Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1894-12-14
nEV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BEuOtlLYN DIvISE'S SUM-
DAY SERMON.
Subject "Tke Objections TO Rellg-
ious Reveals

| net. Sure enough, very soon WV ." =, =;
| Of fishes. and the sailors begin 10 hau. IN :
| c. i.r,,o'o school If fish WAS taken that the
| bara,, mon begin to look red In the ih'e Us
| ,hs, null and hardly rave they begun 10 re-
| ioice nt their success when snap tosS
thread OF the net. and snap goes announcer
| thread. so there is danger not only OF loSlhS
the nsh, but Of losing the net.
! without mnch care as 10 how much the
hon, iilts or how much water is splashei on
All the fishermen rush about gathering
| nm the broken meshes OF the net. Out
| wonder there is shin dancing on the
wovc and they hail IT, "Ship ahoy, bear
| down this yav ~ The ship comes, and
both toats, both fishing smacks, are filled
with the flounderiug treasures.
"Ah, says some one, chow much better
Il would have been IL thev had staid on
sbore. and nshed with n hook and line, and
tnken ono at a time. instead OF having this
great excitement. and tho boa: almost upset,
and the net broken. and having TO call for
help, and getting sopping wet with the
sea ~ The church is the boat, tho gospel ls
the net, society is the sea. anG great re-
yivaI is whole school brought in at ono
svaep OF the net. | have admiration for
that man who goes out with hook an lin'
10 fish. admire the way ho unwinds the
reel and adjusts the bait and drops the
hook in a quiet place on still after
noon, and here catches one and there
| one but | like also n big boat, AMI
n large crew. and a net amile long, ana swift
oars, and stout sails and stih hreeze, an |
n great mulritule of souls hrOught-sc great
n multitude that you have to get help 10
draw 1t misunderstanding the ne: TO tho ny
most until II breaks hero and there, citing q
few escape but bringing the great multitude
into eternal safety.
In other words. believe in revivals The
great work OF saving men began with 500
people Joining the church in ono day AMI 1t
| will close with 40 00O, 900 or 100 600, 900 PEG.
| ple saved in "a hours. when nations shall he
born in day. But there are objections to
| reyivals People are opposed to them be-
cause the net might get broken. and II by
the pressure OF souls 1t doest not get broken,
then they take their own penknives and slit
the net. "They inclosed great multitude
OF fishes, and the net hraAr.'
1t is sometimes opposed to revirals OF re-
ligion that those who come into the church
at such times 40 not hold out; as long as
there is n Gale OF blessing they have their
| sails up Tut rs soon as strong winds stop
blowing then they drop into dead calm.
| BUT what are the facts in tho case? In al
our churches the vast ma jority OF the useful
people are those who are brought in under
great awakenlngs, and they hold out WhC
are the prominent men III the United States
in churches, in PRAYER meetings, in sabbath
Bcnools2 For the NEST part they are the pro-
duct Of great awakenings.
have noticed that those who are brought
into the kingdom Of GOl though revvals
have more persistence AMI moro determine
ton in the Christian life tHan those who
come in undrrn low state o! religion. Poo
pie born in an icehOuse may live, hut thel
will never get over tho COLI they caught il
the icehousc! cannon ball depends upon
the impulse with which it starts for how iai
It shall go an how swiftly, md the greater
the revival force with which soul Is statte'
the more farreaching and lar resounding vii
be the execution.
But 1t Is sometimes objected to rdvival'
that there is so much excitement that peop!,
mistake hystcria for rcti ciou.
We must admit that in every revival OF re-
ligion there is either "A suppressed or
demonstrated excitement. Indeed II mar
can 90 ont Of a state OF condemnation intt
n state o. acceptance with GOD, orsee other
go, without any agitation OF soul, he is in al
unhealthy, moroid state, and is AZ repuIslv
and absurd as n man who should boast II
saw Il child snatched out from under
horses hOOfs AMI felt no agitation, or saw &
man rescued from the fourth story OF {
house on fire and felt no acceleration Of tn'
pulses.
Salvation from sin and death and he'll int,
life and peace and heaven forever is sucn
tremendous thing that II a man tells me h
can look on il without any agitation duu'
his Chrlstianttv The fuCt Is that sometime
excitement is the most important p7s-ipl'
thing. In case OF res uscltaton from drown
ing or freezing. the one idea IS TO exile AM
nation. Eoore conversion We arr dead. |
is the business of the church to revive
arouse, awaken, resuscitate. startIr into life
ttN "a
It makes US do. If it makes us do that wnic
is bad, it IS bad excitement, tut il II make II
agitated about cur eternal welfare, II
make us pray, II II make US attend upo
Christian service, II il make ia cry unto TO
for mercy, then 1t is a good excitement.
II is sometimes said thRt during revival
Of religion great multituios OF children an
young people ARE brought into the church
and they do not know what they aro about
1t has been my observation that the earit
people come into the Kingdom OF God th
more useful they are.
Robert Hall, the prince OF Baptist preach
ers, was converted ut twelve years OF ace.
is suppose he knew what he was about
Matthew Henry, the commentator, who Ill
more than any man OF his century for il
creasing the interest in the study Of til
Scriptures, was converted ut eleven years {
age; Isabella Graham, immortal in III
Christian church, was converted at te
years OF age DR.. Watts, whose hymns W,
be sungall down the ages, was convened 4
nine years OF age Jonathan Edwards, pc
haps the mightlest intellect that the Amer
can pulpit ever produced, was converted
seven years Of age, and that father an
mother take an awful responsibility whc
they tell their child NJ seven years OF az
"You are too young 10 be Christian {
you are too young TO connect yourself wit
tho church. That is a mistake as long /
eternity.
II during q revival two persons prese
themselves as candidates for the church, AN
the one is ten years OF age, and the other
forty years Of age, will have more cont
dence In the profession OF religion Of the OF
ten years Of age than the one forty years
age. Why2 The one who processes at for
years OF age has forty years OF impulse
the wrong direction to correct the child hi
only ten years in the wrong direction
correct. Four times ten are forty. Fol
times the religious prospect for the lad tn
comes into the kingdom OF Got, and in
the church ut ten years OF age than the mi
at forty.
/ am very aptto look upon revivals as co
nected with certain men who foster thel
People who In tbs day do not like revival
nevertheless, have not words 10 express the
- ]
; they were revivaiss Jonathan EdwarC
John Wesley, George Whiteaeld, GriGl
Davies, Os1orn, Knapp, Nettleton and ma
Others whose names come 10 my mind. T
strength OF their intellect and the holiness
their lives make me think they would n
have anything TO do with that which W
l. ephemeral. Oh, It is easy to talk against
: vIvals.
Do you know where Aaron Burr start
m hn yarl nnIO h.
was in college, and he became anxio
8 about his SOU and was about TO put hms
under the influence OF a revival, and mi
lister OF religion said: Don't 20 thel
. Aaron don't go there that's place
wildnre and great excitement; no religl
!. about that; don't go there" He tarr,
= away. His serious Impressions departt
y He started on the downward road. A
who Is RESPONSIBLE for his ruInp Was II t
minister who warned him against that
vivGl2