The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1898-04-29
SEEMING IN DEEP WATERS.
Revs. Driver and GrOse Preach Eloquent
Sermons at M. E. Church.

No Methodist preacher ever looked
down on more magnificent audience
than the throng that greeted DR..
Driver Sunday morning. All the
vacant spaces were utilized with
chairs, and then many were turned
away. The audience was thoroughly
representative, and was deeply, and
sometimes breathlessly, attentive
from the opening sentence to the con-
Guiding peroration. The preacher
was diScOurSing on the ideal church,
and church member, and was unveil-
ing the marvellous possibilities Of
grace made available by the atoning
death Of Jesus Christ. He seemed to
have a word for everybody, and for
every class of people. He talked to
the workingmen, to the rich and the
aristOcratic, to saints Of every alti-
tude and to sinners of every turpt-
tude. But his great central plea was
for deeper study of the word Of God,
for profounder religious experience,
and for more practical exhibition
and exposition of the spirit of Christ
in the daily lives of His followers. o.
casionally he dealt in satire of the
most searching sort. For instance, in
speaking of the followers Of Mr.. Inger
soil and their war on the Bible, he
said: "To hear these Ingersollians
talk you would imagine that they had
pondered the Bible through and
through, letter by letter. syllable by
syllable, punctuation mark by punct-
uation mark, in all the original
tongues, classical Greek, Chaldee and
Hebrew, and cOlloquial Greek, Chaldee
and Hebrew, over and over again
times without number, and, after an
absolutely exhaustive examination
they had found it a tissue Of fiendish
malicious falsehood from Genesis to
Revelation. They talk loudly, and
gesticulate pompOuslY, and emphasize
their utterances with many words not
used in polite society. But when you
pin them down you find that their
whole stock in trade-the sum total of
their Bible knowledge - consists
of the rib story, the quail
story, the fish story, and the
where-did-Cain-get his wife conun
drum. And beyond these deeply and
tenderly and intensely spiritual ~,
and tremendously vital ~, and awfully
important ~ points they are as igno-
rant of the Bible as Baalam's ass was
of the principles of Hebrew grammar"
In the evening DR.. William E.
Crosse, member of the conference
from which DIR. Driver was transfer.
ed when he came to Mankato, and
official representative Of the great
publishing interests Of the Methodist
Episcopal church, preached a power
full sermon to an audience that over
flowed all bounds. Fervid, impetu-
GUS, eloquent DR.. Crosse spoke as one
who was overwhelmed with the great
ness and momentuousness of his mis-
sion and message. The sermon
throughout was punctured with
hearty and enthusiastic "Amens"
and "Hallelujahs. At the close of
the service DR.. Crosse was given an
ovation, more than hundred people
crowding forward and shaking his
hand. 1t was an occasion long to be
remembered.
The music was also a marked fea-
ture both morning and evening. Mrs
Ewing is to be congratulated upon
the personnel of her choir, and the
beautiful blending of their voices.
The solo obligato by DR.. Hanscom,
with vocal accompaniment, was an
especially notable number. The
audience was deeply moved by the
closing quartette last night immedi-
4ately following DR.. Crosses fervent
appeal to the unconverted.