The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-10-22

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20.-Ip this dis
course DR.. Talmage calls all people to
gladness and opens all the doors Of ex-
pectancy; texts, Genesis vi, is, Gomez"
Revelations xii, IL, "Come."
Imperial, tender and all persuasive is
the word Come" Six hundred and sew
enty-eight times is it found in the Scrip
lures. 1t stands at the front gate Of the
Bible as in my first text, inviting ante
diluvians into Noah's ark, and it stands
at the other gate CT the Bible as in my
second text, inviting the po%stdiIuvians Of
all later ages into the ark Of a S%ayiour's
mercy. Come" is only a word Of four
letters, but it is the queen of words, and
nearly the entire nation of English vo-
cabulary bows to its scepter. 1t is an
ocean into which empties ten thousand
rivers of meaning. Other words drive,
but this beckons. All moods of feeling
hath that word Come" Sometimes it
weeps and sometimes it laughs. Some
times it prays, sometimes it tempts, and
sometimes it destroys. 1t sounds from
the door of the church and from the
~seraglios of sin, from the gates of heaven
and the gates OF hell. 1t is continent and
accrescent of all power. 1t is the heiress
of most of the past and the almoner of
most Of the future. "Come!" You may
pronounce it so that all the heavens will
be heard in it's cadences or pronounce it
so that all the woes of time and eternity
shall reverberate in its one syllable. 1t is
on the lip of saint and profigate. 1t is
the mightiest of all solicitants either for
good or bad.
Today / weigh anchor and haul in the
planks n set sail IN that great word,
although / am sure l will not be able to
reach the farther shore. / will let down
the fathoming line into this sea and try
to measure its depths, and, though I tie
together all the cables and cordage l
have ON board, 1 will not be able to touch
bottom. All the power of the Christian
religion is in that word, Come" The
dictatorial and commendatory in religion
are Of no avail. The imperative mood
is not the appropriate mood when we
would have people savingly impressed.
They may be coaxed, but they cannot be
driven. Our hearts are like our homes;
at a friendly knock the door will be open
ed, but an attempt to force open our door
would land the assailant in prison. Our
theological seminaries, which keep young
men three years in their curriculum be-
fore launching them into the ministry,
will do well if in so short a time they
can teach the candidates for the holy
office how to say with right emphasis
n intonation and power that one word,
Gomez" That man who has such eff
aipOpy in Christian work nnH that woman
who has such power to persuade people
to quit the wrong and begin the right
went through q series of losses, bereave-
ments. prosecutions and the trials of
twenty or thirty years before they could
make it a triumph of grace every time
they uttered the word Come"
Slain by the Word "Come."
You must remember that in many cases
our Come has a mightier Come" to
conquer before it has any effect at all.
Just give me the accurate census, the
statistics Of how many are down in
fraud. in drunkenness, in gambling, in
impurity or in vice Of any sort, and I
will give you the accurate census or sta
tistics of hov many have been slain by
the word Come" Come and click
wineglasses with me at this ivory bar"
Come and see what We can win at this
gaming table," Come, enter with me
this doubtful speculationn Come with
me and read those infidel tracts on Chris
tianity." Come with me to a place of
bad amusement" Come with me in a
gay bout through the underground life
of the city" If in this city there are
twenty thousand who are down in moral
character, then twenty thousand fell I'M
der the power Of the word Come" I
was reading Of a wife whose husband
had been overthrown by strong drink,
n she went to the saloon where he was
ruined, and she said, "Give me back my
husband" And the misunderstanding
to q maudlin and battered man browsing
In the corner of the barroom, said:
There he is. Jim, wake up; here's your
wife come for you" And the woman
said: do you call that my husband?
What have you been doing with him?
Is that the manly brow, is that the clear
eye, is that the noble heart, that / mar
ried? What vile drug have you given him
that has turned him into a fend? Take
your tiger claws off OF him. Uncoil those
serpent folds Of evil habit that are crush
ing him. Give me back my husband,
the one with whom l stood at the altar
ten years ago. Give him back to me-"
-~N was ACs GS ulduy uullllOuS VI OlI-
ers have been, OF the word 'ComeI"
Now we want ali the world over to
harness this word for good as others have
harnessed it for evil, and it will draw the
five continents and the seas between
them-yea, it will draw the whole earth
back to God from whom it has wandered.
1t is that wooing and persuasive word
that viii lead men to give up their sins.
Was skepticism ever brought into love OF
the truth by an ebullition of hot words
against infdelity? Was ever the bias
phemer stopped in his oaths by denuncia-
hon Of blasphemy? Was ever the drunk
ard weaned from his cups by the tenn
perance lecturers mimicry Of staggering
step and hiccough? No. It was: Come
with me to church today and hear our
singing" Come and let me introduce
you to a Christian man whom you will
be sure to admire" Come with me into
associations that are cheerful and good
and inspiring Come with me into joy
such as you never before experienced"