The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1895-03-30

:hroueb their heads, but always through
their hearts. These skeptics. when brough
to Jesus, will be nightly effective, far NOR
80 than those who never examined the evi
dences Of Christianity.
Thomao Chalmers was once skepttc
Robert Hall skeptic, Robert Newton skep
bic, Christmas Evans skeptic. But wher
once with strong hand they took hold Of the
chariot of the gospel they rolled it on witt
what momentum! II I address such mer
and women to-day, throw out no scoff.
lmplead them by the memory CT the gooC
old days, when at their mothers knee they
said, "Now lay me down to Sleep" and by
those days and nights Of scarlet fever In
which she watched you, giving you the
medicine at just the right time and turning
your pillow when it was hot, and with hafds
that many years ago turned to dust soothed
away your pain, and with voice that you will
never hear again, unless you join her in the
better country, told you to never mind, fol
you would feel better by and by, and by that
dying couch, where she looked so pale and
talked 50 slowly, catching her breath between
the words, and you felt an awful Loneliness
coming over your soul-5y all that beg you
to come back and take the same religion. It
was good enough for her. It is good enough
for you Nay, I haye q better plea than
that plead by all the wounds and tears
and blood aud groans and agonies and death
shroes of the Son of God. who approaches
you this moment with torn brow, and LAGER
ated hand. and whipped back, and saying,
Come unto Ne, all ye who are weary and
| heavy laden and will give you rest"
Again, there is field Of usefulness but lit
tie touched occupied by those who are astray
| In their habits. All northern Nations, like
those Of North America and England and
5eotland-:hat is, In the colder climates-are
devastated by alcoholism. They take the
| hre to keep up the warmth. In southern
countries like Arabia and Spain, the blood
| Is 80 warm they are not tempted to fiery
liquids. The great Roman armies never
| drank anything stronger than water tinged
with vinegar, but under our northern climate
the temptation to heating stimulants is most
| mighty. and millions succumb. When
mans habits 60 wrong, the church drops
him; the social circle drops him; good in
auenee drops him; we all drop him. OF all
the men who get of track. but few ever get
On again. Near my summer residence there
ls life saving station on the beach.
There are all the ropes and rockets, the
boats, the machinery Tor getting people of
jhipwrecks. One summerI saw there fifteen
or twenty men who were breakfasting after
having lust escaped With their lives and
! nothing more. Up and down our coasts are
builG these useful structures, and the mari
ners know it, and they feel that if they are
driven into the breakers there will be apt
from shore to come rescue. The
churches Of God ought to be 80 many life
saving stations, not 80 much to help those
who are In smooth waters, but those who
have been shipwrecked. Come, let US run
out the Hfeboats! And who will man them?
We do not preach enough to such men.
We have not enough faith In their release.
Alas, II when they come to hear US We are Ia
boriously trying to show the difference be-
tween sublapsarianism and supralaosarian-
ism, while they have thousand vipe:s Of re-
morse and despair eoinng around their i'm
mortal spirits!
The church Is not chiefly for gooGsh sort
OF men whose proclivities are all right, and
who could get to heaven praying and sing
Ing In their own homes. It Is on the beach
to help the drowning. Those bad cases are
the cases that God likes to take hold OF. He
can save big sinner as well as small SIN
ner, and when man calls earnestly to God
for help he will 60 out to deliver such one.
II 1t were necessary, God would come down
from the sky, followed by all the artillery OF
heaven and a million angels with drawn
swords. Get 100 such redeemed men in each
Of your churches, and nothing could stand
before them, for sueh men are generally
warm-hearsed and enthusiastic.
Furthermore, the destitute children Of the
streets offer q field Of work comparatively
unoccupied. The uncared for children are
In the majority in most Of our cities. Their
condition was we'll illustrated by what boy
In this city said when he was found under
cast gnawing a bone and some one said to
him, "Where do you hve?" and he answered,
"Don't live nowhere, sir" Seventy thousand
Of the children Of New York City can neither
how, ~
reformed, they will uutvote your children,
and they will govern your children. The
whisky ring will hatch out other whisky
rings, and grogshops will kill with their hor-
rid stencil public sobriety, unless the church
OF God rises up with outstretched arms and
infolds this dying population IN her bosom.
Public schools cannot do It. Art galleries
cannot do It. Blackwel's Island cannot do
1t. Almshouses cannot do 1t. New York
Tombs cannot do it. Sing Sing cannot do it.
People Of God, wake up to your magnificent
mission! You can do 1t. Get somewhere,
somehow, to work!
The Prussian cavalry mount BY putin.
their right foot into the stirrup, while the
American cavalry mount by putting their left
foot into the shrrup. don't care how you
mount your war charger if you only get into
this battle for God, and get there soon. right
stirrup, or left 5tirrup, or no stirrup at all.
The unocoupied fields are ali around us, and
why should we build on another mans foun'
dat1on?
+ have heard Of what was called the
thunder legion" 1t was in 179, part OF
the Roman army to which some Christians
belonged, and their prayers, it was said, were
answered by thunder and lightning and hail
and tempest, which overthrow an invading
army and saved the Empire. Aud I would to
God that you could be 80 mighty in prayer
and work that you would become thunder
ing legion before which the forces Of sin
might be routed and the gates Of hell made
to trenble. All aboard now on the gospel
ship! II you cannot be a captain OF first
mate, be a stoker or deokhand, or ready at
command to climb the ratlines. Hsave away
now, ladsl Shake out the reefs IN the fore
topsail! Come, o heavenly wind, and fill
the canvas! Jesus aboard will assure our
safety. Jesus on the sea will beckon us for.
ward. Jesus on the shining shore will vel.
come us into harbor. And so it came II
pass that they all escaped safe to land"