The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-12-05
A NET FULL OF FISH.
THE REV. DIR TALMAGE breaches
on OBJECTIONS TO REVEALS.
The Great ReyivaIist Of the Past-Be-
ginning of Aaron Burr's Down
ward Career-FrOm Paradise to the
Judgment COnfingratiOn The
stormy Sea of Life.

chose for the subject Of his sermon through
the press today THE Objections to Rellg
ious REVEALS" from the text of Luke V,
6. They inclosed great multitude Of
fishes, and their net brake"
Simon and his comrades had experienced
the night before what fishermen call poor
luck" Christ steps on board the fishing
smack and tells the sailors to pull away
from the beach and directs them again to
sink the net. Sure enough, very soon the
net is full of fishes, and the sailors begin
to haul in. SO large a school Of fish was
taken that the hardy men begin TO look
red in the face as they pull, and hardly
have they begun TO rejoice at their success
when snap goes a thread, so there is dan
ger not only Of losing the fish, but Of losing
the net
Without much care as to how much the
boat tits or how much water is splashed
on deck the fishermen rush about gather
ing up the broken meshes Of the net. Out
yonder there IS a ship dancing on the wave,
and they hail It. "Shlp ahoy, bear down
this wayr The ship comes. and both
boats. both fishing smacks. are filed with
the h0undering treasures.
All" SAYS some one chow much bet
ter it would have been if they had staid on
shore and fished with hook and line, and
taken one at a time, instead Of having
this great excitement, and the boat almost
upset, and The net broken, and having to
call for help and getting sopping wet with
the sear' The church is the boat, the gos-
Del is the net, society is the sea, and
great reviva, is a Whole school brought in
al one sweep of the net. j have admira-
ton for that man who goes out with
I afn HHrVnf~ FE az
he unwinds the reel and adjusts the bait
and drops The hook IN a quiet place on
still afternoon. and here catches one and
there one. but I ike also a big boat, and
large crew, and net mile long, and
SWifc oars. and stout sails, and Stlu
breeze. and a great multitude of sous
brought. 81 great a multitude that you
have 10 get help 20 draw il ashore, strain
ing the net to the utmost until it breaks
here and there. letting a few escape, but
bringing the great multitude into eterna,
Objections to RevivaIs.
In other words. L believe in revivals.
The great work of saving men began with
1900 people joining the church in one day,
and 1t VIII close with 100000 OF 100000
600 people saved in twenty-four hours,
when nations shall be born in a day. But
there are objections to revivals. People are
opposed to them because ne net might get
broken. and if by the pressure of souls 1t
does not get broken then they take their
OWN penknives and slit the net They in
closed great multitude Of fishes, and the
act brake"
Il is sometimes opposed To revivals of
religion that those who come into the
church at such times do not hold out. As
long as there is a gale of blessing they
have their sails up, but as soon as strong
winds stop blowing then they drop into a
dead calm. In all our churches the vast
majority Of the useful people are those
who are brought in under great awaken
ings, and they hold out. Who are the
prominent men in the United States in
churches, in prayer meetings, in Sabbath
schools? For the most part they are the
product Of great awakenings.
l have noticed that those who are
brought into the kingdom of God through
revivals have more persistence and more
determination in the Christian life than
those who come in under a low state Of
religion. People born in an ice house may
live, but they will never get over the cold
they caught in the ice house. A cannon
ball depends upon the impulse with which
it starts for how far it shall go and how
swiftly, and the greater the revival force
with which a soul Is started the more far
execution.
But it is sometimes objected to revivals
that there is so much excitement that peo-
pie mistake hysteria for religion.
A Useful Excitement.
We must admit that in every revival of
religion there is either a suppressed or a
demonstrated excitement. Indeed, if a man
can go out Of a state of condemnation into
a state Of acceptance with God, or see 9TH
ers go. without any agitation of soul. he
is IN an unhealthy, morbid state and is as
repulsive and absurd as a man who should
boast he saw a child snatched out from
h0 q. g -
or saw man rescued from the fourth
story OF a house on fire and felt no ac-
2sleration Of the pulses.
Salvation from sin and death and hell
into life and peace and heaven forever is
such tremendous thing that if a man
tells me he can look on it without any agi-
tati0n L doubt his Christianity. The fact
is that sometimes excitement is the most
important possible thing. In case. of re-
suscitation from drowning or freezing the
one idea is to excite animation. Before con-
version we are dead. 1t Is the business of
the church TO revive, arouse, awaken. re-
suscitate startle into life Excitement is
bad or good according 70 what IL makes us
do If II makes Us do that which is bad,
II IS bad excitement. but If 1t makes us
agitated about our eternal welfare, II il
make US pray, If it make us attend upon
Christian service, If it make us cry unto
God for mercy, then it is a good excite
ment.
II u ooliGA4ttES Sdit lHdI during TeNlNalS
OF religion great multitudes of children
and young people are brought into the
church, and they do not know what they
are about 1t has been my observation
that the earlier people come into the king
dom Of God the more useful they are.
Robert Hall, the prince Of baptist
preachers. was converted at twelve wears
Of age. 1t is supposed he knew what he
was about. Matthew Henry, the CON-
mentatOr who did more than any man of
his century for increasing the interest In
the study Of the scriptures, 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;
Jonat than 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 yourself with the
church" That is a mistake as long as
eternity.
RI during a revival two persons present
themselves as candidates for the church
and the one is ten years Of age and the
other is forty years OF age, l will have
more confidence IN the profession of re-
llgiOn Of the one ten years of age than the
one forty years Of age Why? The one
who PROCESSES at forty years Of age has
forty years Of impulse in the wrong di-
recti0n to correct; the child has only ten