The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-06-09

generation Inf. .HuI H..u IIwU I..n
another Cromwell H1a roughly pur..I.1 .
parliament rnd with r.n..'H-m driven
NEARLY nII IhO rulers .1."N. guUou IrUm
thUIr high U..,. -. .lr H- ] observed
that gDuUrt..u IUr thu u..i part tNDN uid .
tHoif n.-t sm-tIs Ne.Hi.u. hut Boo ..r .
a. knew tH,m lHuy diu quite vDl aud .
many u. tI.m gIUuuu-Iy VuIl ThDN vyuU
born Ht fl. right t.mc and thoy died uf .
the right umu They lgl tho world hytt.r
chan fHvy found &c. Wuare indebted tl .
thrw for Jlo la.t chat tHcy prepared the
way for our coming Eighteen hundred .
and ninety four r0,gunug and gratefully .
saIut.s lsUN cone generation pa4-ytb
away and another generation cumuth"
An Anthem.
There aro fathers and mothers here
whom ] baptized iu their infancy There
is mot one person boz this church, board OF
session or trustees who was here when /
came Hov and there iu Obi, vast assem-.
bly, is one person who heard my opening
sermon i'm Brooklyn, hut mot morc than
one person bon every 500 now present OF
the o. persons who gave mo q unanimous
call WHOM ] came only three, | believe, are
living
But this sermon is not dirgc II is an
anthem While this world is appropriate
a. a temporary stay, as an eternal resi-
dencc itwould bc dead failure. ltwould
bo a dreadful sentence If our race were
doomed to remain here 900 winters and
/ 900 summers. God keeps us here just
long enough to give us am appetite for
heaven Had we been born i'm celestial
realms we would not have been able to ap-
prrciate the bliss II needs "a good many
rough blasts i'm this world 90 qualify us 90
properly estimate the superb climate Of
that good land where it is never too cold
or too hot too cloudy or too glazing,
Heaven will be more TO us than to those
supernal beings who were never tempted
or sick or bercavcd or tried or disap-
pointed. SO you may well take my text
out Of the minor key and set it to some
tune in the major key one generation
passcth away, and another generation
comoth.
Nothing can rob us of the satisfaction
that uncounted thousands of the genera
ton just past were converted, comforted
and harvested for heaven 10y this church,
whether in the present building or the
three preceding buildings in which they
worshipod. The two great organs of the
previous churches went down in the mem
orablc fires but the multitudinous songs
they led year after year were not recalled
or injured. There is no power in earth or
hell to kill a hallcluiah. 1t is impossible
to arrest a hosanna. What a satisfaction
to know that there are many thousands in
glory on whose eternal welfare this church
wrought mightily Nothing can undo that
work. They have assembled, the multitudcs
who served God in that generation. That
chapter is gloriously ended. But that gen
Grafton has left its impression upon this
generation
\ sailor was dying ON shipbuard, and he
said to his mates My lads, l can only
think of one passage of Scripture, THE
soul that sinneth, it shall die, and that
keeps ringing in my ears. The soul that
sinncth, it shall die. Can't you think Of
something else in the Bible to cheer me
up?" Well, sailors are kind, and they tried
TO think of some other passage OF Scripture
with which to console their dying com
rade, but they could not One Of them
said Let us call up the cabin boy. His
mother was "A Christian, and l guess he
has a Bible The cabin boy was called
up, and the dying sailor asked him if he
had q Bible. He said, Yes ~ But he
could mot exactly find it, and the dying
sailor scoldcd him and said, "Ain't you
ashamed of yourself not to read your Bi-
bley" So the boy explored the bottom Of
his trunk and brought out the Bible, and
| his mother had marked a passage that
| just fitted the dying sailors case, The
/ blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cloanscth
from all sin" That helped the sailor to
| die in peace. So one generation helps an
| other, and good things written or said or
done are reproduced long aftcrward
Gods Answer to Prayer.
| During the passing of the last genera
ton some peculiar events have unfolded.
| One day while resting at Sharon Springs,
| \. VI think it was in 1870, the year
after my settlement in Brooklyn-and
| while walking in the park of that place, l
| found myself asking the question: Il won
/ der if there is any special mission for me
to execute in this worldi If there is
may God show it to me" There soon
came upon me great desire to preach the
gospel through the secular printing press.
l realized that the vast majority of people,
even in Christian lands, never enter a
church, and that it would be an opportu-
nifty of usefulness infinite if that door of
publication were opened. And so l re-
corded that prayer in IA blank book and
offered the prayer day in and day out until
the answer came, though in way differ
ent from that which had expected for ii
came through tine Misrepresentation and
| persecution of enemies, and have to re-
| cord it for the encouragement of all minis
tors of the gospel who are misrcpresented
that if the Misrepresentation be virulent
enough, and bitter enough, and continu
Gus enough, there is nothing that so wild
ems ones field of usefulness as hostile at
tack, if you are really doing the Lord.
work. The bigger the lie told about me
the bigger the demand to see and heal
what l really was doing. From one stage
of sermonic publication to another the
work has gone on until week by week anC
for about 20 years | have had the NorlC
for my audience as no man ever had, ant
today more so than at any other time
The syndicatcs inform me that my sermons
go now to about %, O0O, 600 Of people in al
; lands. l mention this not in vain boast
but as IA testimony to the fact that God au
swers prayer, Would God l had better oc
cupied the field and been more consccratet
to the work. May God forgive me for lacl
: of service in the past and double and quad
ripple and quintuple my work in future.
, In this my quarter century sermon
record the fact that side by side with tn
procession Of blessings has gone process
: sion of disasters. | am preaching today il
the fourth church building since begal
in this city. My first sermon was in tn
old church on Schermerhorn street TO an
audience chiefly Of empty Seats for tn,
church was almost extinguished. Tha
d church filed and overlooking, we built
larger church, which after two or tire.
years disappeared in flame Then we bull
another church, which also i'm a line of fer
succession disappeared in the same way
Then we put up this building, and may Il
stand for many years a fortress of right
eousness and lighthouse for the storm
tossed, its gates crowded with vast Assem-
blages long after we have ceased to fre
quent them.
The Free Gospel
, We have raised in this church over 81 e,
, 03O 900 for church charitable purposes dur
ing the present pasturate, while we have
given free Of all expense, the gospel [,
| hundreds Of thnmsnnna II atrut..,u..- r-.nl