with any human weapons
and contend successfully against
these Titaus armed with uptorn
mountain. But you have known men
into whose spirit the influence of the
gospel of Christ came until their dispo-
sition was entirely changed.
''Oh," says some one, 81 have a rough,
jagged, impetuous nature, and religion
cont do anything for me-" Do you
know that Martin Luther and Robert
Newton and Richard Baxter were i'm
petuous, all-consuming natures, yet the
grace of God turned them into the
mightiest usefulness?
Peter, with nature tempestuous as
the sea that he once tried to walk, at
one look of Christ went out and wept
bitterly. Rich harvests of grace may
grow on the tip-top of the jagged steep,
and locks of Christian graces may find
pasturage in fields of bramble and rock.
Though your disposition may be all
abristle with f%retfulness, though you
have a temper a-gleam of quick light
nings, though your averice be like that
of the horse-leach, crying: "Give!'
though damnable impurities have
wrapped you in all-consuming fire
God can drive that devil out of your
soul, and over the chaos and the dark
ness he can say: Let there be light"
Converting grace has lifted the drunk
ard from the ditch, and snatched the
knife from the hand of the assassin, and
the false key from the burglar, and In
the pestiferous lanes of the city met the
daughter of sin under the dim lamp
light and scattered her sorrow and her
guilt with the words: ''Thy sins are
forgiven-go and sin nc more" For
scarlet sin a scarlet ~atonement.
Other persons apologize for not enter
ing the Christian life because of the in
constituencies of those who profess re-
ligion. There are thousands of poor
farmers. They do not know the nature
of soil o the proper rotation of crops.
Their corn is shorter in the stalk and
smaller in the ear. They have ten less
bushels to the acre than their neigh
bors. But who declines being u farmer
because there are so many poor farmers?
There are thousands of incompetent
merchants. They buy at the wrong
time. They get cheated in the sale of
their goods. Every bale of goods is to
them a bale of disaster. They fail after
awhile and go out of business. But
who declines to be a merchant because
there are SO many incompetent mer-
chants!
There are thousands of poor lawyers.
They cannot draw u declaration that
will stand the test. They cannot re.
cover just damages. They cannot help
a defendant escape from the injustice OF
his prosecutors. They are the worst
evidence against any ease in which
they are retained. But who declines to
be a lawyer because there are so many
incompetent lawyers? Yet there are
tens of thousands of people who de-
cline being religious because there are
so many unworthy Christians. Now
say it is illogical.
Sickness will come and we will be
pushed out toward the Red sea which
divides this world from the next, and
not the inconsistency of Christians, but
the rod of faith will wave back the
waters as u commander wheels his host
The Judgment will come, with it's thun'
dershod solemnities, attended by burst
ing mountains and the deep laugh o
earthquakes and suns will fly before
the feet of God like sparks from the
anvil, and 1O, 900 burning worlds shall
blaze up like banners in the track o
God omnipotent. Oh! then we will moi
stop and say: There was a mean Chris
tian; there was u cowardly .Chistian
there was a lying Christian; there wal
an impure Christian" In hat day
as now, ''If thou be wise, thou shalt b,
wise for thyself; but if thou soonest
thou alone shall bear it." Why, my
brother, the inconsistency of Chris
tians, SO far from being an argument
to keep you away from God, ought t.
be an argument to drive you to him.
Other persons apologize for not be
coming Christians because they lacl
time. As though religion muddled tn,
brain of the accountant, or tripped tn,
pen of the author, or thickened tn,
tongue of the orator. or weakened TIN
arm of the mechanic, or scattered tn,
briefs of the lawyer, or interrupted
the sales of the merchant. They Dol
their store doors against it, and fight i
back with trowels and with yardsticks
and cry: away with your religion
from our store, IL Office, our factory!
They do not understand that religion
in this workaday world will help yol
to do anything you ought to do. 1t cal
lay u keel, it can sail a ship, it can bu,
IL cargo, it can work IA pulley, 1t cal
pave u street, il can fit a w~ristband, i
can write Il constitution, it can marsha
u host. 1t is as appropriate to the as
tronomer as his telescope; to the chem
list as his laboratory; to the mason a
= his plumb-line; to the carpenter as hi
plane; to the child as his marbles; t.
I the grandfather as his staff.
No time to be religious here! Yo1
have no time not to be religious. Yo1
might as well have no clerks in you
) store, no books in your library, no com
pass on your ship, no rifle in the battle
on hat for your head, no o a for you
back, no shoes for your feet. Bette
travel on toward eternity ~bareheade,
and barefooted and houseless and home
} less and friendless than to go through
life without religion.
5 Did religion make Raleigh any les
: of Il statesman, or Havelock any less G
t soldier, or Grinnell any less of a mel
b chant, or West any less Of u painter
Religion is the best security In ever
bargain; it is the sweetest note i'll ever
song, it is the brightest gem in ever
| coronet. No time TO be religious! Why
$500. ILL L,,,. 80 1.l,, t.-,4 - H.. ...1