The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-02-03
The Great EvangeIist's Last
Afternoon Sermon Here.
SOWING GOOD SEED EVERYWHERE.
Work for All on Every Side-No Need
to Wait for Position or Influence
God Chose Humble Men for I'M
portant Works.

,,e have sown on all kinds of soil. butwe are
not responsible for the soil we SOW on but
8 let tho congregation beware ana DO on 'neit
guard 10 see that they don't belong to the first
three classes. firmly believe that II there
isn't real true not only conviction, but con-
triton for sin, and IL there isn'ta straiehteh-
ing out of the past life, as far asst lies IN; US,
then the seed will not take deep root. ana IL
will not be- long before many OF those that
.claim TO be young converts will relapse ihto
their old life. But when a man or woman IL
thorough and they do the things ood COM
mands them to do and there Is real true con-
triton, true turning from SIN 10 uon, anu IL
mead le there n true restitution, then there Is
very little falling away. L don't believe we
need 10 have so many backsliders II men ana
women will only start right.
Let me read few verses in the 4th chapter
of John, "Say not ye. There are yet Tour
months. and then cometh the .harvestf Be-
hold. ] say unto you, Lift mp your eyes, ana
look on the fields: for they are white alreauy
for harvest. And he that reapeth receivetn
wages and gatheroth fruit unto life eternal;
That both he that soweth ana he tnat reape.h
may rejoice TO sether. And herein Is that say
ing true. One soweth and another. reapeth. l
sent you 10 reap that whereon you bestowed
no labor: other men laborcd, and ye are en-
tered into their labors.
pelieye that 10 Is literally true. don't
think anyone need to say. -four months ana
then cometh the harvest" This Is about as
good harvest field as you will find anywhere
in Christendom-right here in providence,
Now Is the time just 20 move let this be the
time; let this be the hour; let each one oi us
thrust in the sickle
Now come TO my text. In the 1sth chapter
of Daniel, it is the 3d verse. but will read
the "a and I'd verses "And many OF them
that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake
some TO everlasting life, and some TO shame
and everlasting contempt Andthey that DC
wise shall shine as the brightness OF the hrma-
ment; and they that turn many to righteous
ness as the stars forever and ever" Ihese
were not the words OF some hot-headed
evangelist. they are not the words OF some
young fanatic, some young man Just starting
out In life, but they are tue words OF an ola
statesman who had had rich ana
deep experience who had seen q great dear OF
the worlds glitter, who bad been In The court
OF Nebuchadnezzar. Belshazar and Darius,
VINO had seen great deal OF public lie; anu
now we find the old statesman and prophet
Is about ready TO go home, his work Is about
finished, about over. And he takes up his pen
and writes these words, And they that be
wise shall SHINE the brightness OF
the armament; and they that turn
many 10 righteousness as the stars forever
and evef.'s Now, notice how that has been
fulfilled and how II Is being fulfilled con-
stantly. Although that statesman has been
gone 300 years, there never was time in.the
history of the world when he shone so brightly
as he does now. Not because be was premier
of Nebuchadnezzar's reign. not because he was
chief executive under DarIus--I don't think
we ever heard Of him as a statesman, as an
eminent man. as a polltician-but II was be-
cause he lived for God. He looked beyond
this world and into the glory of the other
He lived for eternity. and how he shines
today. and how he is going 10 shine on! Who
can tell us who were the wise mch OF BabylonY
Who their great gcologists and scientistsY We
don't know the names OF any OF them. Who
can tell Us who were the great millionaires OF
that time. the leading business men Of Baby
lon, the great bankers and hnanciersY Their
names we do not know. they were forgotten
long. loug aco-ages and ages ago and yet
this man shines on. Now the fact Is. we all
like to shine: and want TO say that there is
no true child of God here today that may not
shine IL he will.
ow, we talk about the hard field. We say
.You know IL is very hard field here in Prov
idence. You will find IL very peculiar"
never yet went to town where wasn't told
that It was peculiar place. Now. that is
only one of the devils own arguments. Who
ever had "a harder field taan this prophet? He
was taken and made a slave: and not only
slave but he was Hebrew, and there wasn't
a nation under Heaven that the heathcns
detested as they did those Hebrews. This
man couldn't ispeak word of tho language.
All the royal court and every one there was
against everything this nan believed in. and
yet he went down there and began 10 shine,
and ne went on shining right through 10 his
old age Now IL he could work In that field
that was dark and unpromising, do you
tell me there is any man OF woman here who
cannot work IL he or she will -
Then you say you have no influence. you
can make an Influenza No postion2 You
can nakea position. Where did tile Lord
find Nfosesf Back there in Horeb. 10 tho de-
sert looking after sheep. Not q very high oc-
cupation in the sighvof those proud Egypt
ians. lie had been there ~ years. but he was
Just the man God wanted. and when t;pd
lad IA i'm hp NH al iUad I'm, Aud
he has been shining all these centuries! lie
might have stayed In the Egyptian court bat
he stepped over the crown OF this world and
took up the cross and identified himself with
the unseen God. And he has become i'm
mortsL Where did God find ElishaY
Behind IL yoke of oxen. Hc was not n man of
letters. not man of position In this world.
hut he was just the man God called 10 take
Elijah's placs Where did God hnd Gideon?
Tbrashing. Very common kind OF work, but
the Lord God took him. Where did God find
DAVID Why! when Samuel went 10 the house
of Jesse 20 get some one to take Sauls place.
they called In all the sons but a little boy who
was taking care of the sheep. They thought
he was too young but that was the very one
God wanted. That is wherc God
FOUND him. Don't talk about not
having position. God will give
your position IL you have heart for the
work IL you are willing TO just take up the
cross and follow the Son OF tiod you will have
position Where did God find the i2 spostles2
Not In Brown University; not In Oxford: not
in Cambridge; not st Harvard, nor at Yale.
lie found them up there fishing at tho Sea OF
Gaiilee. They were not lettered men, but
they did the work very well and they slime
pretty brightly don't theyf They outshone
the whole Of eihst crowd of men that
looked down upon them. One hundred years
ago Napoleon was wonder 10 tho nation.
People seemed 10 speak his name with bated
breath. they looked upon him as almost a
little God: and some Thought he was the A nti-
Christ. But where n his glory today was
In Paris in '6s and when Napoleon the third
rode through the streets, The people went
nearly vild. made inquiries In fegard tothe
excteincni. ana they said 10 was the young
Prince that had come ia 10 the exposiuor.
Paris was lust wild over the name of Nspo-
leon. That was In 90, aud only years after
that he was exile and only n
little Nxhila after TINT hn lhN In his