Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1895-05-15
KEY. DR. TAEMAGE
88D 0ROOKLYN DIVYNRp0 6UX-
DAY 8RRAOA.
Subject: ssSalvation. -

Text: ''seek ye the Lord while Hemay b.
found. iv.,6
Isaiah stands head and shoulders abovs
the other Old Testament authors in vivid de-
scriptiveness Of Christ. Other prophets givt
an outline Of our Saviour's features. Somt
OF them present, as It were, the side face o.
Christ, others bust Of Christ, but Isaiah
gives US the full length portrait Of Christ
Other Scripture writers excel iI some thing
Ezekiel more weird, David more pathetic
Solomon more epigrammatic, Habakkuh
more sublime-but when you want to se<
Christ coming out from the gates Of prophe-
cy In all His grandeur and glory you involun.
cies in regard to Christ might be called the
"Oratorio Of the Messiah" the writing Of
Isaiah y the "Halleluiah Chorus" where all
| the iAtons wave and all the trumpets come
| In Isaiah was not a man picked up out OF
insignifcance by inspiration. He was known
Sirach extolled him in their writings. What
Paul was among the apostles Isaiah was
among the prophets.
My text finds him standing on q noun
tnin Of inspiration, looking out into the fu.
ture, beholding Christ advancing and anx-
ious that all men might know Him. His
voice rings down the ages, "Seek ye the
Lord while He may be found" "Oh," says
some one, ''that was for olden times" No,
my hearer. II you have travelled in other
lands, you have taken q circular letter Of
credit from some banking house In New
York and in St. Petersburg or Venice or
Rome or Melbourne or Calcutta. you pre-
sented that letter and got financial help i'm
mediately. And want you to understand
that the text, instead Of being appropriate
for one age or for one land, is a circular LETT
ter for oil ages and for all lands, and where
ever 1t Is presented for help the help comes.
| "Seek ye the Lord while He may be found"
como to-day with no hair spun theories
OF religion, with no nice distinctions, with
no elaborate disquisition, but with an urgent
Christ Is q powerful medicine. 1t either
kills or cures. There are those who say: II
would like to become q Christian. have
been waiting a good while for the right
kind OF influences to come" and still you
are waiting. You are wiser In worldly
you want to get to Albany, you go the Grand
| Central Depot or to the steamboat wharf
and having got your ticket you do not sit
down on the wharf or sit in the depot. You
get aboard the boat or train. And yet there
| are men who say they are waiting to get to
heaven, waiting, waiting. but not with in
telligent waiting, or they would get on board
the line Of Christian influences that woul'
bear then into the kingdom Of God.
| Now, you know very we'll that to seek
/ thing Is to search for 1t with earnest endeav.
or. II you want to see . certain man In
! this city, and there is a matter Of $4,000
] connected with your seeing him, and you
cannot at first find him, you do not give ul
the search. You look in the directory, but
cannot find the name. You go in circles
where You think perhaps he may minGle, and
having found the part Of the city where he
lives, but perhaps not knowing the street.
you go through street after street and from
block to block, and you keep on searching
for weeks and for months.
You say, "lt Is a matter of $10, 900 whether
| see him or not" Oh, that men were as
persistent in seeking for Christ! Had you
| one-half that persistence you would long ago
have found Him who is the Joy of the for
given spirit. We may pay our debts, we may
,, attend church, We may relieve the poor, we
may be public benefactors. and yet all our
life disobey the text, never see God, never
gain heaven. Oh, that the Spirit Of God
| would help me, while try to show you, in
carrying out the idea Of my text, first how tt
seek the Lord and in the next place when IL
| seek Him.
Iremark. in the first place, you are to seek
the Lord through earnest and believing
prayer. God Is not an autccrat or despot
seated on throne. with His arms resting on
brazen lions and sentinel pacing up and
down at the foot Of the throne. God Is
| father seated In a bower, waiting for His chill
dren to como and climb on His knee and get
His kiss and His benediction. Prayer is the
cup with which we go the ''fountain Of living
| water' and dip up refreshment for our
heart as we set a cask at the corner Of the
house to catch the rain in the shower. 1t Is
pulley fastened to the throne Of God, which
We pull, bringing the blessing.
do not care 80 much what posture you
take In prayer nor how large an amount oi
voice you use. You might get down on
your face before God, II you did not pray
right inwardly there would be no response.
You might cry at the top Of your voice, and
unless you had a believing spirit within your
cry would not so further up than the shout
Of plowboy to his oxen. Prayer must be
believing, earnest, loving. You are In your
house some summer day and a shower comes
up, and q bird, afYrighted, darts into the
window and wheels about the room. You
seize 1t. You smooth its ruffied plumage.
You feel its duttering heart. You say, "Poor
thing, poor thingT" Now, q prayer goes out
Of Gods mercy, and He catches 1t, and He
feels its huttering pulse, and He puts 1t In
His own bosom OF affection and safety.
Prayer Is . warm, ardent, pulsating exercise.
Il q an electric battery which, touched,
thrills to the throne Of God. 1t Is the diving
bell in which we go down into the depths OF
Gods mercy and bring up "pearls OF great
price" There was an instance where prayer
made the waves Of the Gennesaret solid as
stone pavement Oh, how many wonderful
ever tried it7 In the days when the Scotch
COvenanters were prosecuted and the enemies
were after them one Of the head men among
the Covenanters prayed: "Oh, Lord, We be
as dead men unless Thou shalt help uo! Oh,
Lord, throw the lap Of Thy cloak over these
developed and hid the prosecuted from their
persecutors-the promise literally fulfilled
"While they are yet speaking 1 will hear"
Have you ever tried the power Of prayer.
God says. HE Is loving and faithful and pa.
tent" Do you believe thatf You arc told
that Christ came to save sinners. Do you
believe that7 You are toll that all you have
to do to get the pardon OF the gospel is to
ask for II. Do you believe that2 Then come
Iat 70 Hin "a and % say hot Lord, III know Thou
Tor pardon and could get 1t. leone, Lord.
Keep Thy promise and hberate my captive
soui."
oh, that you might have an altar in the
parlor, In the kitchen, in the store, in the
barn, for Christ will be willing to come again
come to your place OF business as He con.
frOnted Matthew, the tax commissioner. II
. measure should come before Congress that
you thought would ruin the Nation, how you
would send In petitions and remonstrances.
And yet there has been enough sin in your
heart to ruin 1t forever, and you have never
demonstrated or petitioned against 1t. II
your physical health failed and you had the
means, you would go and spend the summer
In Germany and the winter in Italy. and you
you'd tnink n very cheap outlay II you
had to 60 all round the earth to get back
your physical health. Have you made any
effort, any expenditure, any exertion for
your immortal and spiritual health?
oh. that you might now begin to see
after God with earnest prayer! Some Of yoI
have been working for years and years for
the support OF your families. Have you
GIVEN one-half day to the working out OF
your salvation with fear and tremblingi
You came here with an earnrst purpose,
take It, as have come hither with an earnest
purpose, and we meet face to face. and tel
yod, frst Of all, II you want to find the Lord
you must pray and pray and pray.
remark again. you must seek the Lord
through Bible study. The Bible Is the new
sst book in tho world. "Oh," you say, 'it
was made hundreds Of years ago, and the
learned men Of King James translated II
hundreds OF years ago." confute that idea
~ telling you It is not five minutes old when
God by His blessed spirit retranslates 1t into
the heart. II you will, In the seeking OF the
way Of life through Scripture study, implOre
4od,a nRht to fall unon the pa2e. You will