Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1894-12-19
M. DIR. TALMAGR
THE BRoeHLYN DIvINEs Sun.
DAY RNRNON,
Subject: "The objections to KeiiS
iOus Revivals."

Simon and his comrades had experienced
the night before what fishermen call "pool
luck" Christ steps on board the fishing
smack and tells the sailors to pull away from
the beach and directs them again to sink ths
net. Sure enough, very soon the net is full
Of fishes, and the sailors begin TO haul in
So large school of fish was taken that ths
hardy men begin to look red in the face a;
they pull. and hardly have they begun to re-
joice at their success when snap goes n
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 mnch care as TO how much the
boat Tits or how much water is splashed on
deck. the fishermen rush about gathering =
up the broken meSheS of the net. Out
yonder there is ship dancing on the
wave, and they hail it, "Ship ahoy, bear
down this way"' The ship comes, and
both boats, both fishing smacks, are filed
with the fioundering treasures.
"Ah, says some one. chow much better
It would have been if thev had staid on
shore. and fished with hook and limo. and
taken one at a time, instead of having this
great excitement. and the boat almost unset
and the net broken. and having to call for
help and getting soppng wet with the
sea !" The church is the boat, the gospel Is
The net, society Is the sea. and great re-
vivnl Is a whole school brought in Mt one
| sweep OF the net. 1 have admiration for
! that man who goes out with hook an | line
/ to fish. admire the way he unwinls the
reel and adjusts the bait and drops the
| hook in quiet place still after
| noon, and here catches one and there
| one, but I like also big boat. and
| a large crew, and net mile long, and swift
oars, and stout sails, and a stiff breeze, and
| q great multitude OF souls brought-so great
| a multitude that you have to get help to
draw II misunderstanding the ne: to the ut
| most until II breaks here and there, letting
| few escape, but bringing the great multitude
INTO eternal safety.
In other words. believe In revivals. The
great work ofsaving men began with 5000
people Joining the church in one day. and it
will close with 4O, ,0O0, 900 or 100. 900 900 peo-
| pie saved in "a hours, when nations shall he
born In a day. But there are objections to
| revivals. People are opposed to them be-
| cause the net might get broken. and il by
| the pressure of souls it doest no; ct broken.
| then they take their own penkn.ves and slit
the net. "They inclosed great multitude
OF fishes. and the net brake"
1t Is sometimes opposed TO reviya's of re
| figion that those who come into tho church
at such times do not hold out as long as
there is a gale of blessing they have their
| sails up. but 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 ma jority o. the useful
| people are those who are brought in under
| great awakenIngs, and they hold out. Who
! in churches, in prayer meetings, in Sabbath
schools? For the mcst part they are the pro-
| duct Of great awakenings.
/ have noticed that those who are brought
Into the kingdom OF God through reyivals
| have more persistence and more determina-
tion in the Christian life than those who
come in under a low state OF religion. Peo-
pie born in an icehouse may live. hut they
will never get over the cold they caught in
the icehousel A cannon ball depends upon
| the impulse with which it starts for how far
1t shall go and how swiftly and the greater
the revival force with which soul is started
the more farreaching and far resouniinS will
be the execution.
But 1t Is sometimes objected TO revivals
that there is so much excitement that people
mistake hystera for religion.
We must admit that in every revival of re-
ligfon there Is either n suppressed or n
demonstrated excitement. Indeei if man
can go out of a state of condemnation into
a state OF acceptance with Col, or see others
go, without any agitation OF soul, he is in an
unhealthy, morbid state, and is as repulsive
and absurd as a man who should boast he
saw n child snatched out from un Ter a
horses hoofs and felt no agitation. or saw a
man rescued from the fourth story OF
house on fire and felt no acceleration of the
pulses.
Salvation from sin and death and hell into
nie and peace and heaven forever is such a
can look on it without any agitation doubt
his Christianity. The fact is that sometimes
excitement is the most important possible
thing. In case of rssuscitatIon from drown
Ing or freezing, the one idea Is to excite ami
nation. Before conversion we ara dead. IT
is the business of the church TO revive,
arouse, awaken, resuscitate, startle into lite
Excitement is bad or good according to what
1t makes US do. II it makes US THAT which
Is bad, it is bad excitement. but if it make US
agitated about our eternal welfare, if it
make US pray, ii it make uS attend uDon
Christian service, If 1t make Us cry unto Cos
Tor mercy, then II is a good excitement.
1t is sometimes said that during revivals
Of religion great multituies of children and
young people are brought into the church,
md they do not know what they are about.
has been my observation that the earlier
people come into the kingdom of God the
more useful they are.
Robert Hall, the prince of Baptist preach
ers, was converted at twelve years of age. II
Is supposed he knew what he was about.
Matthew Henry, the commentator, who did
more than any man of his century for in
creasing the interest in the study of the
Scriptures, was converted at eleven years ol
age; Isabella Graham, immortal in the
Christian church, was converted at ten
years of age; DIR. Watts, whose hymns will
be sung all down the ages. was converted at
nine years of age =; Jonathan Edwards, per-
haps the mightiest intellect that the Ameri-
can pulpit ever produced, was converted at
seven years OF age, and that father and
mother take an awful responsibility when
they tell their child at seven years of age,
''You are too young to be a Christian" or
''You are too young TO connect yourself with
the church," That is a mistake as long as
eternity.
If during a revival two persons present
themselves as candidates for the church, ,an Il
the one is ten years OF age, and the other is
forty years OF age. will have more conf
dence In the profession OF religion OF the one
ten years OF age than the one forty years OF
age. Why2 The one who processes at forty
years of age has forty years OF impulse in
the wrong direction to correct, the child has
only ten years in the wrong dir act ion TO
correct. Four times ten are forty. Four
times the religious prospect for the lad taat
comes into the kingdom of Col, and into
the church at ten years Of age than the map
at forty.
I am very apt to look upon reviva's as con-
nected with certain men who foster them.
People who In this day do not like revivals,
nevertheless, have no: words o express their
admiration for the revivalists of the past. for
they were eyivalisis-Jonathan Edwards,
John Wesley, George Whiteield, Griffin
Davies, Ostorn, Knapp, Nettleton and many
Others whose names come 10 my mind. The
strength of their intellect and the holiness OF
their lives make me think they would not
have anything to do with that which was
ephemeral. Oh, it is easy to talk against re
vIvals.
Do you know where Aaron Burr started
on the downward road2 1t was when he
was in college, and he became an1ioui
about his soul and was about to put himself
under the influence of a revival, and min
lister of religion said: "Dont go there
Aaron don't so there; that's a place o
wildfire and great excitement; no religion
about thati don't so there" He tarried
fway. His serious Impressions departed.
ne started on the downward road. And
VINO Is responsible for his ruin? Was 1t the
n Mister who warned him against that re-
Now como 70 .he rn1I, genuine cauSe Of
objection TO r'viva!s. That is the cD's'rnss
81 the ohiector. 1t Is the secret and hilien
but unmistakable cause in every rase-a low
s'ate of religion in the heart. Vida awake,
rousecrated. useful Christians are never
AFRAID o. rev vrls. 1t is the spiritually dead
who are afraid OF having their sepulcher
mo,ested. The chief AGENTS OF the devil dur