The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1894-12-07
AND THE NET BROKE.
REV. Or. TALMAGe MAKES A STRONG
PLEA FOR REVEALS.

1870
tai Mistakes-An Unconvertcd Ministry.
Training For Heaven.
BROOKLYN, Dec. 2.-Dr. Talmage
chose for the subject of his sermon
through the press today 1.-THE Objec-
lions to Religious Rovivals," from tho
text Luke v, 8, "They inolosed great
multitude of fishes, and their net brake ~
Simon and his comrades had expert.
enoed the night before what fishermen
call poor luck" Christ steps on board
tho fishing smack and tells the sailors
to pull away from the beach and directs
them again to sink the net. Sure enough,
very soon the net is full of fishes, and
tho sailors begin to haul IN. So large
school of fish was taken that the hardy
men begin to look red in tho face as
they pull, and hardly have they begun
to rejoice at their success when snap
goes a thread of the net, and snap goes
another thread, so there is danger not
only Of losing the fish, but of losing tho
net.
Without much care rs to how much
the boat tits or how much water is
splashed ON deck, the fishermen rush
about gathering up the broken meshes
of the net. Out yonder there is ship
dancing on the wave, and they hail it,
"Ship ahoy, bear down this way!" The
ship comes, and both boats both fishing
smaoks, are filled with the foundering
treasures.
"Ah." says some one, chow much
better it would have been if they had
staid on shore, and fished with hook
and line, and taken one at time, in
stead of having this great excitement,
and the boat almost upset, and the net
broken, and having to call for help, and
getting sopping wet with the seal" The
church is the boat, the gospel is the
net, society is the sea, and great reviv-
al is whole school brought in at one
sweep of the net. I have admiration for
that man who goes out with hook and
line to fish. admire the way he I'M
winds the reel and adjusts the bait and
drops the hook in quiet place ON
still afternoon, and here catches one and
there one, but like also big boat, and
large crew, and net mile long, and
swift oars. and stout sails, and stiff
breeze, and great multitude of souls
brought-so great a multitude that you
have to get help to draw it ashore
straining the net to the utmost until it
breaks here and there, letting few es-
cape, but bringing the great multitude
into eternal safety.
The First Revival.
In other words, I bell eve in revivals.
The great work of saving men began
with 5000 people joining the church in
one day, and it will close with 40, 900, :
900 or 100, 900, 600 people sayed in "a
hours, when nations shall be born in a
day. But there are objections to reviv-
ais. People are opposed to them be-
cause the net might get broken, and if
by the pressure of souls it does not get
broken then they take their own PEN
knives and slit the net. "They inclosed
great multitude of fishes, and the net
brake"
It is sometimes opposed to revivals of
religion that those who come into tho
church at such times do not hold out;
as long as there is gale of blessing
they have their sails up, but as soon
as strong winds stop blowing then they
drop into dead calm. But what are
the facts in the case? In all our church
es the vast majority Of the useful peo-
pie are those who are brought in under
great awakenings, and they hold out.
Who are the prominent men in the
United States in churches, in prayer
meetings, in Sabbath schools? For the
most part they are the product of great
awakenings.
have noticed that those who are
brought into the kingdom of God
through revivals have more persistence
and more determination in the Christian
life than those who come in under a
low state of religion. People born in an
ioehouse may live, but they will never
get over the cold they caught in the ice
housed A cannon ball depends upon the
impulse with which it starts for how
far it shall go and how swiftly, and the
greater the revival force with which a
soul is started the more farreaching
and far resounding will be the execu-
ton
But it is sometimes objected to reviv-
ais that there is SO much excitement
that people mistake hysteria for reli-
gion.
Excitement.
We must admit that in every revival
of religion there is either a suppressed
or demonstrated excitement. Indeed if
man can go out Of state of condem-
nation into state Of acceptance with
God, or see others go, without any agi-
tation of soul, he is in an unhealthy,
morbid state, and is as repulsive and
absurd as man who should boast he
saw child snatched out from under a
horse's hoofs and felt no agitation, or
saw man rescued from the fourth sto-
ry Of house ON fire and felt no acoel-
GRAFTON of the pulses
Salvation from sin and death and
hell into life and peace and heaven for
ever is such tremendous thing that
if man tells mo he can look on it with
out any agitation doubt his Christian
ity. The fact is that sometimes excite
ment is the most important possible
thing. III case Of resuscitation from
drowning or freezing, the one idea is to
excite animation. Before conversion we
ere dead. 1t is the business of the church
to revive, arouse, awaken, resuscitate,
starslo into life. Excitement is bad or
scoi according to what it makes us do.
Ii il max s us DO that which is bad, it
IS bad excitement, but if it make us ag-
itated about cur eternal welfare, if it
make rs pray, ii it make us attend upon
Christian service, if it make us Cry unto
God for mercy, then it is good ex-
element
1t is sometimes said that during re.
yivals of religion great multitudes Of