The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-09-15

the Christian religion; she can hardly fnt
quiet place in which to sav her prayers
Did she find 1t smooth sailing when sht
tried to follow Jesus Christ? Oh. no; al
who would live the. life Of tho Christian
religion must suffer persecution. II yor
do not find it in one way, You will get 1t IL
another way.
NV subject also impresses me with th'
fact that good people sometimes get very
much frightened. In the tones OF these
disciples as they rushed into the back par
OF the boat find they are frightened al
most to death. They saw. "Master, carest
Thou not that we perish?" They had nc
reason to be frightened. for Christ was IN
the boat. I suppose II we had been there
we would have been just as much alright
ed Perhaps more.
In all ages very good people get very
much affrighted. It is often so In OUT
day, and men say: "Why. look at the bad
lectures: look at the spiritualistlc socie.
ties: look at the various errors going over
the church OF God. We are going to foun-
der; the church IS going to perish; she Is Is
going down." Oh, how many good people
are afYrighted by triumphant iniquity In
our dav and think the church OF Jesus
Christ and the cause OF righteousness are
going to be overthrown and are just as
much affrighted as the disciples OF nv text
we're affrighted. Don't worry, don't fret,
as though iniquity were going to triumph
over righteousness.
Alion goes into a cavern to sleep. He
lies down, with his shaggy name covering
the paws. Meanwhile the spiders spin 2
web across the mouth Of the cavern and
say, "We have captured him." Gossamer
thread after cossamer thread is spun until
the whole front Of the cavern is covered
with the spiders web aud the spiders say,
"The lion Is done; the lion Is fast" After
awhile the lion has got through sleeping.
He rouses himself. he shakes his name, he
walks out into the sunlight: he does not
even know the spiders web is spun, and
with his voice he shakes the mountain.
So men come. spinning their sophtstries
and skepticism about Jesus Christ. He
seems to be sleeping. They say: 1--WE have
capture6 the Lord. He will never come
forth again upon the nation. Christ ts'cap-
tured, and cantured forever. His religion
will never make any conquest among men. I"
But after awhile the "lion OF the tribe OF
Judah" will rouse himself and come forth
to shake nightly the nations. What IS
spiders web to the aroused lion? Give
truth and error fair grapple, and truth
will come off victor.
But there are great many good people
who get affrighted In other respects. They
are affrighted in our day about rev1vals.
They saw: ''Oh, this Is strong religious
gale! We are afraid the church Of God Is
going to upset, and there are going to be q
great many people brought into the church
that are going to be Of no use to It," And
thew are affrighted whenever they see re-
yival taking hold OF the churches.
As though ship captain with 5000 BUSH
els of wheat for cargo should say some
dav, coming upon deck, "Throw overheard
all the cargo" "and the sailors should say,
"Why, CAPTAIN, what do you mean? Throw
over all the cargo?" "Oh." SAYS the cap
tain, "we have a peck Of chaff that has got
into this 5000 bushels Of wheat, and the
only way to get rid OF the chaff Is to throw
all the wheat overheard" Now, that is
great deal wiser than tHe talk OF great
many Christians who want to throw over
board all the thousands and tens OF thou
sands Of souls who have been brought In
through great awakeniugs. Throw all
overheard because there Is a peck OF chaff.
a quart Of chaff. a pint Of chaff! say, let
them stay until the last day. The Lord
will divide the chaff from the wheat.
Oh. that these gales from heaven might
sweep through all our churches Oh. Tor
such days as Richard Baxter saw In Eng.
land and Robert McCheyne saw In Dundee!
Oh, for such days as Jonathan Edwards
saw in Northamptonl have often heard
my father tell of the fact that In the early
part OF this century revival broke out In
Somerville, N. j., and some people were
very much agitated about 1t. They said,
ooh, you are going to bring too many
people into the church at once! and
they sent down to New Brunswick, to get
John Livingston to stop the revival: Well,
there was no better soul in all the
world than John Livingston. He went
up: he looked at the revival. They
wanted him to stop it. He stood IN the
pulpit on the Sabbath and looked over
the solemn auditory, and he said: "This,
brethren, Is in reality the work OF God.
Beware how you try to stop it,. And ne
was an old man, leaning heavily on his
staff-a very old man. And he lifted that
staff and took hold Of the small end OF the
staff and began to let 1t fall very slowly
through between the lnger and the thumb,
and he said, "Oh, thou impenitent. thou
art falling now-falling from life, falling
away from peace and heaven, falling as
certainly as that cane is falling
through my handmfalling certainly
though perhaps falling very slowly|
And the cane Kept on falling through
John Livingstons hand. The religious
emotion In the audience was overpow-
ering, apd men saw type OF their doom
as the cane kept falling and falling until
the knob of the cane struck MIR. Living.
ston's hand, and he clasped 1t stoutly and
said: "But the grace Of God can stop you
as I stopped that cane" and then there
was gladness all through the house at the
fact, OF pardon and peace and salvation
"Well," said the people after the service
"I guess you had better send Livingspc.
home. He is making the revival worse. y
Oh, for the gales Of heaven; and Christ on
board the ship! The danger OF the church
OF God is not in revivals.
learn once more from this subject that
Christ can hush tempest. 1t did seem as
IL everything must go to ruin. The dis
ciples had given up the idea Of managing
the ship. The crew were entirely de.
moraIized, vet Christ rises, and He puts
His foot on the storm, and 1t crouches al
His feet. Oh, yes, Christ can hush the
tempest!
You have had trouble. Perhaps 1t was
the little child taken away from you-the
sweetest child Of the household, the one
who asked the most curious questions and
stood around you with the greatest fond
ness, and the spade cut down through you,
bleeding heart. Perhaps 1t was an Only 11
son, and your heart has ever since been like
a desolated castle, the owls OF the night
hooting among the falling rafters and the
crumbling stairways.
Perhaps it was an aged mother. You al
ways went to her with your troubles. She
was in your home to welcome your children
into life, and when they died she was there
to pity you. That old hand will do you nc
more kindness. That white lock OF hall
you put away IN the casket or in the
locket did not look as we'll as it usually did
when she brushed it away from hel
wrinkled brow in the home circle or In the
country church. Or, your property gone
YOU said, Il have so much bank stock,
have 90 many government securities, 1hsve
so many houses, have so many farms"-
all gone, all gone.