Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1894-12-08

church. and tina one is o years Of age,
and the other Is 40 years of age, will
have more confidence in the profession
of religion Of the one 10 years of age
than the one 40 wears of age Why:
The onc who processes at 40 years CT
age has 40 years of impulse in the
wrong direction tocorTcet, the child has
only 10 years in the wrong direction
to correct. Four times 10 are 40 -Four
times tho religions prospect for the lad
that comes into the kingdom OF Gcd.
and into the church at 10 years Of ago
than the man at 40.
am very apt to look upon reviyals
as connected with certain men who fos-
tered them. People who in this day do
not like revivals nevertheless have
net words to express their admiration
for the reyivalists Of the past, for they
were eyiyalists-Jonafhan Edwards,
John Wesley, George Whitefield, Fletch-
er, Griffin, Davies, Osborn, Knapp.
Nettleton and many others whose names
come 10 my mind The strength Of
their Intellect and the holiness Of thca
lives make me think they would not
have anything to do with that which
was ephemeral. Oh. it is easy to talk
/ against reyivals.
A man said to Mr. Dawson: 81 like
your sermons very much. hut the after
meetings / tiespise. When the prayer
meeting begins, always go up into the
gallery and look down, and am dis
gusted. well, said DIR Dawson,
"the reason Is you 60 on the top of
your neighbour house and look down
his chimney to examine his fire, and of
course you only got smoke in your eyes
Why don't you como in the door and
sit down and warm:'
Oh, ] am afraid to say anything
against reviyals of religion, on against
anything that looks like them, because
| think it may be sin against the Eoly
Ghost, and you know the Bible says
that sin against the Holy Ghost shall
never be forgiven, neither in this world
nor the world to come. Now, if vou are
a painter, and / speak against your pic
tures, do l not speak against you? If
| you are gu architect, and speak again st
a building you put up, do | not speak
| against you? Ii a revival be the work
of the Holy Ghost, and speak against
that revival, do not speak against the
Holy Ghost. And whatsoever speakoth
against the Holy Ghost, says the BIZ
| bic, lie shall never be forgiven, neither
in this world nor in the world to como,
| think sometimes people have made o
| fatal mistake in this direction.
The beginning of Sin.
| Many of you know the history Of
Aaron Burr. He was one of the most
brilliant men of his day. / suppose this
country never produced stronger in
tellect He was capable of doing any.
thing good and great for his country or
for the church of God had he been right
ly disposed, but his naIac is associated
| with treason against the United Suites
government, which he tried to over.
throw, ard with libcrtipisin and public
immortality.
Do you know where Aaron Burr start
ed on tho downward road? 1t was when
he was il college, and he became anx
ious about his soul and was about to
put himself under the Influences Of o
revival, and minister Of religion said:
Don't SO there, Aaron; don't go there;
that's place of wi1dirc and great *
citement; no religion about that; doa't
go there. Ho tarried away. His seri-
GUS impressions departed. Ho started
On the downward road. And who is re-
sponsible for his ruin? Was it the min
lister who warned him against that re-
vival?
When | am speaking of excitement
in reyivals, of course ] do not mean
temporary arrangement Of tho nerves. j
do not mean the absurd things Of which
we have read as transporting sometimes
i'll the church of Christ, brt | mean an
Intelligent. intense, al absorbing agi
tation Of body, riind and soul in the
work of spiritual escape and spiritual
rescue
Now l come to tho real, genuine
cause of objection 20 rovivals. That is
the GOODNESS of the objector 1t is the
secret and hidden but uumistakable
cause in every e;lse--a low state Of rcli
gion in the heart Wide awake, oonse.
Grated, useful Christians are never
afraid of revivals 1t is the spiritually
dead who are afraid of having their sep
ulcher lnoles;ed Tho chief agents OF
the devil duriLg great awakening are
always unconyertea professors Of reli-
gion. As soou ms Christ's work lcgins
they begin TO gossip against il, and take
pail of water and try TO pat cut this
spark Of religious influence. and they
try to put out another spark Do they
succeed? As well when Chicago was OH
fire might some one have gone ont with
. garden water pot trying to oxtiuguish
it.
A ral of Cold Water.
The difficulty is that when revival
begins ia q church il begins AZ 30 mary
points that while yon have doused ono
anxious soul with q pail of cold water
there are 800 other anxious souls on fire.
Oh. how much better it would be u lay
hold of thc chariot Of Christ'G gospel
and help pull it Oh rather than to flag
ourselves III 'front.' If the wheels, trying
to block their rrogressl We will not
stop tho chariot hut we ourselves viii
he ground to powder.
Did you ever hear that there was a
convention once held among tie ice
bergs il the arctic: 1t seems that the
summer was coming on. and tho sun
was getting hotter and hotter, AID there
was danger that the whole iceield
would break up and flow away, SO the
iallcst and tho coolest and the brcadess
of all lie iccborgs, tho very ling OF the
arctics, stood at the head Of the eonypn-
tion. and with q eavel Of leo smota On
table of ice. calling the convention 10
order. But the sun kept growing ia in
tensity Of beat, and tho south wind
blew stronger and stronger. and coon
ali the ieefeld began to grind Up. ice
berg against iceberg, and TO flow away.
THE first resolution passed by the con-
veation was. Resolved, that we abol-
ish the sun.
But the sun would not be abolished
The heat Ct the sun grew greater and
greater until after awhile tho very king
of the icebergs began TO peTspire Under
the glow, and the smaller icebergs fell
over, ard the cry was: Too much *
citementl Order, orderr7 Then the
whole body. the whole field, Of ice be.
a 4 I