Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1894-05-25


lock up the silver before he steals some
thing" l have found il an invariable rule
that men who profess faith in the Lori
Jesus Christ, priding themselves at the same
time On their sanctimoniousness, always
turn out badly-I never knew an exception
while those who are the most consistent
the most useful and the most consecrated
have perfume In their conversation and
heaven In their face,
The happiest Christians that have ever
known have been persons from sixty to eighty
years of age. By thai time people get over
the shams and the pretenses of society and
have no longer any patience with anything
like 1mposture In religion. 0 Christian, how
dare you be gloomy? Is not God youI Father?
Is not Jesus Christ your Saviour? Has not
your path all through life been strewn with
mercies7 Are you insensibe to the fact that
there are glories awaiting you in the better
land-d oxologies of celestial worship, eternal
chorals, fearless eyes, songs that resound
under arches Of strength and boSannaS that
clap their hands at the foot of the throne?
Is it nothing to you that all the hills OF
heaven are radiant with the faces of those
who have gone up from you and who are wait
ing for your coming, ready to keep with you
eternal holiday? Is there nothing in songs
that never cease, IN hearts that n sver ache,
i'll splendors that never die; to make you
glad? Then take no more mercy at the han
of thy God! Give back the marriage ring of
y
of your espousal! Plant no moro of tho
flowers of heaven where there ought to be
nothing but nettles and nightshade!
We try to make this church a cheerful
church. A man on Saturday afternoon
stands in his store and says Chow shall [
meet these obligations? How can L endure
this new disaster that is coming upon me?
He goes home. Sabbath morning finds him
in the house of God. Through the song
through the sermon, through the prayer, the
Lord Jesus Christ says to that man ~
man, L have watched thee. L have seen all
thy struggles. It is enough. 1 will soc thee
through. l will stand between thee and thy
creditors. l will make up in heavenly
treasures what you have lost i'll, earthly
treasures. Courage, man, courage! Angels
of God, command you TO clear the track
for that man ; put your wings over his head
with your golden scepters strike for his de-
fense throw around him all the defenses OF
eternity" What Is the consequence? That
business man is strengthened. He goes TO
the store next day feeling that God is with
him and ready to deliver.
That same Sunday there is poor old wo-
man in the church hearing the gospel. Oh,
how shrunken she Is She wears the same
dress she wore twenty years ago. How tade1
it is and now out ofdate She sits and listens
as we'll as she can. Her eyes are SO dim she
cannot see half way across the church. Her
ear is 50 imperfect that she can only catch
occasionally note Of the psalm or wort
If the preacher. Some one sitting next to
her gives her book and finds the place for
her. She says, "Thank you, miss; thank
you" She holds the book close up to her
eyes and with voice all full of tremorJ
sings:
jesus, lover of my soul,
Let me to Thy bosom fly
While tho bows near ma roll,
While the tempest still Is hi5d.
Hide me- o my tviour, hide,
Till the storm of life is past
Safe into the heaven guide
Oh, rece We my soul at last
And Jesus says to her. "Mother, are you
weary?" And she says, eyes, Jesus, am
very tired" Jesus says, 'tMother, are You
poor2" And she says: "Yes, l am very
poor. 1 cannot sew any more. I cannot
knit any more. am very poor" Jesus
says to her, "Mother, would you like to
rest?" She says, Eyes, Lord that is what
L waut-rest." " Courage, mother" says
Jesus. II will see thee through"
She goes home. The next morning in tho
tenement house some one dwelling on
another .ioor comcsto her room and knocks.
No answer. The door is opened. she is
deadI The night before the chariots OF God
halted at that pillow of straw. and Jesus
kept His promise. He said that He would
give her rest, and He has given her rest.
Glory be to God for the height, the depth,
the length and the breadth Of such Christian
comfort Oh, that we might have such Joy
as that which inspired the men at the battle
of Leuthen! They were singing Christian
song as they went into battle. A general
! said to the king, "Shall stop those people
| singIng?'' 'No," said tho king. 'Men that
sing like that can fight" I would that we
had a singing church, a joyful church, jul
biIant church, a comforting church, for then
we would have triumphant church.
remark, further, that we have here triel
! to build a church abreast of the times. 1t IS
all folly for us to try to do things the way
| they did fifty or 100 years ago. We might as
| well be plowing with Eliiah's crooked stick
or go into battle with SauPs armor. or prefer
Il canalbOat to an express train, as to be
clingfng to old things. What we most neoj
now is a wide awake church. People who
are out in the world all the week, jostlin-
against this lightning footed century, com
| into the church on the Sabbath and go rigA'
to sleep unless they have spirited service
/ Men engaged in literary call1ngs all tn
week, reading pungent, sharp writings, can
| not be expected to come ana near our eccle
sastical humdrnm.
Ifaman stay at home on Sundays an;
reads the newspapers, it is because the news
| papers are more interesting. We need, NJ.
| brethren, to rouse up and stop hunting witt
| blank cartridges. The church OF God ouSh
to be the leader, the interpreter, the inspire
of the age. 1t is all folly for us to be dis
cussing old issues-arraigning Nero, hang
ing Absalom, striking the Philistfnes witt
| Shamgar's OK goad-When ali around abOu
US are iniquities to be slain.
Did I say that the church ought to b
abreast of the times? Itake that back. Tn
church of God ought to be ahead of the time
as far in advance as the cross Of Christ
ahead of all human invention. Paul Wa
1000 years ahead Of the day in which b
lived The swift footed years that hav
passed since Luther died have not yet CON
up to Luther's grave. Give iniqulty 400
years the start, and the feet Of Christianit
are so nimble that if you will but give 1t i'll
swing it will catch up and pass 1t IN "
bounds. The church of God ought to b
ahead of tho times.
Iremark, further, that we have tried here
in tho love and fear of God, to build a churc
that would be characterized by conversion:
| [ have heard of very good people who cOul
| preach on for fifteen or twenty years and st
no conversions, but yet have faith. 1t take
a very good man to do that. 90 not kno
how a man can keep his faith up if souls ar
not brought to the Lord Jesus Christ. Ihi
church that does not bring men and wome
to the feet of the Saviour Is failure. ca
not how fine the building, or how sweet Il
music, or how eloquent the preaching,
how elegant the surrOundings-lt Is faliur
The church Of God was made for Just OF
thing-to get men out of the world into tt
kingdom of heaven.
The tendency In churches is to spend the
time in giving fine touches to Christian
, already polished. We keep our religion t
, much indoors and under shelter, when
, ought to be climbing the rocks or hewing
: the forests. Then it would be a stalwart +
ligion, robust religion, a religion able
} digest the strong meat of the word, inste;
r of being kept on the pap and cruel of spi
itual invalidism. 1t is high time that
| threw off the Sunday clothes Of sickly sen
I mentality and put on the working dress
an earnest, active Christianity.
Here is Brooklyn, hero is New York, he
are the United States, here Is the whc
world to be converted. 1t is 1894 yea
} since Christ came, and yet Europe, AS
Africa, North and South America are st
< unevangelized. More people born every We
: into the world than are born into the kin