The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-01-31

i
parison intense enough, hot enough. i'm
| Fortunate enough to express my mean
| ing-something high as heaven. and
deep as hell. and long as eternity. Not
| hoping that you help me with such
a comparison, 1 will say, "He is wait
| ing as only the all sympathetic Christ
can wait for the coming back Of lost
/ SOUL
| Come, and welcome, sinner; come.
Bow the knee and kiss the Son,
Link Wanting.
Again. the Holy Spirit is ready. Why
| is it that so many sermons drop dead;
that Christian songs do not get their
wing under the people; that so often
prayer goes no higher than a hunters
| ''halloa?' 1t is because there is link
| wanting-the work of the Holy Spirit.
Unless that Spirit give graphing hooks
to a sermon and lift the prayer and
watt the song everything is a dead fail
/ ure. That Spirit Is willing 10 come at
/ our call and lead you TO eternal life. or
/ ready to come with the same power with
which he endorsed Saul on the
| Damascus turnpike and broke down
] Lydia in her fine store and lifted the
| 5000 from midnight into midnoOn at the
| Pentecost. With that power the Spirit
| Of God now beats at the gate of your
soul. Have you not noticed what home
| ly and insignificant fundamentally the
Spirit of God employs for mans CONVEX
sion?
There was a man on a Hudson river
boat to whom a tract was offered. With
Indignation he tore il up and threw IL
overheard. But one fragment lodged on
his coat sleeve, and he saw on it the
word eternity" and he found no peace
until he was prepared for that great
future. Do you know what passage 1t
was that caused Martin Luther TO see
the truth? The just shall live by
faith" Do you know there is one-just
One-paSsage that brought Augustine
from a life Of dissipation? Put We on
the Lord Jesus Christ and make no pro-
vision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts
thereof It was just one passage that
converted Hedley Wears, the great sol
der to Christ, THE blood of Jesus
Christ cleanseth from all sim DO you
know that the Holy Spirit used one pas
sage Of scripture to save Jonathan Ed
wards? Now, unto the King eternal,
immortal, invisible, the only wise God,
our Savior. be glory"
One year ago on Thanksgiving day I
read for my text. "Oh. give thanks unto
the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy
endureth forever" And there is a young
man in the house to whose heart the
Holy Spirit took that text for his eternal
redemption. ] might speak Of my own
case. 1 will tell you l was brought TO
the peace of the gospel through the
Syro-Phoenician womans cry TO Christ,
Even the dogs eat Of the crumbs that
fall from the masters table
Saving Souls by simple Means.
Do YOU know that the Holy Spirit al
most always uses insignificant means?
Eloquent sermons never save anybody;
metaphysical sermons never save any
body; philosophical sermons never save
anybody But the minister comes some
Sabbath to his pulpit, worn out with en-
gagements and the jangling Of a frenZied
doorbell; he has only a text and two or
three ideas, but he says: 20 Lord, help
mel Here are a good many people
may never meet again. l have not much
to say. Speak thou through my poor
lips" and before the service is done
there are fearful eyes and a solemnity
like the judgment.
The great French orator, when the
dead king lay before him. looked up and
cried, God only is great And the tri-
umph Of his elOquence has been told by
the historians. But L have not heard
that one soul was saved by the Oratori-
cal flourish Worldly critics may think
that the early preaching Of Thomas
Chalmers was masterpiece. But
Thomas Chalmers says he never began
to preach until ne came out of the sick
ROOM white and emaciated. and told
men the simple story OF Jesus.
In the great day of eternity IL viii be
found that the most souls have been
brought TO Christ not by the BOssuets
and AIassillons and BOurdaloues, but by
humble men, who in the strength Of God
and believing in the eternal Spirit, in
Vited men to Jesus. There We're wise
salves, there were excellent ointments
suppose, in the time of Christ for blind
or infiamed eyes. But Jesus turned his
back upon them and put the tip of his
finger to his tongue and then with the
spttle that adhered TO the finger he
anointed the eyes of the blind man, and
daylight poured into his blinded soul
So it is now that the spirit Of Cod takes
that humble prayer meeting talk. which
seems to be the very saliva Of Christian
influence, and anoints the eyes of the
blind and pourS the sunlight of pardon
and peace upon the soul.
Oh. my friend. 7 wish we could feel it
more and more that if any good is done
it is by the power Of Gods omnipOtent
spirit. I do not know what hymn may
bring you to Jesus. I do not know what
words of the scripture lessons I read
may save your soul. Perhaps the spirit
of God may hurl the very text into your
heart. Come, for all things are now
All Ready for the Feast.
Again, the church is ready. man,
If I could take the curtain off these
Christian hearts, 7 could show you a
great many anxieties for your redemp-
ton. You think that old man is asleep
because his head is down and his eyes
are shut. No; he is praying for your re-
demption 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-st. prayer meeting and from Friday
evening prayer meeting and going up
every hour Of the day for the redemption
Of the people? And II YOU should lust
start toward the door of the Christian
church how quickly IL 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 fellow
ship. Bring him into all Christian as
sociations."
Oh, you wanderer on the cold noun
tains, come into the warm sheepfOld L
let down the bars and bid you come in.
With the shepherds crook 1 point you
the way. Hundreds Of Christian hands
beckon you into the church Of Cod 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 its
inperfections. Christ bought it, and
hoisted the pillars. and swung its gates.
and lifted fits arches. and curtained il
carnage. Come into it.
We are "A garden walled around
Chosen and made peculiar ground.
A little spot inclosed by grace,
Out Of the worlds wild wilderness.