Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1894-12-08
AND THE NET BROKE.
REV. DR.. TALMAeE MAKES A STRONG
PLEA FOR REVEALS.

Breaks With the Pressure Of Souls-Ta
tai MistaAes-.in Unconvertea Ministry
Training For Heaven.
BROOKLYN, Dec 2.-Dr. Tal,nagl
chose for the subject of his scrmo,
through the press today "Thc O0jec
lions to Religious Revivals, = from thu
text Luke v, 6, ''They inelosed o grea
multitude of fishes, and their net brake. =
Simon and his comrades had expert
enced tho night before what fishermen
call poor luck. Christ steps Oh board
the fishing smack and tells the sailor.
to pull away from the beach and direct.
them again to sink the net Sure enough
very soon tho net is full of fishes, anf
the sailors begin to haul ill., So large
school of fish was taken that the hardy
men begin to look red III the face q:
they pull, and hardly have they begun
to rejoice at their success when snap
goes thread of the net, and snap goes
another thread, so there is danger nct
only of losing the fish, but of losing tho
net
Without much caro- as to how much
the boat tits CT how much water is
splashed on deck. the fishermen rush
about gathering up the broken meshes
of the net. Out yontler there is a shiT
dancing on the wave, and they hail it,
Ship ahoy, bear down this N-ay" The
ship comes, and both boats. both fishing
smacks. arc filled with the fiounderiua
treasures.
"Ah," says some one. 'how much
better it would have been if they had
staid on shore, and fished with hook
and line, and taken one at time, in
stead of having this great excitement,
and tho boat almost upset, and the net
broken, and having to call for help, and
getting sopping wet with the seal The
church is the boat, the gospel is the
net, society is the sea, and great reyiv-
al is whole school brought in at one
sweep of the net. have admiration fG
that man who goes out with hook and
line to fish. | admire the way he I'M
winds the reel and adjusts the bait and
drops the hook in quiet place on q
still afternoon, and here catches one and
there one, but like also a big boat, and
n large crew, and net mile long, and
swift oars. and stout sails, and a stiff
breeze, and great multitude Of souls
brought--so great a multitude that you
have to get help to draw it ashore
straining the net to the utmost until it
breaks hero and there, letting a few es-
cape. hut bringing tho great multitude
into eternal safety.
The First Revival.
In other words, l believe in revivals
Tho great work of saving men began
with 1900 people joining the church III
one day, and it will close with 40, eco,
600 or 100, 600, 900 people saved i'll "a
hours, when nations shall be born in q
day. But there are objections to reviv-
ais People are opposed to them be-
cause the net might get broken, and il
by the pressure of souls it does rot get
broken then they take their own pom
knives and slit the net. ''They inclosedl
a great multitude of fishes, and the net
brake,
1t is sometimes opposed to revivals of
religion that those who come into the
church at such times do not hold cat;
as long as there is a gale of blessing
they have their sails up, but as coon
as strong winds stop blowing then they
drop into dead calm But what are
the facts in the case? In all our church,
es the vast majority of the useful peo-
pie are those who are brought in under
great awakenings, and they hold out.
Who are the prominent men i'll the
United States in churches, i'll prayer
meetings, i'll Sabbath schools For The
most part they are the product of great
awakenings.
| have noticed that those who are
brought into the kingdom of God
through rovivals have moro persistence
and mere determination in the Christian
life than those who como in under a
low state Of religion. People born in an
icehouse may live, but they will never
get over the cold they caught in the ice
housed A cannon ball depends upon the
impulse wit. 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 moro farreaching
and far resembling viii be the execu-
ton
But it is sometimes objected to reviy-
ais that there is so much excitement
that people mistake hysteria for reli-
gion.
Excitement.
We must admit that in every revival
of religion there is either n suppressed
or demonstrated excitement Indeed if
a man can go oat of state Of condem-
nation into state of acceptance with
God, or SEQ others go, without any agi
tation of soal, he is in an unhealthy,
morbid state, and is as repulsive and
absurd as man who should boast no
saw child snatched out frofl under .
horses hoofs and felt no agitation, or
saw u man rescued from the fourth sto.
ny Of a house on fire and felt no accei-
Grafton of the pulses.
Salvation from sin and death and
hell into life and peace and heaven for
ever is such tremendous thing that
If a man tells me he can look Oh it with
out any agitation doubt his Christian
ity. The fact is that sometimes excite.
ment is the most important possible
thing In case of rcsuscItation from
drowning or freezing, the one idea is to
excite animation. Before conversion we
are dead. Its the business Of the church
to revive, arouse, awaken, resrscitate,
startle into life. Excitement ii bad or
good according to what it makes Us do.
If it makes us do that which is bad, it
is bad excitement, but if it make Us ag-
itated about our eternal welfare, if it
make us pray, ii it make Us attend upon
Christian service, if it make US cry unto
God for mercy, then it is good ex-
citcinent.
1t is sometimes said that during re-
v'vals OF religion great inultitudes Of
children and young people are brought
into the church, and they do not know
what they are about II has been my
observation that the earlier people come
into the kingdom of God the moro use
full they are
Robert Hall. the prince of Baptist
preachers, was converted at 12 years of
age- II is supposed he knew what To
was about. Matthew Henry, the com.
laentator, who did more than any man
of his century for increasing the inter
est in the study of the Scriptures, was
converted at II years Of age; Isabella
Graham. immortal in the Christian
church. was converted at 10 years Of
age; DR. Watts, whose hymns win be