Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1894-12-07

ab "a yS@~S - No~f
Graham, immortal in the Christian
church, was converted at 10 years OF
age; DR.. Wats, whose hymns will be
sung all down the ages, was converted
at 9 years of age; Jonathan Edwards,
perhaps the mightiest intellect that the
American pulpit ever produced, was con-
yerted at years Of age, and that father
and mother take an awful responsible
ty when they tell their child at 7 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.
Early Conversions.
If during a revival two persons pre-
sent themselves as candidates for the
church, and the one is 10 years Of age,
and the other is 40 years Of age l will
have moro confidence in the profession
Of religion of the one 10 years Of age
than the one 40 years Of age. Why2
The one who processes at 40 years OF
age has 40 years of impulse in the
wrong direction to correct, the child has
only 10 yeaSs in the wrong direction
to correct. Four times 10 are 40. Four
times the religious prospect for the lad
that comes into the kingdom Of God,
and into the church at 10 years Of age
than the man at 40.
1 am very apt to look upon revivals
as connected with certain men who fos-
tered them. People who in this day do
not like reviyals nevertheless have
not words to express their admiration
for the revivalists Of the past, for they
were revivalists-Jonathan Edwards,
John Wesley, George Whitefeld, Fletch-
or, Griffin, Davies, Osborn, Knapp,
Nettleton and many others whose names
come to 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 reyiyals.
A man said to Mr.. Dawson: II like
your sermons very much, but the after
meetings 1 despise. 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 go on the top OF
your neighbor's house and look down
his chimney to examine his fire, and OF
course you only get smoke in your eyes.
Why don't you come In the door and
sit down and warm"
Oh, / am afraid to say anything
against revivals Of religion, or against
anything that looks like them. because
think 1t may be sin against the Holy
Ghost, and you know the Bible says
that a sin against the Holy Ghost shall
never be forgiven, neither in this world
nor the world to come Now, II you are
a painter, and l speak against your pic
lures, do l not speak against you? II
you are an architect, and speak against
a building you put up, do l not speak
against you? II a revival be the work
of the Holy Ghost, and l speak against
that revival, do 1 not speak against the
Holy Ghost. And whosoeyer speaketh
against the Holy Ghost. says the Bi-
BILE, he shall never be forgiven, neither
in this world nor In the world to come.
think sometimes people have made q
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 a stronger in
tellect. He was capable Of doing any
thing good and great for his country OF
for the church Of God had he been right
" disposed, but his name Is associated
with treason against the United States
government, which he tried to over
throw, and with libertinism and public
| immortality.
Do you know where Aaron Burr start
ed on the downward road? 1t was when
he was in college, and he became anx-
ious about his soul and was about to
put himself under the influences OF a
revival. and a minister Of religion said:
Don't 90 there, Aaron; don't 90 there
that's place Of wildfre and great ex'
element; no religion about that; dom
90 there" He tarried away. His seri.
ous impressions departed. He started
on the downward road And who is re-
sponsible for his ruin1 Was 1t the min
lister who warned him against that re-
vivalI
When I am speaking Of excitement
in revivals, Of course l do not mean
temporary arrangement OF the nerves.
do not mean the absurd things OF which
we have read as transpiring sometimes
in the church Of Christ, but / mean an
intelligent, intense, all absorbing agi'
tation Of body, mind and soul In the
work Of spiritual escape and spiritual
rescue.
Now 1 come to the real, genuine
cause Of objection to revivals. That j;
the GOODNESS Of the objector. It Is the
secret and hidden but unmistakable
cause in every case-a low state OF reli'
! pion in the heart. Wide awake, conse-
Grated, useful Christians are never
afraid Of revivals 1t is the spiritually
dead who are afraid Of having their sep
ulcher molested. The chief agents OF
the devil during a great awakening are
always unconverted professors OF reli'
gion. AS soon as Christ's work begins
they begin to gossip against 1t, and take
a pail Of water and try to put out this
spark Of religious influence, and they
try to put out another spark. Do they
succeed? As we'll when Chicago was on
fire might some one have gone out with
garden water pot trying to extinguish
it.
A Pail Of Cold Water.
The difficulty is that when revival
begins in a church il begins at so many
points that while you have doused one
anxious soul with a pail OF cold water
there are 500 other anxious souls on fire.
| .--. ,----.------ --.- 80 .
On, how much better 1t would be to lay
hold Of the chariot Of Christ's gospo
and help pull it on rather than to fiinE
ourselves IN front Of the wheels, trying
to block their progressl We will no
stop the chariot, but we ourselves vii
be ground to powder.