The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1900-10-11


swore to support and defend? How do
you judge of the currency of coun-
try? By a counterfeit bill? Now, you
must have patience with chose who
have been swindled by religious pre-
tenders. Live in the presence of others
a frank, honest, earnest Christian life,
that they may be attracted to the same
Saviour upon whom your hopes de-
pend.
Again. there is a field of usefulness
but little touched, occupied by those
who are astray in their habits. All
northern nations, like those of North
America and England and Scotland
that is, in the colder climates-are dew
astated by alcoholism. They take the
fire to keep up the warmth. In south
ern countries, like Arabia and Spain,
the blood is so warm they are not
tempted to fiery liquids. The great
Roman armies never drank anything
stronger than water tinged with vine
gar, but under our northern climate
the temptation to heating stimulants
is most mighty, and millions succumb.
When mans habits go wrong the
church drops him, the social circle
drops him. good influences drop him,
we all drop him. Of all the men who
get off the track but few ever get on
again. Near my summer residence
there is a life-saving station on the
beach. There are all the ropes and
rockets, the boats, the machinery for
getting people off shipwrecks. One
summer l saw there Is or 20 men who
were breakfasting after having just es
capped with their lives and nothing
more. Up and down our coasts are
built these useful structures, and the
mariners know it, and they feel that
if they are driven to the breakers there
will be apt from shore to come rescue.
The churches of God ought to be so
many life-saving stations, not so
much to help those who are in smooth
waters, but those who have been ship
wrecked. Come, let us run out the
lifeboats! And who will man them?
We do not preach enough to such
men; we have not enough faith in
their release. Alas, if when they
come to hear us we are laboriously
trying to show the difference between
sublapsaranism and upralapsarian-
ism, while they have & hundred vipers
of remorse and despair coiling
around and biting their immortal spir-
its. The church is not chiefly for
goodish sort of men, whose proclivi-
ties are all right and who could get to
Heaven praying and singing in their
own homes. 1t is on the beach to
help the drowning. Those bad cases
are the cases that God likes to take
hold of. He can save a Dig sinner as
well as a small sinner, and when a
man calls earnestly to God for help
he will go out to deliver such one.
If it were necessary, God would come
down from the sky, followed by all
the artillery of Heaven and million
angels with drawn swords. Get 100
such redeemed men in your churches
and nothing could stand before them,
for such men are generally warm
hearted and enthusiastic. No formal
prayers then. No heartless singing
then. No cold cCnventionalisms then.
Destitute children of the street Of
fer field of work comparatively UNI.
occupied The uncared for children
are in the majority in most of our
cities. When they grow up, if I'M
reformed, 1hey will outvote your chill.
dren, ard they will govern your chill
dren. The whisky ring will hatch out
other whisky rings, and grog shops
will kill with their horrid stencil pub
lie sobriety unless the church of God
rises up with outstretched arms and
infolds this dying population in her
bosom. Public schools cannot do it.
Art cannot do it. Blackwell's island
cannot do it. Almshouses cannot do
it. Jails canont do it. Church of God,
wake up to your magnificent mission!
You can do it! Get somewhere, some
how to work!
The Prussian cavalry mount by put
ting their right foot into the stir
rup, while the American cavalry |
mount by putting their left foot into
the stirrup. | do not care how you
mount your war charger if you only |
get into this battle for God and get |
there soon. right stirruP OF left stir
rup or no stirrup at all. The unoccu-
pied fields are all around us, and why |
should we build on another mans
foundation? l have heard of what
was called the Numbering legion"
1t was in 179. part of the Roman
army to which some Christians be-
longed, and their prayers, it was said,
were answered by thunder and light
ming and hail and tempest, which