Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1895-08-15


His children. preach the word"
Tell all about Gods dealings 10 man.
OF His commandments, Of His sorrow
for us when we break them, because
it leads us away from that which makes
us happy and glad. OF His Joy when
one sinner repenteth, of the birth and
life and sutferings and death on the
cross of Jesus the Saviour Of mcnl
How He so loved us that lie left
heaven to save us and make lis happy
and glad and sweet and sunny in life
and evcrlastingly happy in death oh
Tell of Jesus the Saviour Wonderful |
story Of love The light is sweet be.
cause He made it, for He is the light |
of the world God 30 loved the world |
that He gave His only begotten Son
that whatsoever believeth on Him
should not perish, but have everlasting
life. p" The flowers are more beautiful
because He fashioned their delicate
petals, and gave them their rich and
wonderful shading. His grace sufficient
in every trial, every trouble. One God,
but two revelations TO man, the word
and nature Speaking to us out of the
word, and in the works of nature, as
well, one and the same story Of infinite
wisdom and love!
We may only know God as fully us
our poor weakness will permit us to
know Him, by coming as the little
child, trustful, dependingly and in
tensely sincere and in earnest, to ask
Him to teach us how to know Him,
how to understand His word, how to act
and conduct ourselves, how to love Him
| am speaking of heart knowledge now,
as revealed by His spirit. We may
get many lessons of morality, many les
sons of great good and Importance from
the Word, and only have cold intel.
lectual knowledge Of God. God wants
the heart He reveals Himself to the
soul, not always to the intellect. He
does not say, Son, daughter, give Me
thy intellect. " He would not get
much from some of us il Ho did. He
does say "Son, daughter, give me
thine heart With the heart man be-
lieveth unto Righteousness. y
The best of Christianity is obedience !
He says, If yc love me keep my com
mandments. man may profess to
love God ever so much and yet il he
habitually does that which God for
bids, can we believe in his sincerity?
Preach the Word !" 1t may offend
many, it surely will offend some. We
don't like to be told of our faults, OF
our sin. We are apt to get mad. Some
ono has said, 81 respect no one so
much as he who tells me my faults, p"
but he must have been an extraor-
binary man. The most Of us don't like
to be told. Now the sweet spirit of
Christ is rather looking for good in
men than for their faults.
And the Word of God is always a word
of love, the truth in meekness, not to
condemn man, but to save them and
make them blessedly happy. | rejoice
that so many of our preachers of right
eousness are preaching the Word in its
simplicity and saving power.
But / am saddened to know that
there are cranks and fanatics here and
there who lift scripture texts out of
their connection and use them to
bolster up and prove certain pet
theories, though the scripture never
had the least particle of meaning which
they try to give il. Is such preach
ing fair? | do not consider il fair to
take sentences of an ordinary book,
picked here and there, and make an
author contradict himself. If this be
unfair, what shall we say of those who
thus tamper with the Word Of God?
Preach the Word" fear that so
many Sunday school helps, excellent
in themselves, are making an innova-
tion on the literal texts of the Bible.
1t is delightful to treasure the sweet
promises Of God in the memory and
heart, and have them ready to fight
the devil when he comes in the un-
guarded moment with his sly insidu-
Gus attacks. Preach the Word in all
simplicity to the poor, the unedu-
Gated, the broken hearted, the drunk
ard, the outcast, to all, every creature!
Preach of love and hope and Heaven I!
Preach man a sinner, but Christ a
Saviour! Are not our preachers get
ting too highfalutin2 Putting the
fodder a little too high in the rack?
Preaching over the heads of the people?
Better get too low than too high. Some
soul to whom you preach may never
hear the Gospel again; oh, preach
the Word
Salvation for all men through repent
ance and faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ.
| do not wish 10 find fault. / desire
| 10 be intensely charitable toward
I all men, FOR without love we cannot
| know God nor His Word. But | hold
that the man called of God to preach
| the Gospel can only keep on safe ground
4 hN consultation continually with the
God Of power, in prayer and consecra-
tIon, IN selfabnegation and utter reli
ancc upon the Lord jesus, to direct
him in the declaration of the truth.
Had ! Il voice that would reach every
preacher of the Gospel, in every church,
in every land, | could not find words
more appropriate with which to express
my own sincere views than that Of the
text, g Preach the Word y Preach the
Word and leave the results with God.
1.-THE seed is the Word. - The mar
or woman, or child that seatters
the seed may do so in all weakness.
But the germ, the life, is in the seed,
(not the sowerl and falling into proper
ground, and watcred by showers divine,
it will spring forth and bring forth +
rich harvest for the gamers eternal
1t is painful to every true Christian
70 see the evangelical church split III
into SO many denominations and fac
tons Take our own loved Methods
church with its % or more branches
Why should there be but one Methods
church?
The conditions of internal war an,
other reasons for so many divisions
have for the most part, past and gone
When will Christians get enough o
the Christ spirit to profit by these con
ditions, and come together in perfec
Christian love and fellowship?
Do we really mean it when we say
1.-THE world for Christ? Or do ",
mean that IL the world cannot b
brought to Christ by our specia
branch of the church, then We are no
so anxious about it. God arouse II