The Progress., 1893-01-14
SIGNS OF THE TINES.
REV. THOMAS CtON THINKS e. C7EhT
CRISIS IS ~ HAND.

ChristiaIA>Nea 4 ust Prepare * Once.
! ~,~~-~-~
= ALBIoN. Mich. Jan. S-Hcv Thomas
Dixon, Jr.. accom- panied hv Mrs Dixon,
is on lecture -orr of two weeks in the
west. He lectured in Albion last night
and preached this evening TO n great
congregation for The Rev. +. +. = oOrhies,
pastor of the First Baptist church, who
had arranged a lnion service with tho
other denominations for the occasion.
The subject Of the sermon WIS, The
Signs Of the Times
TEXT. xT.-WatchmGn. what ~ rho yht2 The
morning cOmeth snG also the night.-Isaah ID
xxi, II. II.
l know thera are those who say that
there are always calamity howlcrs; that
in every age there are JeremiahF. There
are those who, ID az attempt 70 account
for this phenomenon. say jt l. q peculiar
jty of certain castof mind-that is all
but that normal man iS not given to
such halimcinati0nS of dangers and ap-
preaching crises. is tins Fact? Is it
an explanation? On is it true that before
the great epochs IN the history of the
world, when God has wrought some trr.
mendous development. he has preceded il
with prophetic voices that have spoken
his word and message?
know there was Jeremiah of old,
and that Isaiahs voice often was filled
with tears. but every prediction, when
he told Israel of approaching danger.
was fulfilled in Che fact. And I can
open the pages of history and show you
q that every supreme moment in the his
tory of the race has been preceded by "a
subtOne of conscious danger. and that 10
mountain peaks men have climbed and
shouted down to the people. Mako
ready; it is Tho day of the Lord" BE.
fore every crash of empire in the past
there has been period when the great
heart Of the people was cOnscious-iust
as clearly so as you are conscious today
in the beauty-of the sunlight that there
is a storm moving somewhere or the
horizon.
sAvONABoLA.
The Reformation did not burst on the
world withoutits prophets. If you viii
read the history of the Renaissance, YOU
will find there were men inside the
church of Rome who said to the pope III
his imperial power, Unless things are
changed the unity of Christendom must
be thing of tho past" Yes, there rose
that lonely figuredn Florence clad in its
weird robe, with its cr,rious order and
customs-that wild, weird personality |
that rose in that Florentine pulpit and |
poured forth the wonderful Germons that /,
shook the earth--an1 when at last they |
deemed him mad they led him away to |
the stake and burned him alive. But |
SGUoadrold was the &rst gun Of the Ref /
ormation. He was the voice of one cry |
ing in the wilderness before the days |
when Luther should Dail 60 tie church /
door his thesis and sEouid hurl his def |
ance at the Church Of Rome
Before every great movement there |
are prophecies .of what is to come. 1t |
may be the fairest day in the history
of the world But the valley of Cha |
mount a short time ago lay in all its
beauty and sunlight, symbol Of peace
and quiet, crowded with health seekers
from all parts Of the world, and sud
denly there was q roar that shook the
earth, and down from that mountain
came the crashing. roaring avalanche
that buried 200 people, and that fair val
ley in all its beauty was transformed in
a moment into sea Of wild despair.
THE COMING CRISIS.
1t behoove5 the church and the wise
and great man who has interest in bis
fellow man to ask each day what are
the opportunities OF the day, the signs of
the times, the indications of the hour.
1T there is one word supreme to the
Christian, it should be opportunity. Ii
there is one thought that Jesus impressed
on his disciples, it is this: The day is ripe.
the time Is now, the opportunity is at
hand, and the blow must be struck.
What is the message of today to the
church of Christ? What ere the signs
of our times to the Christian world? 1t
seems to me that
The signs Of the times 5ndicate the
approach Of a supreme hour Of crisis IN
our cirilizGtion
Open your history and find II it he not
true:
First. --, of l;f. :. 1,eo,,,,-
20 NenN w., INA more intense,
ta) Men sid again and again
the poor arr ..cOming poorer, and they 4
are. The poverty of the poor is some
thing awful. | wish some OF YOU peo-
pie who sit here this morning dressed so 1
well could know just what know every ;
week In the year. tel you il wonld !
make your souls sick II would give to :
your heart a subtOne Of tragedy that l
would sometimes. in the brightest day. s
make the light seem even as the dark
ness. The poverty of the poor-I could |
not describe to you the actual facts and I
make you realize them such as | have j
'een and do see them from weel, TO S
week. from day TO day. from month 70 1
month. S
(b) it Is true also that we are intensi- Z
ylng 10 smother direction. The rich are L
'etting richer-each day more power. a
ully. irresistibly rich. There is family /
n New York whose wealth ia estimated t