Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1895-02-16

shall come ashore. "Other sheep have
which are not of this fold =
Searching For stray sheep.
Christ commands his ministers to be
fishermen, and when go fishing do not
want to 90 among other churches but
into tho wide world, not sitting along
Hohokns creek, where eight or ten 9TH
or persons are sitting with hook and
line. hut, like the fishermen of New
fnundland, sailing of and dropping net
away outside. 10 or 80 miles from
shore Yes. there are nonchurchgoers
here who will come in. Next Sabbath
they will be here again or in some
better church. They are this moment
being swept into Christian associations
Their voice will be heard in public
prayer They will die i'll peace, their
bed surrounded by Christian sym
pathics and TO be carried ont by deyout
men TO be buried and on their grave he
chiseled the words, Precious in the
sight Of the Lord is the death of his
saints +" And on resurrection day you
will get up with the dear children You
have already buried and with your
+
the palm And all that grand and glo-
rious history begins this hour. Other
sheep | have which are not of this
fold. =
remark again. the heavenly shep-
herd IS going 10 find n great many Of
+ his sheep among those who are positive
rejectors of Christianity | do not know
/ how You came torelect Christianity. Ii
may have been through hearing Theo
/ dore Parker preach or through reading
Remains Life Of Jesus = or through the
infidel talk of some young man in your
store II may have been through the
/ trickery of some professed Christian
man who disguised you with religion.
! / do not ask you how You became so.
but you frankly tell me that You do re-
+ iect it, You do not believe that Christ
1 is divine being. although you admit
+ that he was very good man lou do
not believe that the Bible was inspired
of God, although You think there are
some very fine things in it. You believe
f that the Scriptural description of Eden
was only an allegory. There are 30
+ things that | believe that you do not be-
I lievc. And yet you are an accommodate
ing man Everybody that knows You
says that of you. II should ask you TO
do kindness for me, or if any one else
should ask of You kindness. you would
+ do il. Now, have kindness 10 ask of
you today. Ii is something that will
i cost you nothing and will give me great
delight want you by experiment. to
/ try the power of Christ 5 religion. If
should come to you, and you We're very
sick, and doctors had given you up and
+ said there was no chance for you, and
should take ont bottle and say: Here
is a medicine that will cure you 1t has
+ cured 80 people, and it will cure you"
you would say, Il have no confidence
! in it +" would say, Won't you take
+ it to ohlige me- Well" you would
say, IF it's any accommodation TO you,
] III take IT." My friend. will you be
/ just as accommodating in matters of re-
ligion: 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
Ready to Obey.
Now come and tell you of physi-
clan who will cure you, who has cured
hundreds and hundreds who were as
sick as you are "Oh, you say, Il have
no confidence in him" But will you
not try him? Accommodate me in this
matter; oblige me in this matter; jus.
try him | am very certain ne will cure
you. You reply, Il have no especial
confidence in him, but if you ask me as
matter Of accommodation introduce
hi So do introduce hin-Christ,
the physician who has cured more blind
eyes and healed more CHASTITY wounds
and bound up more broken hearts :!.an
all the doctors since the time Of xEscnla-
Plus. That divine physician is here
Are you not ready 10 try him: Will you
not. rs a pure matter of experiment, try
aim and state Your case before him this
hour? Hold nothing back from him If
you cannot pray, if YOU do not know
how to pay any other way, say: 20
Lord Jesus Christ this is a strange thing
for me To do. | know nothing about the
formulas of religion. These Christian
people have been talking so long about
what thou canst do for me | AR ready
To do whatever thou commanded me TO
Go. ! am ready TO take whatever thou
commanded me to take. il there be any
power in religion. as these people say,
let me have the advantage of it" Will
you try that experiment now: | 40 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 clergymen. Perhaps
we may be talking Professionally; per-
haps we may be prejudiced in the mat
ter; perhaps we may be hypocritical in
our utterances; perhaps our advice is
not worth taking. Then take the coun-
Eel Of some very respectable laymen, rs
John Milton. the poet; a. William Will
berforce, the statesman; as Isaac New
ton. the astronomer; as Robert Boyle,
the philosopher: rs Locke, the meta
physician. They never preached or pre-
tended to preach, and yet putting down,
one his telescope, and another his par
liamentary scroll, and another his cleo
trician wire, they all declare the adapt
edness Of Christ religion TO the wants
and troubles of the world If you will
not take the recommendation Of minis
tiers OF the gospel, then take the recon-
incubation Of highly respectable laymen.
o men, skeptical and struck through
with unrest, would you not like to have
some Of the peace which broods over
onr souls today: know all about your
doubts. | have been through them all
have gone through all the curriculum.
1 have doubted whether there is God,
whether Christ is God, have doubted
whether the Bible was true. have
doubted the Immortality of the soul, /
have doubted my own existence. | have
doubted everything. and yet out Of that
hot desert Of donbt have come into the
broad, luxuriant. sunshiny land Of Cos
PEI hope and peace and comfort, and so
have confidence in preaching To you
and asking you 10 come III. However
often you inay have spoken against the
Bible. ~ however much You may have
caricatured religion, step ashore from
that rocking and tumultuous sea II you
~ home today adhcring to Your iniideli-
tics yuu will not sfeeu one wink NOu