The Penn's Grove record., 1897-09-03

lltl NlluI kObN PtOtA0 DVhAlNlAAtE So 49,
much frightened. In the tones Of thest
disciples as they rushed into the back par
OF the boat l find they are frightened al
most to death. They say, master, cares'
Thou not that we perish2" They had nc
reason to be frightened, for Christ was Ia
tho boat. / 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. 1t Is often 80 IN our
day, and mon say: "Why, look at the bad
lectures; look at the s~plrituallstic 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
going down." oh, how many good people
are affrighted by triumphant iniquity in
our day and think the church Of jesus
Christ and the cause Of Righteousness are
going to be overthrow and nra just as
much affrighted as the disciples Of my text
were a~ffrighted. Don't worry, don't fret,
as though iniquity were going TO triumph
over righteousness.
lion goes into n cavern to sleep. He
lies down, with his shaggy name covering
the paws, Meanwhile the spiders spin q
web across the mouth OF the cavern and
say. 1--WE have captured him." Gossamer
thread after gossamer thread is spun until
the whole front OF the cavern Is covered
with the spiders web and the spiders say,
"The lion IL done; the lion Is fast" After
awhile the hon has got through sleeping.
He rouses himself. he shakes his mane, 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 sOphtstrles
and skeptlcism about Jesus Christ. he
seems to be sleeping. They say: ave have
captured the Lord. He will never come
forth again upon the nation. Christ is cap
tured, and captured forever. His religion
will never make any conquest among men"
Bat after awhile the "lion Of the tribe OF
Judah" will rouse himself and come forth
to shake nightly the nations. What Is o
spiders web to the aroused lion7 Give
truth and error d fair grapple, and truth
will come off victor.
But there are a great many good people
who get affrighted In other respects. They
are affrighted In our day about revivals.
They say: ''oh, this is a strong religious
galel We are afraid the church OF God Is
going to upset, and there are going to be o
great many people brought into the church
that are going to be OF no use to it." And
they arc a~ffrigbted whenever they see a re-
vival taking hold Of the churches.
As though q ship captain with 5000 bush
els Of wheat for a cargo should say some
day. coming upon deck, Throw overheard
all the cargo" and the sailors should say,
"Why, captain, what do you meanf Throw
over all the cargo2'' "0h,h says the cap
tain, 1--WE have a peck Of chat that has got
into this 5000 bushels OF wheat, and tho
only way to get rid Of the chat is to throw
all the wheat overheard" Now, that is a
great deal wiser than the talk OF a 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 awakeninGs. Throw all
overheard because there Is n peek of ebaff,
a quart of chat. a pint of chaffi ! say, let
them stay until the last day. The Lord
will divide the chafT from the wheat.
Oh. that these gales from heaven might
sweep through all our churchesl Oh, for
such days as Richard Baxter saw In Eng
land aud Robert McCheyne saw In Dundeel
Oh, for such days as Jonathan Edwards
saw In Northampton 1 have often heard
my father tell of the fact that in the early
part of this century a revival broke out In
somerville, N. j.. and some people were
very much agitated about it. They said,
"oh. you are going to bring too many
people into the church at oncel" n
they sent down to New Brunswick to get
John Livingston to stop tho revival. Well,
there was no better soul in all the
world than John Livingston. He went
up; he looked ut the revival. They
wanted him to stop it. He stood in tho
pulpit on the Sabbath and looked over
the solemn auditory, and he said: "fhis,
brethren, Is in reality thu work Of God.
Beware how you try to stop it, And he
was an old man, leaning heavily or 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 it fall very slowly
through between the fnger and the thumb.
anil ho call ooh fhnr1 I'm nanitant fhaII
art falling now-falling from life, falling
away from peace and heaven, falling as
certainly as that cane is falling
through my hand-falling certainly,
though perhaps falling yefy1slowlyl'
And the cane kept-op falling through
John Livlngston's hand. The religious
emotion in the audience was oyerpow-
ering, and men saw q typo of their doom
as tile zane kept falling and falling until
the knob OF the cane struck MI. 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.
s'Well,' said the people after the service,
'Iguess you had better send Livingston
home. He is making the revival worse"
Oh, for the gales of heaven; and Christ on
board the ship! The danger of the church
of God is not In ~revivals.
Again, my subject impresses me with the
fact that Jesus was God and man in the
same being. Here he Is in the back part
of the boat. oh, how tired he looks, what
sad dreams he must havei Look OF his
countenance. He must be thinking OF the
cross to come. Look at him. He Is o man
bone of our bone, flesh of our aesh.
Tired, he falls asleep; he Is o man. But
then l find Christ at tho prov OF the boat.
I hear Him say. peace, be stilli'' And /
see the storm kneeling at His feet and the
tempests folding their Wings In His pres
ence. He Is q God.
II I have sorrow and trouble and want
sympathy, I so and knesl down at the back
part Of the boat and say, 80 Christ, weary
one OF Gennesaret, symbathize with oil my
sorrows, man Of Nazareth, man Of the
cross" A man, a man.. But II I want to
conquer my spiritual fots, If ! want to get
the victory over sin, death and hell, / come
to the front Of the boat snd | kneel down,
and l say, so Lord jesus Christ, Thou who
dost hush the tempest, hush all my grief,
hush all my temptation hush oil my SIM"
A man, a man, q God, nGod.
I learn once more from this subject that
Christ can hush a tempest. 1t did seem as
If everything must 90 to ruin. The dis
ciples had given up the idea Of managing
the ship. The crew were entirely de-
morali2eu, yet Christ rises, and He puts
His foot on the storm, md 1t crouches at
His feet. Oh, yes, Cirist can hush the
tempestl
You have had trouble. Perhaps It was
the little child taken away from you-the
sweetest child of tho household, the one
who asked the most curious questions and
stood around you with the greatest fond
ness, and the spade cut down through your
bleeding heart. Perhaps 1t was an only
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 ii was an aged mother. You al
ways went to her with your trouble. She
was in your homo to Welcome your children
into life, and when thSy died sho was there
to pity you. That old hand will do you no
more kindness. That white lock OF hair
you put away in tip casket or In the
iocket did not look as we'll rs 1t usually did
when she brushed it away from her
wrinkled brow In the home circle or IN the
country church. Or, your property gone,
you said, 81 have sd much bank stock, ]
have so many government securities, l have
so many houses, Ihase so many farms"-
all gone, all gone.
Why, all the stormsthat ever trampled
with their thunders, all the shipwrccks,
have not been worse than this to you. Yet
you have not been completely overthrown.
Why2 Christ hushed the tempest. loul
little one was taken away. Christ says; 81
have that little one. l can take care OIL