The Penn's Grove record., 1896-01-24
REi. DR.. TaLuaGE.
The Eminent Divine's Sunday
Sermon

ms chapter, and in my tex David calls fol
an outspoken religion and requests all whit
have been rescued and b'essed no longer t.
hide the splendid facts. but to recite them
publish them and as far as possibe let all thu
world know about IL. Let the redeemed o
the Lord sayso." There is a sinful r~eticenc,
which has been almost ~ranonized. Thi
people are quite as outspoken as they ough
10 be on all subjects of politics and are fusm
and voluble on the Venezuelan question
and bimetallism and tariffs high and Low
and remodeled and female suffrage, and yot
have to skilfully watch your chance II yot
want to put into tine active conversation
a modest suggestion Of your own, bu
on the subject OF divine goodness, relt
gious experience and eternal blesssdnesi
they are not only silent. but boastful of theii
reticsnce. Now, IL you have been redeemed
ofthe Lord, why do you not say 80? II lyon
have in your heart the pearl OF great price,
worth more than the Kohinoor among Vic.
torian jewels. why not let others see II? II
you got off the wreck in the breakers, why
not tell of the crew and the stout lifeboat
that safely anded your II from the fourth
story you are rescued in time Of confiagra.
tion, why not tell Of the fireman and the lad
der down which he carried your II you
have a mansion in heaven awaiting YOU,
why not show tbs deed to those who may by
the same process get an emerald castle on
the same boulevard? By the last two words
" bJ hS0h NuiAo upch ul u IA ~
have received any mercy at the hands oi
God to stop impersonating the asylums fol
the dumb and In the p~ersence ofmen, women,
angels, devils and all worlds .'say So"
In these January days. thousands Of min
listers and private Christians are wondering
about the best ways of starting q revival Of
religion. ] can tell yon a way of starting a
revival. continental, hemispheric and world.
wide. You say Il revival starts In heaven.
Well, it starts in heaven just as q prosperoui
harvest starts in heaven. The sun must shine
n the rains must descend, but unless you
pillow and SOW and cultivate the earth you
will not raise a buahel of wheat or q peck OF
corn between now and the end OF the world.
How, then, shall a universal revival starti
By all Christian people telling the story oil
their W conversion. Let ten men and wo-
men get up next week in your prayer meet.
ing and, not in a conventional or canting OF
doleful way, but in the same one they EN-.
ploy in the family or place of business,
tell how they crossed the line, and
the revival viii begin then and there, II
the prayer meeting has not been so dull
as TO drive out all except those concern
ing whom it was foreordained from al
eternity that they should be there. Ther
are SO many different ways of being con,
verified that we want to hear all kinds, so tina
our own case may be helped. II always puts
me back to hear only onekind of experiences,
such as a mar gives when he tells of his
Pauline conversion-how he was knocked
senseiess, and then had a vision and heard
voices, and after a certain numbe of days
of horror got up and shouted for Joy. All
that ~discourages me, for I was never knocked
senseless, and i never had such a sudden
burst OF religious rapture that / lost my
equilibrium. But after awhile a Christian
man got up in some meeting and told us o.
he was brought up by a deyout ~parentage,
and had always been thoughtful about re-
/ ligious things, and gradually the peace OF
the gospel came into his soul like the dawn
OF the morning-no perceptible difference
between moment m m~oment-but after
awhile all perturbation settled down into a
hope that had consoled and strengthened
him during all the vicissitudes OF a lifetime.
I said, s'That Is exhilarating; that was my
experience" And SO I was strengthened.
In another prayer meeting a man got up
and told us how he once hated God and
went through all the round OF iniquity until
we were all on nettles lest he should go too
much into the particulars. but one day he
was by some religious power hurled fiat and
then got up a Christian and had ever since
been going around with a Bax .er Bible with
large flaps under his arm. a floating evange-
list. Well, under this story many are not
helped at all, for they know they never hated
God, and they were never dissolute. But at.
ter awhile some Christian woman arises and
says, 81 have nothing extraordinary tc
tell, yeti think the cares Of life, the anxieties
about my children and two graves
opened in our family plot made me feel the
need OF God, and weak aud helpless and
heartbroken l flung myself upon His mercy,
and I feel what the Bible calls the peace OF
God which passeth all understandings and
I ask your prayers that l may live nearer tc
the Christ who has done SO much for me"
/ declare that before that woman got through
we were all crying, not bitter tears, but
tears Of joyful emotion, and in three days in
that neighborhood all the ice had gone out
of the river in a s~pringtime freshet of saliva.
ton. Let the redeemed OF the Lord say SOL
Ihaye but little interest In what people
say about religion as an abstraction, but ]
have illimitable interest In what people say
about what they have personally felt of re
ligion. 1t was an expression of his w
gratitude for personal salvation which leo
Charles Wesley, after assessor OF great de.
~spondency about his soul and Christ had
spoken pardon, to write that immorta
hymn;
Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer's praise!
1t was after Abraham Lincoln had been
,omforted in the loss OF Tad, the bright boy
of the White House, that he said, II now see
as never before the preciousness OF Gods
love In Jesus Christ and now we are brough
near to God as our Father by Him"
What a thrill went through the meeting In
1 oIttUndg Viz "hoh al
of the United States rose and said: LAS
night l got up and asked the prayers OF Code
people. Ifeel now perfectly satisfied. The
burden isrolled of and all gone, and I feel
that I could run or fly into the arms Of Jesu
Christ"
What a record for all time and eternit,
was made by Gellacius, the play actor. In
the theatre al Heliopolis. A buriesque OF
Christianity was put upon the stage. In de-
rision OF the ordinance of baptism q bath,
tub filed with water was put upon the stage,
and another actor, in awful blasphemy,
dipped Gellacius, p~ronouncinR over him the
words, ~ baptize thee in the name of the
Father, Of the Son and OF the Holy Ghost
But coming forth from the burlesque hap
tism he looked changed and was changed,
and he cried out, ~ am a Christian. I will
die as a Christian" Though he was dragged
out and stoned 10 death, they could not
drown the testimony made under such awful
die as a Christian 'Let the redeemed oi
the Lord say so"
What confirmation would come II all whe
had answers to prayers would speak out; II
all merchants in tight places because of hard
times would tell how in response to supplt-
cation they got the money to paw the notej
II all farmers in time OF drought would tell
how in answer to prayer the rain came just
In time to save the crop; II all parents who
prayed for a wandering son to some home
would tell how not long after they heard
the boys hand on the latch of the FROM
door.
Samuel Hiek, an English Methods,
preacher. solicited aid for West India mis-.
sions from a rich miser and failed. Then
the minister dropped on his knees, and the
miser said, ~ will give thee a guinea II
thou wilt give over" But the minist sr con.
tinued to pray. until the miser said, II will
give thee two guineas II thou wilt
give over" Then the money was
taken to the missionary meeting. oh,
the power OF prayer! Melan ehthon,
utterly discouraged. was passing along
> place where children were heard praying
,nd he came back, saying, Brethren. rake
courage: the children are praying for u.s.
Nothing can stani before prayer. An inhde
i.ameinto a Bible class to ask puzzling ques
ions. Many OF the neighbors same IN te
near the discussion. The inidel arose
lind said to the leader Of the Bible
,Iass, ~ hear you allow question:
asked." 'oh, yes, SAID the leader,
.but at the start let Is kneel down
and ask God to guide us.s ION, mo-" sald
the infdel. II did not com& to prayi I cams
70 discuss. Bat. aid AEs leader. iron
A NM