Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1896-01-23
A PRACTICAL SERMON
HsAY so" THE SUBJECT OF DR.. TALL
,,e-ass MAeE's DISCOURSE.

Religion - Nothing Can stand Before
Prayer-Let the Redeemed Show Their
J Colors-Personal Testimony.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 19.-Rev. DR.. Tai
mage never produced moro practical and
suggestive sermon than this of today. We
believe 1t will stir Christendom. His sub
ject was "Say &c." and the text selected
was Psalms OWL, Q, "Let the redeemed Of
the Lord say So"
An overture, an antiphon, doxology Is
this chapter, and In my text David calls
for an outspoken religion and requests all
who have been rescued and blessed no
longer to hide the splendid facts, but to
recite them, publish them and, as far as
possible, let all the world know about It.
Let the redeemed Of the Lord say So"
There Is a sinful reticenoe which has been
almost oanonized. The people are quite
as outspokef as they ought to be on all
subjects OF POLITICS and are fluent and vol
ublo on the Venezuelan question and BIZ
metallism and tariffs, high and low and
remodeled, ond female suffrage, and you
have to skillfully watch your chance II
you want to put into the active converse
ton q modest suggestion of your own, but
on the ubject of divine goodness, religious
experience and eternal blessodness they
are not only silent, but boastful Of their
reticence. Now II you have been redeemed
of the Lord why do you not say SO? II
you have In your henrt the pearl Of great
price, worth moro than the Kohinoor
among Victorian jewels, why not let 9TH
ers see itS If you got of tho wreck In the
breakers, why not tell Of the crew and the
stout lifoboat that safely landed your If
from the fourth story you aro rescued in
time Of conhagration, why not tell Of the
fireman and tho ladder down which he
carried you. II you have mansion in
heaven awaiting you, why not show tho
deed to those who may by the same proc
ess get an emerald castle on the Same
boulevardS BY the last two words Of my
text avoid calls upon oil OF us who have
received any mercy ut the hand Of God to
stop impersonating the asylums for the
dumb and In the presence Of men, wom-
en-, angels, devils and all worlds, "say Co."
A Universal Revival.
In these January days thousands of
ministers and private Christians arc won
dering about tho best ways of starting a
revival OF religion. I can tell you way
of starting a revival, continental, hemi.
spherio and worldwide. You say revival
starts in heaven. VIII, 1t starts in heaven
just as prosperous harvest starts in heav
en-. The sun must shine and tho rains
must descend, but unless you pillow and
sow and cultivate the earth you will not
raise bushel Of wheat or peck OF corn
between now and tho end OF the world.
How then, shall universal revival startf
BY all Christian people telling the story Of
their own conversion. Let ten men and
women get up next week In your prayer
meeting, and, not in conventional or
canting or doleful way, but in the same
tone they employ in tho family or place
of business, tell how they crossed tho
limo, and the revival will begin then and
there II the prayer meeting has not been
so dull as to drive out all except those con-
corning whom 1t was foreordained from
all eternity that they should be there.
Thore are SO many different ways of being
converted that We want to hear all kinds,
SO that our own case may be helped. 1t
always puts mo back to hear only one kind
of experience such as man gives when
no tells Of his Pauline convorsion-how he
was knocked senseless, and then had q
vision and heard voices, and after a cor
tain number of days of horror got up and
shouted for joy. All that discourages mo,
for was never knocked senseloss, and
never had such sudden burst of religious
after awhile Christian man got up in
some meeting and told us how he was
brought up by devout parentage and had
always been thoughtful about religious
things, and gradually the peace Of the gos-
pei camo into his soul like the dawn of tho
morning-no perceptible difference be-
tween moment and moment--but after
awhile all perturbation settled down into
n hope that had consoled and strengthened
him during all the vicissitudcs of life
time said, "That is celebrating; that
was my experience" And SO / was
strengthened
In another prayer meeting man got up
and told us how he once hated God and
went through all the round Of iniquity
until we were oil on nettles lost he should
go too much into the particulars but one
day no was by some religious power hurled
fiat, and then got up Christian, and had
ever since been going around with Bax-
tor Bible with large flaps under his arm,
a floating evangelist. Well, under this
story many arc not helped at all, for they
know they never hated God and they
were never absolute. But after awhile
some Christian woman arises and says
81 have nothing extraordinary to toll. Yet
think the cares of lifo, tho anxicties
about my children, and two graves opened
In our family plot made me feel the need
Of God, and weak and helpless and heart
broken 1 flung myself upon his mercy,
and feel what tho Bible calls the peace
of God which passeth all understanding,
and ask your prayers that may live
nearer to the Christ who has done so much
for me-" l declare that before that woman
got through we were all crying, not bitter
tears, but tears OF joyful emotion, and In
throo days In that neighborhood all the
Ice had gone out Of tho river In q spring
time freshet of salvation. Let the re-
deemed of tho Lord say SO"
Personal Salvation.
have but little interest n what people
say about religion as an abstraction, but
have illimitable interest In what people
say about what they have personally felt
Of religion. 1t was an expression OF his
own gratitude for personal salvation
which led Charles Wesley, after n season
Of great dependency about his soul and
Christ had spoken pardon, to write that
immortal hymn:
Oh, for a thousand tongues TO sing
My great Redeemer's praise!
It was after Abraham Lincoln had beon
comforted in the loss Of Tad, the bright
boy Of the White House, that he said, ~
now see Us never before the prcciousness
Of Gods love In Jesus Christ and how we
aro brought near to God as our Father by
him."
What thrill went through the meeting
in Portland, Or, when an ex-attorney
general of the United States arose and