The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1895-06-22
ASALHs AND HELPS.
Rev. Or. Talmage Discourses on
the Needs of the Soul.
An Urgent Call to Personal Religion-Ih
Gospel Of Christ. as Presented
Through the Bible. the
Great Panacee.

music, New York city, being based on
the text:
see,, We the Lord while he may be found
Isaiah w.. 6
Isaiah stands head and shoulders
above the other Old Testament authors
in vivid descriptiveness OF Christ.
other prophets give an outline OF our
Sayior's features. Some OF them
present, as it were, the side face OF
Christ: others a bust of Christ; but
Isaiah gives us the full-length portrait
of Christ. Other scripture writer's excel
in some things. Ezekiel more weird,
David more pathetic, Solomon more
epigrammatic, Habakkuk more sub
lime; but when you want to see Christ
coming out from the gates OF prophecy
in all his grandeur and glory, you in
voluntarily turn to Isaiah. So that
If the prophecies in regard to Christ
might be called the "Oratoria of the
Messiah" the writing of Isaiah is the
"Hallelujah Chorus" where all the
batons wave and all the trumpets come
in. Isaiah was not man picked up
out of insignificance by inspiration.
He was known and honored. Josephus
and Philo and Sirach extolled him in
their writings. What Paul was among
the apostles Isaiah was among the
prophets.
NV text finds him standing on a
mountain of inspiration, looking out
into the future, beholding Christ ad-
vancing and anxious that all men
might know Him; His voice rings
down the ages: Seek We the Lord
while He may be found" "Oh," says
some one, that was for olden times. '
No, my nearer. If you have Travelled
in other lands you have taken circu.
lar letter of credit from some banking
house in New York, and in st. Peters
burg, or Venice, or Rome, or Mel
bourne, or Calcutta; you presented
that letter and get financial help inn
mediately. And l want you to under
stand that the text, instead of being
appropriate for one age, or for one
land, is circular letter for all ages
and for all lands, and wherever it il
presented for help, the help comes.
.'Seek We the Lord while He may bt
| found"
l come to-day with no hair-spuI
| theories of religion, with no nice dis
tinctions, with no elaborate disquisi
ton; but with an urgent call to per
sonal religion. The Gospel of Chris
| is n powerful medicine; it either kill
or cures. There are those who say
Il would like to become Christian.
have been waiting good while for thu
right kind of influences to GOMEZ" ant
still yon are waiting. You are wise
in worldly things than you are in re
ligious things. If you want to get t.
Albany you go to the Grand Contra
depot, or to the steamboat wharf, and
having got your ticket, you do not 81
down on the wharf or sit in the depot
YOU get aboard the boat or train. Ant
yet there are men who say they ar
waiting to get to Heaven-waiting
whiting, but not with intelligent wait
ing, or they would get on board tn
line of Christian influences that woul'
bear them into the kingdom of God.
Now you know very well that t
seek thing is to search for it witt
earnest endeayor. If you want to SCI
accrtain man in this city, and there is
matter of ten thousand dollars connect
ed withyour seeing him, and you can no
at first find him, you do not give up tn
search. You look in the directory
but can not find the name; you go il
circles where you think, perhaps, h
may mingle, and, having found tn
part of the city where he lives, bu
perhaps not knowing the street, yo
go through street after street, an
from block to block, and you keep o.
searching for weeks and for months.
You say: at is a matter of &c. 100
whether 1 see him or not" Oh, tina
men were as persistent in seeking 70
Christ! Had you one-half that persist
ence you would long ago have foun
him who is the joy of the forgive
spirit. We may pay our debts, we ma
attend church, we may relieve tn
poor, we may be public benefactori
and yet all our life disobey the tex
never seek God, never gain HEAVIER
Oh, that the Spirit of God would hel
me, while try to shown you, in carry
ing out the idea of my text, first, ho'
to seek the Lord and in the next plact
when to seek him.
! remark, in the first place, you ar
to seek the Lord through earnest an
believing prayer. God is not an autt
crat or "a despot seated on throne
with His arms resting on brazen lion
and sentinel pacing up and down .
the foot of the throne. God is fathe
seated in bower, waiting for Ii
children to come and climb on IL
knee, and get His kiss and His ben
diction. Prayer is the cup with whic
we go to the fountain of Twin
water" and dip up refreshment fl
our thirsty soul. Grace does not CON
to the heart as we set a cask at tt
corner of the house to catch the raj
in the shower. 1t is pulley fastene
, to the throne of God, which we pull
bringing the blessing.
: / do not care so much what postul
you take in prayer, nor how large
amount of voice you use. You migl
get down on your face before God
you did not pray right inwardly, the
would be no response. You might CT
at the top of your voice, and nnle
you had believing spirit within, yo
cry would not go further up than Il
shout of plowboy to his oxen. Pray
must be believing, earnest, loviu
You are in your house some SUNNI
day, and shower comes up, and
bird, affrighted, darts into the wi
dow, and wheels about the room. Y,
seixa IL Ynu smooth its ruff1ed nj