Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1895-03-29
TOUCHED AS BY FIRE.
REV. Or. TALMAGE breaches IN NEW
YORK ON THE HOLY GHOST.


Power of the Omnipotent Holy Ghost.
Tongues OF Fire.
New YORK, March 24-When DIR.
Talmage ascended the platform Of the
Academy Of Music this afternoon, he
faced an audience quite as large as any
that had assembled in the great build
ing since these services began, while
several Thousand others were outside un-
able to secure seats or even standing
room. He took for his subject Tongues
of Fire" the text selected being Acts
xix. 2, "Have ye received the Holy
GhOst?"
The word ghost, which means a soul,
or spirit, has been degraded i'll common
parlance. We talk Of ghosts as baleful
and frightful and in frivolous or su-
perstitious way. But my text speaks Of
a Ghost who is omnipotent and divine
and everywhere present and 81 times i'll
the New Testament called the Holy
Ghost. The only time | ever heard this
text preached from was in the opening
davs of my ministry, when glorious old
Scotch minister came up to help me in
my village church. On the day OF my
ordination and installation he said, IF
YOU get into the corner Of a Saturday
night without enough sermons for Sun
day, send for me, and | will come and
preach for you" The fact ought to be
known that the first three years Of pas
tors life are appallingly arduous. No
other profession makes the twentieth
part of the demand on a young man. II
a secular speaker prepares one or two
speeches for political campaign, 1t Is
considered arduous. If a lecturer pre-
mares one lecture for year ne IS
thought to have done well. But young
pastor has two sermons to deliver every
Sabbath before the same audience, be-
sides all his other work and the most OF
ministers never recover from the awful
nervous strain of the first three years.
Be sympathetic with all young ministers
and withhold your criticisms.
The Holy Ghost.
Nv aged Scotch friend responded to
nv first call and came and preached
from the text that | now announce.
remember nothing but the text. 1t was
the last sermon he ever preached. On
the following Saturday he was called
TO his heavenly reward. But | remem-
ber Just how he appeared as, leaning
over the pulpit he looked into the face
Of the audience, and with earnestness
and pathos and electric force asked
them, in the words Of my text, Have
va received the Holy Ghost?" The office
of this present discourse IS to open
door. to unveil a Parsonage, to intro
duce force not sufficiently recognized
He is as great as God He is God. The
second verse Of the first chapter Of the
Bible introduces him-Genesis !, 2
1.-THE Spirit Of God moved upon the face
NJ the waters"-that is, as an albatross
or eagle spreads her wings over her
vounR and warns them into life and
teaches them to fly, so the Eternal Spirit
spread his great, broad, radiant wings
over this earth in its oallow and un-
fedged state and warmed it into life
and luttered over it and set 1t wlnglng
its way through immensity. 1t Is the
tip top Of all beautiful and sublime sug-
Qestiveness. Can you not almost see the
outspread wings over the nest of young
worlds? 1.-The Spirit Of God moved upon
the face Of the waters.
Another appearance Of the Holy Ghost
was at Jerusalem during great feast.
Strangers speaking II different lam
guages were present from many parts
of the world. But in one house they
heard what seemed like the coming OF
cyclone or hurricane. 1t made the
. trees bend and the houses quake The
cry was, what is that?" And then
forked fame Of fire tipped each fore
head. and what with the blast Of wind
and the dropping fire panic took place.
until Peter explained that it was neither
cyclone nor confagration, but the bril-
lance and amounting and baptismal pow
er of the Holy Ghost
That scene was partially repeated III
a forest when Rev. John Easton was
preaching. There was the sound OF a
rushing, mighty wind, and the people
looked to the sky to see if there were
any signs of a storm, but it was a clear
] sky. vet the sound of the wind was SO
great that horses, frightened, broke loose
from their fastenings, and the whole as
sembly felt that the sound was supernat-
ural and pentecostal Oh, what an IN
>. finite and almighty and glorious person
age is the Holy Ghostl He brooded TINS
planet into life, and now that through
sin it has become a dead world he VIII
brood il the second time into life. Peril
GUS attempt would be comparison be-
tween the three persons of the Godhead'
They are equal, but there is some con-
alteration which attaches itself to the
third person Of the Trinity, the Holy
q Ghost. that does not attach itself to ell
ther God the Father or God the Son. We
may grieye God the Father and grieye
T. God the Son and be forgiven, but we are
directly told that there is a sin against
the Holy Ghost which shall never be
forgiven either in this world or in the
world TO come And it is wonderful
: that while on the street you hear the
- name Of God and Jesus Christ used IN
profanity you never hear the words
Holy Ghost. This hour | speak Of the
>. Holy Ghost as Biblical interpreter, a
n a human constructor, as a solace for thu
broken hearted, as preachers re-en
- foroement
n Better Than Concordance.
% The Bible is mass Of contradictions
an affirmation of impossibilities, unles
. the Holy Ghost helps us to understand
it. The Bible says of itself that tn
q Scripture is not for ''privato interpre
tation, but "holy men Of God spak
as they were moved by the Holy Ghost
'r that is, not private Interpretation, bu
1. HQIy Ghost Interpretation. Pie on yop