The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1895-05-02

uuuutths Oi NehrS ago. COnfute tnat t0ea
by telling YOU II is not five minutes old when
God by His blessed spirit retranslates Il into
the heart. II you will. in the seeking OF the
way OF life through Scripture study. implore
Gods light to fall upon the page. you will
lind that these promises are not one second
old, and that they drop straight from the
throne OF God into your heart.
There are many people to whom the Bible
does not amount to much. II they merely
look at the outside beauty. why. II will no
more lead them to Christ than Washington's g
farewell address. or the Koran OF Mohammed,
or the Shaster of the Hindoos. II IL the in
ward light Of Gods word you must get.
went up To the Church of the Madeleine in
Paris and looked at the doors. which are the
most wonderfully constructed ever saw.
and could have staid there for n whole
week. but 1 had only little time SO, hav-
ing glanced ut the wonderful carving on the
doors. passed in and looked at the radiant
altars and the sculptured dome. Alas. that
so many stop at the outside door OF Gods
holy word, looking at the rhetorical beauties
instead OF going In and looking at the affairs
OF sacrifice and the dome OF Gods mercy and
salvation that hovcrs over penitent and be-
lievlng souls
When you come into tho religious circle.
come only with one notion and only for one
purpose-to find the way to Christ. When
see people critical about sermons. and criti-
cal about tones OF voice, and critical about
sermonic delivery, they make me think OF n
man In prison. He Is condemned to death.
but an officer of the government brings
pardon aud puts 1t through the wicket Of
the prison and says Here il your pardon.
Come aud get It." "whatl Do you expect
me TO take that pardon offered with such a
voice as you have, with such an awkward
manner "a you havel / would rather die
than so compromise my rhetorical notions. 4"
An, the man does not say that. He takes 1t.
II Is his life. He does not care how II Ia
handed to him. And II to-day that pardon
from the throne Of God is offered TO our
souls should we not seize 1t regardless OF all
nouesseutials?
But | come now to the last part of my
toXt. II tells us when we are TO seek the
Lord, "whlle He may he found" When IL
that? Old asc2 You may not see old age.
Tomorrow You may not SEQ tomorrow.
Tonight You may not see tonight. Now
Oh II could Only write on every heart In
three capital letters that word N-O-W-nowl
Sin Is an awful disease. hear people say
with u toss of the head and with trivial
manner, "Oh. yes, I'm sinner" Sin IL an
awful disease. 1t is leprosy. It ia dropsy.
II is consumption. " Is all moral disorders
In one. Now, you know there Is crisis In u
disease. Perhaps you have had some Illus
tration OF 1t In your family. Sometimes the
physician has called, and he has looked az
the patient and said "That case was sim
pie enough, but the crisis has passed. II YOU
had called me- yesterday or this morning, |
could have cured the patient. II Is too late
now. The crisis passed. just So il l. In the
spiritual treatment Of the soul-there is
crisis.
There are some here who can remember in
stances In life when, If they had bought a
certain property. they would have become
very rich. A few acres that would have cost
them almost nothing were offered them.
hat rnT, ID 4
lage or city sprung up on those acres OF
ground, and they see what mistake they
made in not buying the property. There
was an opportunity Of getting IL. II never
came back again. And SO IL T. in regard TO
a mans spiritual and eternal fortune. There
is chance. II you let that go, perhaps II
never comes back. Certainly that one never
comes back.
A gentleman told me that at the battle OF
Gettysburg he stood upon a height looking
of upon the conflicting armies. He said 1t
was the most exciting moment of his life.
Now one army seeming to triumph and now
the other. After awhile the host wheeled In
such way that he knew in five minutes the
whole question would be decided. Hwsaid
the emotion was almost unbearabe. There
Is just such a time to-day with you--the
forces of light on one side, the forces of death
on the other side, and In few moments the
matter will be settled for eternity.
There Is time which mercy has set for
leaving port. II you are on board before that
you will get a passage for heaven. II you
are not on board, you miss your passage for
heaven. As In law courts a case Is some
times adjourned from term TO term and from
year to year till the bill OF costs eats up the
entire estate, so there are men who are adj
journing the matter of religion from
time to time and from year to year until
heavenly bliss Is the bill of costs the man
will have TO pay for II.
Why defer this matter, oh. my dear hearer?
Have you any idea that sin will wear out;
that IL will evaporate; that II will relax its
grasp; that you may find religion as n man
accidentally finds a lost pocketbook? All,
no! No man ever became Christian by ac-
cident or by the relaxing of sin. The en-
barrassments are all the time increasing. Tho
hosts OF darkness are recruiting, and tho
longer you postpone this matter the sleeper
the path will become. ask those men who
are before me now whether In the ten or If
teen years they have passed in the postpone
ment OF these matters they have come any
nearer God or heaven? I would not be
afraid to challenge this whole audience, so
far as they may not have found the peace OF
the gospel, In regard TO the matter. Your
hearts, you are willing frankly to tell me,
are becoming harder and harder. and that II
you come 10 Christ II will be more OF an
undertaking now than 1t ever would have
Dccn lut OF Judgment
soon be set. and II you have anything to do
toward your eternal salvation you had better
do il now, for the redemption Of your soul Il
precious, and 1t ceaseth forever
Oh. II men could only catch one glimpse
OF Christ, know they would love Himl
Your heart leaps at the sight OF Il glorious
sunrise or sunset Can you be without emo
tion as the Sun OF Righteousness rises be-
hind Calvary and sets behind Joseph's sepul-
cher? He is blessed Saviour Every Ma
ton has its type OF beauty. There is Ger
man beauty, and Swiss beauty, and Italian
beauty. and English beauty, but | care not
in what land a man first looks at Christ he,
pronounces Him "Chief among 10000, and
the one altogether lovely"
The diamond districts Of Brazil are care
fully guarded, and Il man does not get In
there except by pass from the Government,
but the love OF Christ Is "a diamond district
we may all enter and pick up treasures for
eternity. To-day. II we will hear His voice,
harden not your hearts"
Take the hint Of the text that / have no
time to dwell upon-the hint that there Is a
time when He cannot be found. There was
n man in this city eighty years OF aga who
said 10 u clergyman who came in, "Do you