St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-03-05

CACIuSlvc ScIvlCc VI 0OO WILL DC le88
than one year.
"But," says some man. II literally
support the Gospel. and the church is
open. and the Gospel is preached; all
the spiritual advantages are spread be-
fore men, and if they want to be saved
let them come and be saved-1 have
discharged all my responsibility" AhI
is that my Masters spirit? Is there
not an old Book somewhere that COM
mands us to go out into the highways.
and the hedges and compel the people
to come in? What would become OF
you and me if Christ had not
come down of the hills of
Heaven: and il He had mot
come through the door OF tbs
Bethlehem caravansary; and if He lad
not with the crushed hand OF the cruci-
6xion knocked at the iron gate of the
sepulchre of our spiritual death. cry
ing: Lazarus. come forth?" Oh, my
Christian friend! this is no time for in
ertia when all the forces OF darkness
seem to be in full biast!-when steam
printing presses are publishing infidel
tracts. when express trains are carry
ing messengers of sin, when fast clip
pers are laden with opium and strong
drink, when the night MIR of our cities
is polluted with the laughter that
breaks up from the ten thousand sa-
looms of dissipation and abandon
ment, when the fires Of the second
death already are kindled in the cheeks
Of some who. only q little while ago.
were incorrupt Oh. never since the
curse fell upon the earth has there
been o time when it was such an un-
wise, such a cruel, such nm awful
thing for the church to sleep. The
great audiences are not gathered in
Christian churches; the great audi
ences are gathered in temples OF sin
tears of unutterable woe their bap-
tism. the blood of crushed hearts the
aw full wine of their sacrament. BIAS
phemies their litany, and the groans of
the lost world the organ dirge of their
worship.
Again, if you want to be qualified to
meet the duties which this age de-
manls of you. you must, on the one
hand, avoid reckless iconoclasm, and,
on the other hand. not stick too much
10 things because they are old. The
air Is full of new plans. new projects,
new theories of government. new the
ologies, and am amazed to see how so
many Christians want oasy nov
city in order to recommend .
thing to their confidence; and SO
they vacillate and swing to and fro; and
they are useless, and they are unhappy.
New pians-secular, ethical, philo-
sophical, religious. cisatlantic, trans
atlantic-long enough to make line
reaching from the German universities
to Great Salt Lake City. All, my
brother, do not take hold of q thing
merely because it is new! Try il by
the realities Of the judgment day.
But, on the other hand, do not adhere
to anything merely because it is old.
There is not single enterprise Of the
church or the world but has sometime
been scoffed at. There was =
time when men derided even Bible
societies. and when few young men
met in Massachusetts and organized
the first missionary society ever organ
lied in this country there went laugh
ter and ridicule all around the Chris
tian church. They said the undertake
ing was preposterous- And 70 also
the work of Jesus Christ was assailed.
People cried ont: .'Who ever heard Of
such theories Of ethics and govern
ment? Who ever noticed such . style
OF preaching rs Jesus has?" Ezekiel
had talked OF mysterious wings
and wheels. Here came . man
from Capernaum and Gennessaret and
lie drew His illustrations from the
lakes. from the sand, from the moua-
tain. from the lilies. from the corn
stalks. How the Pharisees scoffedi
How Herod deridedl And this Jesus
they plucked by the beard. and they
spat ia His face, and they called Hint
this felloww ALL the great en-
terprises in and out Of the church
have 1t times been scoffed at, and there
have been a great multitude who have
thought that the chariot of Gods
truth would fall to pieces If it once got
out Of the old rut. And so there are
those who have no patience with any
thing like improvement in church
architecture, or with anything like
good. hearty. earnest church singing,
and they deride any form of religious
discussion which goes down walking
among every day men, rather than
that which makes m excursion
ON rhetorical stills Oh. that the
church of God would waks up
to IN adaptability of work! We
must admit the simple fact that the
churches of Jesus Christ in this day do
not reach the great masses. There are
SO. 600 people in Edinburgh who never
hear the Gospel. There are 1.O00. 900
people in London who never hear the
Gospel. The great majority OF the in
habitants of this capital come not nm
der the ministrations Of Christ's truth,
and the church of God in this day. in
stead Of being a place full OF living
epistles, known and read of all men, is
more like q dead-le.ter post Office.
..But," say the people. 1.-THE world il
going to be converted; you must be
patient; the kingdoms of this world
are to become the kingdoms OF Christ"
Never, unless the Church Of Jesus
Christ puts on more speed and energy.
Instead OF the church converting the
world. the world is converting the
church. Here is = great fortress How
shall it be taken? An army comes and
sits around about it. cuts OF the sup
plies, and says: ..Now we will just
wait until from exhaustion and star
vation they will have to give up. Weeks
and months, and perhaps = year pass
along, and finally the fortress surren-
ders through that starvation aud ex-
haustion. But. my friends, the fort
resses of sin are never to be taken in
that way. IT they are taken for God it
will be by storm; You will have to
bring up the great siege guns Of the
Gospel to the very wall and wheel the
flying artillery into line. and when the
armed infantry Of Heaven shall con-
front the battlements you will have to
give the quick command: Forward!
Charge"
All, my friends, there is work for