The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1894-12-05

Robert Hall, the prince OF Baptist
preachers, was converted at twelve
years of age. 1t is supposed he knew
what he was about. Matthew Henry,
the commentator, who did more than
any man of his century for increasing
the interest in the study of the Scrip
lures, was converted at eleven years OF
age; Isabella Graham, immortal in the
Christian church, was converted at ten
years Of age; DR.. Watts, whose hymns
will be sung all down the ages, was
converted at nine years of age; JON
athan Edwards, perhaps the mightiest
intellect that the American 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 Christian"
or: "You are too young to connect your
self with the church" That is mis-
take as long as eternity.
IT during revival two persons pre-
sent themselves as candidates for the
church, and the one is ten years of age
and the other is forty years OF age, |
will have more confidence in the pro-
fession of religion Of the one ten years
of age than the one forty years of age.
Why? The one who professed at forty
years Of age has forty years of impulse
in the wrong direction to correct -Four
times ten are forty. Four times the
religious prospect for the lad that
comes into the kingdom of God and
into the church at ten years of age than
the man at forty.
am very apt to look upon revivals
as connected with certain men who fos-
tered them. = People who in this day do
not like revivals nevertheless have not
words to express their admiration for
the revivalists of the past, for they
were evivalists-Jonathan Edwards,
John Wesley, George Whitefeld, Flet-
cher 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 reYivals.
A man said to Mr. Dawson: 81 like
your sermons very much, but the after
meetings despise. When the prayer
meeting begins always go up into the
gallery and look down, and am dis
gusted" "Well," said Mr.. 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 get warm?"
Oh! | am afraid to say anything
against revivals Of religion, or against
anything that looks like them, because
think it may be sin against the
Holy Ghost, and you know the Bible
says that sin against the Holy Ghost
shall never be forgiven, neither in this
world nor the world to come. Now,
If you are painter and l speak against
your pictures, do l not speak against
you? If you are an architect and
speak against a building you put up,
do / not speak against you? If a re-
vival be the work of the Holy Ghost
and speak against that revival, do
not speak against the Holy Ghost? And
whosoeyer speaketh against the Holy
Ghost, says the Bible, he shall never be
forgiven, neither in this world nor in
the world to come. think sometimes
people have made a fatal mistake IL
this direction. a
Many of you know the history o.
Aaron Burr. He was one of the most
brilliant men of his day. 1 suppose
this country never produced stronger
intellect. He was capable of doing any
thing good and great for his country
or for the church of God had he beer
rightly disposed; but his name is asso
ciated with treason against the United
States government, which he tried t.
overthrow, and with libertinism ant
public immortality.
Do you know where Aaron Bur-
started on the downward road? 1t wa
when he was in college, and he became
anxious about his soul, and was abou
to put himself under the influence of ;
revival, and minister of religion said
Don't go there, Aaron, don't go there
that's place of wildfire and excite
ment; no religion about that; don't e
there" He tarried away. His seriou
impressions departed. He started ol
the downward road. And who is re
sponsible for his ruin? Was it the min
lister who warned him against that re
vival?
When l am speaking Of excitement il
revivals, of course do not mean TEN
porary arrangement of the nerves.
do not mean the absurd things of whicl
we have read as transpiring sometime
in the church of Christ, but / mean a
intelligent, intense, all-absorbing agi
tation of body. mind and soul in
work Of spiritual escape and spiritua
rescue.
Now / come to the real, genuine caus
OF objections to revivals. That is tn
coldness of the objector. 1t is the Sc
cret and hidden but un mistskable caus
in every case-a low state Of religion i
the heart Wide-awake, consecrated
useful Christians are never afraid ofre
vivals. 1t is the spiritually dead VIII
are afraid Of having their sepulche
molosted. The chief agents Of the dew
during great awakening are alway
unconverted professors Of religion. A
soon as christ's work begins, they b
gin to gossip against 1t, and take pa
Of water and try to put out this spar
of religious influence, and they try
put out another spark. Do they su,
ceedP AS well when Chicago was o
fire might some one have gone out wit
garden waterproof trying to extinguis