Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1895-03-29

sane man. one seek AfterwAri, with his
family on the way 90 a prayer nesting.
What has done IN Il must be something
tremendous IL mus BE- God. IL must Be
the Holy Ghosi.
Notice the Holy Ghost A. the solAeer Of
broken hearts. Christ calls Him the
Comforter. Nothing doe the world 30 much
want a. comfort. The most people have
been abused, misrepresenfed. cheated. lied
about swindled, bereft. What l. needed Il
halsam for the wounds, lantern for dark
roads, rescue from mAligning pursuers, a
lift from the marble slab OF tOmbstOnes. Life
&C most has been a semifAilure. They have
not got what they wantel. They have not
reached that which they started for. Friends
betray. Change OF business stand Loses old
custom and does not bring enough custom
TO make up for the loss. Health becomes
precarious when one most needs strong
muscle and steady nerve and clear brain.
Out Of this audience Of thousands and thou
sands, n / should ASK all those who
have been unhurt In the struggle Of
life to stand up, or all standing TO hold
up their right hands. not one would move.
Oh, how much we need the Holy Ghost
as comforter He rectes the sweet
gospel promises to the hardly bestead. He
assures Of mercy mingled with the seventies.
He consoles with thoughts Ofcoming release.
He tells Of heaven where tear Is never wept
and burden is never carried aud I'M ustice Is
never suffered. Comfort for all the young
people who are maltreated ut home. or re-
ceive insufficient income, or are robbed OF
their schooling, or kept back from positions
they earned by the putting forward OF Others
less worthy. Comfort for all these men and
women midway In the path of life, worn out
with what they have already gone through,
and with no Frightening future. Comfort
for these aged ones amid many inffrmities
an 1 VINO feel themselves to he in the way In
the home or business which themselves es-
tnblished with their own grit.
The Holy Ghost comfort. L think, general
ly comes in the shape OF a soliloquy. You
find yourself saying to yourself: well,
ought not to 20 ON this way about my
mothers DEATH She had suffered enough.
She had borne other peoples burdens long
enough. l am glad that father and mother
are together in heaven, and they will be
waiting to greet US, and it will be only lit
tie while anyhow, and God makes no mis-
takes" Or you soliloquize. saying: at is
hard to lose my property. l am sure |
worked hard enough for it. But God Will
take care OF US, and. as to the children, the
money might have spoiled them, and we
find that those who have to struggle for
themselves generally turn out best, and II
will all be we'll If this upsetting OF our world
ly resources leads us to lay up treasures in
heaven" Or you soliloquize, saying:
at was hard to give up that
boy when the Lord took him. I ex-
pected great things of him, and, oh, how we
miss him out Of the house, and there are so
many things / come across that make one think
of him, and he was such splendid fellow!
But then what an escape he has made from
the temptations and sorrows which come 10
all who grow up, and 1t is grand thing to
have him safe from all possible harm, ana
there are all those Bible promises for parents
who have lost children, and We shall feel
drawing heavenward that we could not have
otherwise experienced. And after you have
said that you get that relief which comes
from an outburst of tears. | do not say to
you, as some say, do not cry. God pity peo-
pie in trouble who have the parched eyeball
and the dry eyelid and cannot shed a tear.
That makes maniacs. To Gods people tears
are the dews OF the night dashed with sun
rise. | am so glad you can weep. Bat you
think these things you say to yourself are
only sollloquies No, no; they are the Com
forter, who is the Holy Ghost.
Notice also the Holy Ghost as the preach
er's reinforcement You and have known
preachers encyclopedia In knowledge, brill
iaut as al iceberg when the sun smites it,
and with Chesterfeldian address and
rhetorical hand uplifted with diamond big
enough to dazzle an assembly and so sur
charged with vocabulary that when they left
this life lit might be said Of each OF them as
De Quincy said of another that In the act of
dying he committed a robbery, absconding
with valuable polyglot dictionary. yet no
awakening or converting or sanctifying re-
suit, while some plain man, with humblest
phraseology, has seen audiences whelmed
with religious influence. 1t was the Holy
Ghost What useful thing it would be II
every minister would give the history of his
sermons. Years ago at an outdoor meeting
in the State of New York | preached
to many thousands. There had been much
prayer ON the grounds for great outpouring
of the Holy Ghost at that service, and the
awakening power exceeded anything l ever
witnessed since began to preach, with per-
haps the exception of two or three occasions.
Clergymen and Christian workers by the
score and hundreds expressed themselves as
having been blessed during the service.
That afternoon l took the train for an out
door meeting in the State OF Ohio, where [
was to preach on the night of the next day.
As the sermon had proved so useful the day
before and the theme was fresh In my mind,
| resolved to reproduce it. and did reproduce
it as far as could, but the result was nothing
at all. Never had | seemed to have any
thing to do with fatter failure. What
was the difference between the two sery-
long journey" No, was not tired at ALL
Some will say, "The temporal circumstances
in the first case were more favorable than In
the last" No, they were more favorable in
the last. The difference was in the power OF
the Holy Ghost-mightily present at the first
service, not seemingly present at all at the
second. 1 call upon the ministers of Ameri-
ca to give the history OF sermons, for l be-
lieve 1t will illustrate as nothing else can the
truth of that Scripture, Not by might nor by
| power but by my Spirit. saith the Lord"
On the Sabbath of the dedication of one OF
| our churches in Brooklyn, at the morning
service, 1913 souls stood up to profess Christ
They were the converts in the Brooklyn
| Academy of Music, where we had been wor-
! Shipping. The reception of so many men,
| bers-and many of them baptized by INNER
! sion--had made 1t an arduous service, which
continued from half past ten in the morning
| until half past two in the afternoon. From
| that service we went home exhausted, be-
cause there is nothing so exhausting as deep
emotion. A messenger was sent out to
obtain preacher for that night, but the
| search was unsuccessful, as all the
ministers were engaged for some Other
| place. With no preparation at all fol
| the evening service, except the looking il
| Cruden's Concordance for text and feeling
almost too weary to stand up, began the
service, saying audibly while the opening
song was being sung, although because Of
the singing no one but God heard it: "Oh
| Lord, Thou knowest my insufflciency fol
| this service. Come down in gracious power
upon this people," The place was shaker
| with the divine presence. As far as we could
find out. over 400 persons were converted
that night. Hear it, all young men entering
the ministry; hear it, all Christian workers