The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1895-02-22

VIZ IN hot ADA gOA AANAC" A SiheiAA alC'
break off so much as a crumb for you
Christians, in this sermon, for / an
going to give it all to the outsiders
"Other sheep have which are not ot
this fold"
l remark again, the Heavenly Shep-
herd is going to find great many OF
his sheep among those who are posi-
tive rejecters of Christianity. do not
know how you came to reject Chris
tianity. 1t may have been through
hearing Theodore. Parker preach, or
through reading Remains Life OF
Jesus" or through the infidel talk OF
some young man in your store. 1t may
have been through the tricl1ery OF
some professed Christian man who dis
gusted you with religion. ! do not
ask you how you became SO; but you
frankly tell me that you do reject it..
You do not believe that Christ is a
Divine being, although you admit that
He wns a very good man. You do not
believe that the Bible was inspired of
God, although you think there are
some very fine things in it. You be-
lieve that the Scriptural description of
Eden was only an allegOry. There
are fifty things that l believe that you
do not believe. And yet you are an
accommodating man. Every body that
knows you says that of you. If |
should ask you to do a kindness
for me, or il anyone else should ask
of you a kindness, you would
do it. Now, I have a kindness to ask
of you to-day. 1t is something that
will cost you nothing and will give me
great delight. want you by expert
ment to try the power of Christ's re-
ligion. If should come to you, and
you were very sick, and doctors had
given you up, and / should take out
bottle, and say: "Here is a med
icine that will cure you; it has
cured fifty people, and it will
cure you" You would say.
Il have no confidence in it." would
say: Won't you take it to oblige
me?" 'Well," you would say, ''if it's
any accommodation to you, I'll take
it." My friend, will you be just as ac-
commodRting in matters of religion?
There are some of you who have found
out that this world cannot satisfy
your soul. You are like the man who
told me one Sabbath after the service
was over: Il have tried this world
and found it an insufficient portion.
Tell me of something better" You
have come to that. You are sick for
the need of divine medicament Now1
come and tell you of physician who
will cure you, who has cured hundreds
and hundreds who were sick as you
are. ''Oh," you say, II have no conf
dence in him" But will you not try
him2 Accommodate me in this matter;
oblige me in this matter; just try him.
am very certain he will cure you.
You reply: II have no especial conf
dence in him, but if you ask me as
matter of accommodation, introduce
him" So l do introduce Him-Christ,
the Physician, who has cured more
blind eyes, and healed more ghaStly
wounds, and bound up more broken
hearts than all the doctors since the
time of Hsculapius. That Divine Ply
sician is here. Are you not ready to try
Him? VIII you not, as pure matter
of experiment, try Him, and state
your case before Him this hour? Hold
nothing back from Him. If you can
not pray, if you do not know how to
pray any other way, say: so, Lord
Jesus Christ, this is a strange thing for
me to do. l know nothing about the
formulas of religion. These christian
people have been talking SO long about
what Thou canSt do for me, l am ready
to do whatever Thou commandest me
to do. ! am ready to take whatever
Thou commandest me to take. If
there be any power in religion, as these
people say, lst me have the advantage
of it."
Will you try that experiment now?
l do not at this point of my discourse
say that there is anything in religion;
but simply say, try it-try it. Donot
take my counsel or the counsel of any
clergyman, if you despise clergymen.
Perhaps we may be talking profession
ally; perhaps we may be hypocritical
in our utterances; perhaps our advice is
not worth taking. Then take the coun-
sci of some very respectable laymen, as
John Milton, the poet: as William Will
berforce, the statesman; as Isaac New
ton, the astronomer; as Robert Boyle,
the philosopher; as Locke, metaphysi-
clan. They never preached or pretend
ed to preach; and yet putting down,
one his telescope, and another his par
ilementary scroll, and another his cleo
trician's wire, they all declare the
adaptness of Christ's religion to the
wants and troubles of the world. If
you will not take the recommends
tion of ministers of the Gospel,
then take the recommendation of
BILE laymen. Oh men,
skeptical and struck through with
unrest, would you not like 10 have
some of the peace which broOds over
our souls to-day. l know all about
your doubts. l have been through
them all. l have gone through all the
l have doubted whether
there is a God, whether Christ is God.
I have doubted whether the Bible was
true; l have doubted the immortality
of the soul; 1 have doubted my own
existence; have doubted everything,
and yet, out of the hot desert
Of doubt l have come into the broad,
Iuxuriant sunshiny land of Gospel hope,
and peace, and comfort; and so /
have confidence IN preaching to YOU
and asking you to come in. However
often you may have spoken against the
Bible, or however much you may have
caricatured religion, step ashore from
that rocking and tumultuous seas. If
you go home to-day adhering to your
nfidelities, you will not sleep one
wink. You do not want your children
to come up with your skepti-
,isn You caO not ford +O die
n that midnight darkness, can