The Progress. (Shreveport, La.) 1892-1900, 1894-02-03

I waiting. y. give me comparison IN
tense enough, hot enough. importunate
enough to express my meaning-sOme-
thing high as heaven, and deep as hell,
and long as eternity. Not hoping that
you can help me with such compare
son l viii say: 'He is waiting as only
the all-sympathetic Christ can wait
for the coming back of a lost soul"
Bow the knee ana kiss the Son.
Come, and welcome, sinner; come.
/ Again, the church is ready. On
man, if I could take the curtain off
these Christian hearts, l could show
YOU a great many anXietics for your
redemption You think that old man
is asleep, because his head is down and
his eyes are shut. No, he is praying for
your redemption, and hoping that the
words spoken may strike your heart.
Do you know the air is full
of prayer? Do you know that
prayer is going up from Full
ton street prayer-meet'ng, and from
Friday evening prayer-meeting, and
going up every hour of the day for the
redemption of the people? And if you
should just start toward the door Of
the Christian Church, how quickly it
would fly open. Hundreds of people
would say: Give that man room at
the sacrament. Bring the silver bowl for
his baptism. Give him the right hand Of
Christian fellowship. Bring him into
all Christian associations. Oh, you
wanderer on the cold mountains, come
into the warm sheepfold. | let down
the bars and bid you come in. With
the Shepherds crook | point you the
way. Hundreds Of Christian hands
beclon you into the Church Of God.
A great many people do not like the
church, and say it is a great mass Of
hypocrites; but it is a glorious church
with all it's imperfections Christ
! bought it, and hoisted the pillars, and
swung its gates, and lifted its arches,
and curtained it with upholstery Grim
son with crucifXion carnage Come
/ into it. w
| IL L llIlNC SllONu N'u IIldU dIl IlIlIISS
are ready" that Christ is ready, that
the Holy Spirit is ready, that the
church is ready, that the angels in
glory are ready, that your glorifed
kindred are ready, then with all
the concentrated emphasis of my
soul, ask you if you are ready? You
see my subject throws the whole re-
sponsibility upon yourself If you do
not get in to the Kings banquet, it is
because you do not accept the invita-
ton. You have the most importunate
| invitation. Two arms stretched down
from the cross, soaked in blood from
elbow to fnger-tip; two lips qulverlng
IN mortal anguish; two eyes beaming
with infinite love, saying: Come, come,
for all things are now ready"
told you that when the queen came
to Kenilworth castle, they stopped all
the clocks, that the finger of time
might be pointed to that happy moment
of her arrival. OH if the King would
come to the castle of your soul, you
might well afford to stop all the
clocks, that the hands might forever
! point to this moment as the one most
| bright, most blessed, most tremendous.
! Now, wish | could 90 around from
circle to circle and invite every one of
you, according to the invitation of my
! text saying: Come" | would like to
take every one of you by the hand,
! and say: Come Old man, who hast
been wandering sixty or seventy years,
! thy sun almost gone down, through the
/ dust of the evening stretch out your
withered hand to Christ. He will not
! cast thee off, old man. Oh. that one
tear of repentance might trickle down
thy wrinllled cheek After Christ has
fed thee all thy life long, do you not
think you eau afford to speak one
word in his praise?
Come, those of you wing are farthest
away from God Drum kard! Christ
can put out the fire of thy thirst He
can break that shackleH He can re-
store thy blasted home, EGo to Jesus.
Libertine! Christ saw Wee where thou
vert last night. Heknows of thy sin.
Yet if thou wilt bring thy polluted
soul to him this moment, he will throw
over it the mantle of his pardon and
love- Mercy for thee, o! thou CHEF of
sinners Harlot! thy feet foul with
hell, and thy laughter the horror of
the stretch, Mary Magdalen-look
to Jesus. Mercy for thee, poor lost
waif of the street, Self-righteous
man, thou must be born again, or thou
canst not see the kingdom of God
Do you think you can get into the
feast with those rags? Why, the
Kings servant would tear them off
and leave you naked at the gate. You
must be born again. The day is far
spent. The cliffs begin to slide their
long shadows across the plain. Do you
know the feast has already begun-the
feast to which you were invited-and
the King sits with his guests, and the
servant stands with his hand on the
door of the banoueting room, and he
begins to swing ii shut 1t is half
way shut 1t is tmee-fourths shut. 1t
is only just ajar Soon it will be shut.
Come, for all things are now ready"
Have | missed one man? Who has not
felt himself called this hour? Then l
! call him now. This is the hour of thy