The Penn's Grove record., 1894-05-18

Jesus Christ, priding themselves at the same
timo on their sanctimoniousness, always
turn out badly-I never knew an exception
while those who are the most consistent,
the most useful and the most consecrated
have perfume In their conversation and
heaven In their face.
The happiest Christians that l have ever
known have been persons from sixty to eighty
years OF age. BY hat time people get over
the shams and the p~retenses Of society and
have no longer any patience with anything
like imposture In religion. o Christian, how
dare you be gloomy2 Is not God your Father?
Is not Jesus Christ your Saviour HIS not
mercles7 Are you insensible to the fact that
there are glories awaiting you In the better
land-doxologies OF celestial worship, eternal
chora!s, fearless eyes, songs that resound
under arches al strength and hosannas that
clap their hands at the foot OF the throne?t
Is it nothing to you that all the hills OF
heaven are radiant with tho faces OF those
who havegone up from you and who are wait
inZ for your coming, ready to keep with you
eternal holiday? Is there nothing in songs
that never cease, in hearts that never ache,
In s~plendors that never die, to make you
glad2 Then take no more mercy at the hand
of thy God! Give back the marriage ring of
love that Jesus put on your finger In thedsv
of your espousali Plant no more OF the
flowers of heaven where there ought to be
Eothing but nettles and nightshade!
We try TO make this church a cheerful
church. A man on Saturday afternoon
stands in his store and says 'How snail l
meet these obligations2 How can 1 endure
this new disaster that Is coming upon me?"
He goes home. Sahhatl morning finds him
In the house OF God. Through the song,
through the sermon, through the prayer, the
Lord Jesus Christ says TO that man 20
man, I have watched thee. l have seen all
thy struggles It is enough. will see thee
through. l will stand between thee and thy
creditors. l will make up in heavenly
treasures what you have lost in earthly
treasures. Courage, man, courage! Angels
of God, / command you to clear the track
for that man put your wings over his head |;
with your golden scepters strike for his de.
Tense throw around him all the defenses oil
eternity" What is the consequence? Tint
business man is strengthened. He goes TO
the store next day feeling that God is with
him and ready to deliver.
That same Sunday there Is a poor old wo-
man In the church hearing the gospel. oh,
how shrunken she Is! She wears the same
dress she wore twenty years ago. o aded
Il Is aud now out ofdate! She sits and listens
as we'll as she can. Her eyes are so dim she
cannot see half way across the church. Her
sar Is 80 imperfect that she can only catch
JSGdoIOhhity q LVtC VI tho RohiAiA VI " "ShN
Of the preacher. Some one sitting next to
her gives her a book and finds the place for
her. She says, ''Thank you, miss thank
you." She holds the book close up to her
syes and with q voice all full oil tremors
'ings:
Jesus, lover of my sou,
Let me to Thy bosom fly
While the pillows near ma roll,
While the tempest still is high.
Hide me, 0 my Saviour, hide,
TIl the storm of life s past.
SAFE into the heaven guide
Oh, rece We my soul at last.
And Jesus says to her. Mother. are 20,
weary" And she says, eyes, Jesus, I an
very tired" Jesus says, mother, are you
poor?" And she says. 'Yes, 1 am very
poor. 1 ann sew any more. !! cannot
knit any more. l am very poor" Jesus
says to her, "Mother. would you like &c
.est?" She says, eyes, Lord that is what
[ want-rest." Courage, mother" says
Jesus. ~ will see thee through"
She goes home. The next morning In the
tenement house some n dwelling on
another ioor comcsto her room and knocks.
No answer. The door is opened. She is
dead! The night before the chariots OF God
halted at thai pillow Of straw. and Jesus
kept His promise. He said that He would
give her rest, and He has given her rest.
Glory be to God for the height, the depth,
The length and the breadth OF such Christian
comforti oh, that we might have such Joy
as that which inspired the men at the battle
OF Leuthen! They were singing a Christian
song as they went into battle. A general
said to the king, "Shall I stop those people
,inging?" "No," said the king. "Men that
sing like that can fight" l would that we
had a singing church, a joyful church, a ju-
bilant church, a comforting church, for then
we would nave a triumphant church.
remark, further, that we have here trioi
TO build a church abreast of the times. it is
all folly for us to try to do things the way
they did fifty or 100 years ago. We might us
we'll be blowing with Eliiah's crooked stick,
or 20 into battle with Sauls armor, or prefer
a canalboat to an express train, rs to be
clinging to old things. What we most need
now is a wide awake church. People who
are out In the world all the week, ~jostlinS
against this lightning footed century, come
into the church on the Sabbath and go right
to sleep unless they have a spirited service.
Men engaged In literary caillngs all the
week, reading pungent, sharp writings, can
not be expected to come and hear u eccle'
s~iastical humdrum.
F., II man stay at home on Sundays and
reads the newspapers, it is because the news
paper are more interesting. We need, my
brethren. to rouse up and stop hunting with
blank cartridges. The church Of God ought
TO be the leader, the Interpreter, the inspirei
OF the age. 1t Is all folly for us to be dis
cussing old issues-arraigning Nero, hang
ing Absalom, striking the Philistines witt
Shamgar's OK g~oad-when all around about
us are iniquities to be slain.
/ Did I say that the church ought to b.
abreast Of the times? that back. The
church OF God ought to be ahead ofthetime;
AS far in advance as the cross OF Christ Il
ahead Of all human invention. Paul wa
1000 years ahead Of the day in which hi
lived. The swift footed years that have
passed since Luther died have not yet cont
IN TO Luther's grave. Give iniquity 400;
wears the start, and tho feet OF Christianity
are so nimble that If you will but give it full
swing It will catch up and pass 1t in two
bounds. The church OF Tod ought to b.
ahead of the times.
Iremark, further, that we have tried here
In the love and fear OF God, to build a churcl
that would be characterized by conversions
have heard of very good psople who coulc
preach on Tor fifteen or twenty years and SET
no conversions, but yet have faith. 1t takes
a very FOOD man to do that. l do not know
how a man can keep his faith up IL souls are
not brought to the Lord Jesus Christ. Tina
church that does not bring men and womel
to the feot OF the Saviour is a iailur car
not how fine the building, or how sweet tn
music, or how eloquent the preaching, o
how elegant the surroundings-it isa failure
lrhe church Of God was made for Just on
thlng-to get men out OF the world into the
kingdom Of heaven.
The tendency In churches is to spend thei
time in giving fine touches to Christian
| already polished. We keep our religion TO
much Indoors and under shelter, when !
ought 10 be climbing the rocks or hewing l
the forests. Then It would be a stalwart re
ligion, a robust religion, a religion able I
digest the strong meat of the word, instea
of being kept on the pap and cruel OF spir
itual invalidism. It Is high time that W
threw ofthe Sunday clothes OF siekly 9
mentality and put on the working dress
an earnest, active Christianity.
Here Is Brooklyn, here is New York, her
are the United States here is the who
world to be converted. 1t Is 1874 yea
tinee Christ came, and yet Europe. Ash
Africa, North q . South America are st
u~nevangelized..' More people born every ye'
into the world than are born into the kin.
dom of God. Al that rate ask any II WI
can do a simple sum in arithmetic to calcl
----l4 ill hn hFnTUht