Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1894-12-14
REV. DR.. TALMAGE
The Eminent Brooklyn Divine's Sun
day Sermon.
Subject: "The Objections to Religious
ReVivals."

the beach and directs them again to sink the
net. Sure enough, very soon the net is fu!l
Of fishes. and the sailors begin to haul in.
So large a school of fish was taken that the
hardy men begin to look red in the face rs
they pull, and hardly have they begun to re-
ioice at their success when snap goes
thread of the net, and snap goes another
thread, so there is danger not only OF losing
the fish, but Of losing the net.
Without much care as TO how much the
boat tits or how much water is splashed on
deck. the fishermen rush about gathering
I'D the broken meshes OF the net. Out
wonder there is a ship dancing On the
wave, and they hail it, "Ship ahoy, bear
down this wayr The ship comes, and
both boats, both fishing smacks, are nlled
with the foundering treasures.
"Ah," says some one, show much better
1t would have been if they had staid on
shore, and fshed with hook and line, and
taken one at time instead OF having this
great excit ement. 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 re-
vival is whole school brought in at one
sweep OF the net have admiration for
that man who goes out with hook and line
10 fish. I admire the way he unwinds the
reel and adjusts the bait and drops the
hook in q quiet place on a still after
noon, and hero catches one and there
one, but I like also big boat. and
n large crew, and q net mile long, and swift
oars. and stout sails, and stiff breeze, and
q great mutitu lie of souls brought-so great
q multitude that you have to get help TO
draw it misunderstanding the net to the ut
most until it breaks here and there, letting
few escape, but bringing the great multitude
into eternal safety.
In other words, believe in revivais. The
great work ofsavlng men began with 300o
people joining the church in one day. and It
will close with 40, 900, 900 or 100 COO, 600 peo-
pie saved in "a hours, when nations shall he
horn in day. But there are objections to
reyivals. People are. opposed to them be-
cause the net might get broken, and il by
the pressure OF souls it doest not get broken,
then they take their own penknives and slit
the net. "They Enclosed great multitude
Of fishes, and the net brake"
It Is sometimes opposed to reviyals OF re-
ligion that those who come into the church
at such times do not hold out; as long as
there Is gale of blessing they have their
sails up, hut as soon as strong winds stop
blowing then they drop into dead calm.
But what are the facts in the case? In all
our churches the vast majority OF the useful
people are those who are brought in under
great awakenlngs, and they hold out. Who
are the prominent men III the United States
in churches, in prayer meetings, IN SABBATH
schools? For the most part they are thepro-
duct of great awakenings.
have noticed that those who are brought
into the kingdom Of God through revivals
have more persistence and more determine
A. L.. h. Nbrio lifa fhon fhOSa who
come in under a low state of religion. Peo-
Die born in an icehouse may live, but they
will never get over the cold they caught IN
the icehouse! A cannon ball depends upon
the impulse with which it starts for how far
it shall 90 and how swiftly, and the greater
the revival force with which soul IS started
the more sarreaching and far resounding will
be the execution.
But il Is sometimes objected to revivals
that there is so mnch excitement that people
mistake hyster,, for religion.
We must admit that in every revival OF re-
lig;on there is either a suppressed or a
demonstrated excitement. Indeed II q man
can " out of II state of condemnation into
a state e. acceptance with God, orsee others
90, without any agitation Of soul, he is in an
unhealthy, morbid state, and IS as repulsive
and absurd rs a man who should boast he
horses hoofs and felt no agitation, or'saw a
man rescued from the fourth story OF a
house on fire and felt no acceleration Of the
pGlses.
Salvation from sin and death and hell into
life and peace and heaven forever is such a
tremendous thing that II man tells me he
can look on it without anyagitation doubt
bis Christianity. The fact is that sometimes
excitement is the most important possible
thing, In case ofresusctation from drown-
ing or freezing, the one idea is to excite ami
nation, Be- ore conversion we are dead. 1t
Is the business of the church to revive,
arouse, awaken, resuscltate, starile into life.
Excitement is bad or good according to what
it makes us do. If it makes us do that which
is bad, it is bad excitement, but if it make US
Ggitated about our eternal welfare, il it
make US pray, ii it make US attend upon
Christian service, if ii make US cry unto Goa
for mercy, then it is good excitement.
1t is sometimes said that during revivals
OF religion great multitudes OF children and
young people are brought into the church
and they do not know what they are about.
1t has been my observation that the earlier
people come into the kingdom OF GOD the
more useful they are.
Robert Hail. the prince of Baptist preach
ers, vas converted at twelve years OF age l
is supposed he knew what he was about
Matthew Henry, the commentator, who dit
more than any man of his century for in
creasing the interest in the study OF tn
Scriptures, was converted at eleven years
ege; Isabella Graham, immortal in tn
Christian church, was converted at tel
years Of ages DR.. Watts, whose hymns Wd
be sung all down the ages, was converted
nine years of age Jonathan Edwards, pei
haps the mightiest intellect that the Amer
can pulpit ever produced, was converted q
seven years Of age, and that father AM
mother take an awful responsibility Whel
they tell their child at seven years or age
"You are too young 10 be Christian, o
"You are too young TO connect yourself Will
the church." That is q mistake as long a
eternity.
If during q revival two persons presen
themselves as candidates for the church, AN
the one is ten years OF age, and the other i
forty years of age, will have more conn
cepce in the profession of religion OF the on
ten years Of age than the one forty years o
age, Why? The one who processes at fort
wears of age has forty years OF impulse /
The wrong direction to correct, the child ha
onk ten years in the wrong direction Il
correct. Four times ten are forty. Fou
times the religious prospect for the lad tina
comes into the kingdom OF God, and int
the church at ten years of age taan the ma
at forty.
lam very apt to look upon reylva!s as COZ
nected with certain men who foster then
People who in this day Go not like revlvals
nevertheless, have not words TO express the
admiration for the revivalists of the past, fo
they were evivalists-Jonathan Edwards
John Wesley, George Whitefeld, Griffin
Davies, Ostorn, Knapp, Nettleton and man
others whose names come to my mind. Th
strength of their intellect and the holiness
their lives make me think they would no
have anything TO do with that which wa
ephemeral. Oh, it is easy TO talk against re
Ylvals.
Do you know where Aaron Burr starte