The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1895-02-15

hourg Hold nothing back from him, II
you cannot pray, il you do not know
how 10 pray any other way. sayi 20
Lord Jesus Christ this is a strange thing
for me 10 do, | know nothing about the
formulas of religion, These Christian
people have been talking so long about
what thou oanst do for me l am ready
to do whatever thou oommandest me to
60 lam ready to take whatever thou
commanded mo to take, II there be any
power in religion, as these people say,
let me have the advantage Of it, " viii
you try that experiment nowS do not
at this point Of my discourse say that
there is anything in religion, but sim.
ply say try it, try it, Do not take my
counsel or the counsel of any clergy
man, if you despise clorcymen, Perhaps
we may DO talking Professionally; per
haps we may be prciudiced III the mat
ter; perhaps we may be hypocritioal in
our uttoranccs; perhaps our advice is
not worth taking, Thsn take tho com.
sci of some very respectable laymon, ms
John Milton, the poet; as William Viii.
berforce, the statesman; as Isaac New
ton, the astronomer; as Robert Boyle,
the philosopher; as Locke, the meta
physician. They never preached OF pre-.
tended to preach, and yet putting down,
one his telescope, aud another his par
liamentary scroll, and another his cleo
trician S wire, they all declare the adapt
a1paeS of Cbr;etic ,aIiuiCn ~ tho wants
and troubles Of the world, II you will
not take the Recommendation Of minis
ters of the gospel, thon take the recon-
mendation of highly respectable laymen.
o men, skeptical and struck through
with unrest, would you not like to have
some of tho peace which broods over
our souls today? l know all about your
doubts. | have been through them all.
have gone through all the curriculum.
| have doubted whether there is God,
whether Christ is God, l have doubted
whether the Bible was true, l have
doubted tho immortality of the soul, l
have doubted my own existence, / have
doubted everything, and yet out of that
hot desert of doubt have come into the
broad, luxuriant, sunshiny land of gos
pei hope and peace and comfort, and so
I 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 sea. If you
go home today adhering to your infideli
ties, you will not sleep one wink. You
do not want your children to come up
with your skeptioism. You cannot afford
to die in that midnight darkness, can
you? If you do not believe in anything
else, you believe in love-a fathers
love, mothers love, wife's love, a
child's love. Then let me tell you that
God loves you more than them all. Oh,
you must come in. You will come in!
The great heart of Christ aches to have
you come in, and Jesus this very mo-
ment-whether you sit or stand-looks
into your eyes and says, "Other sheep /
have which are not of this fold"
A Cry For Help.
Again | remark that the heavenly
shepherd is going to find a great many
sheep among those who have been flung
of evil habit 1t makes me sad to see
Christian people give up a prodigal as
lost There are those who talk as though
the grace of God were chain OF 40 or
so links, and after they had run out
there was nothing to touch the depth of
very bad case. If they were hunting
and got off the track of the deer, they
would look longer among the brakes and
bushes for the lost game than they have
been looking for that lost soul. People
tell us that if man have delirium ire
mems twice he cannot be reclaimed; that
after woman has sacrificed her integri-
ty she cannot be restored The Bible has
distinctly intimated that the Lord AL
mighty is ready to pardon 400 times
chat is, 70 times 7. There are men be-
fore the throne of God who have wal
owed in every kind of sin, but saved by
he grace of Jesus and washed in his
blood they stand there radiant now.
There are those who plunged into the
very lowest of all the hells in New York
who have for the tenth time been lifted
up, and finally, by the grace of God,
they stand in heaven gloriously rescued
by the grace promised to the chief Of
sinners. / want to tell you that God
loves to take hold of very bad case
When the church casts you off, and
when the clubroom casts You off, and
when society casts you off, and when
business associates cast you off, and
when father casts you off, and when
mother casts you off, and when every
body casts you off, your first cry for help
will bend the eternal God clear down
into the ditch of your suffering and
shame.
The Good Templars cannot save you,
although they are grand institution.
The Sons of Temperance cannot save
you, although they are mighty for good.
Signing the temperance pledge cannot
save you, although believe in it. Moth
ing but the grace Of the eternal God can
save you, and that will if you will throw
yourself on it. There is a man in this
house who said to me: "Unless God
helps me l cannot be delivered. | have
tried everything, sir, but now l have
got in the habit Of prayer, and when |
come to drinking saloon l pray that
God will take me safe past, and l pray
until am past. He does help me. " For
every man given to strong drink there
are scores Of traps set, and when he goes
out on business tomorrow he will be in
infinite peril, and no one but the every
where present God can see that man
through. Oh, they talk about the cata-
combs of Naples, and the cataoombs OF
Rome, and the catacombs of Egypt-the
burial places under the city where the
dust of great multitude lies-but tell
you New York has its catacombs, and
Boston its catacombs. and Philadelphia
its catacombs. They are the under.
ground restaurants, full of dead men S
bones and all uncleanliness. Young
man, you know it. God help you. There
is no need Of going into the art gallery
to see in the skillful sculpture that won
derful representation of man and his
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