The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1901-04-05
! ~ 30 ASaetiMss aaid that auring re-.
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Into tho churoh, and they do not know
| what thoy arc about. IT has been my
observation that the earlier people
come into the kingdom Of God the more
useful they are. Robert Hall, tho
prince OF reachers, was converted at
| t12 years Of age. IT is likoly he know
what he was about. Matthew Henry,
the commentator, who did moro than
.;.JJ .nan of his century for increasing
tho interest In tho study Of tho Scrip
lures, was converted ut II years Of
age; isabella Graham, immortal In tho
Christian church, was converted at ten
years of age; Dir. Watts, whose hymns
will be sung oil down tho ages, was,
converted at nine years Of age. iona
Iithan Edwards, perhaps the mightiest
intellect that tho American pulpit
ever produced, was converted at seven
years OF age, and that father and
mother take an awful responsibility
when they tell their child at seven
years Of age: "You are too young to
ben Christian" OF on are too young
to conncct yourself with the church"
That Is q mistake as long as eternity.
If during revival two psrnons pro.
sent themselves as candidates for tho
church and the one Is ton years Of ago
and the other Is 40 years of age, I will
have more confidence in the profession
Of religion Of tho one ten years Of ago
than the one 40 yeara Of ago. Why?
The one who Processes at 40 years OF
age has 40 years Of impulse in the
wrong direction to correct, and the
child has only ten years In the wrong
direction to correct. -Four times ten
are 40. -Four times the religious pros
pect for tho lad that comes into the
Kingdom of God and into tho church at
ten years of age than the man Mt 40.
am very apt to look upon revlv rails
MS connected with certain men who
fostered them. People who in this
day do not like rcviyals nevertheless
have not words to express their admi-
ration for the revivalists Of the past,
for they were eviyalists-J onathail
Edwards, John Wesley, George Whit
field, Fletcher, Griffin, Davies, Os-
borne. Knapp, Nettleton, Moody md
many others whose nafnes como to
my mind. Tho strength Of their In
tellect and tho holiness Of their lives
mako mo think they would not have
had anything to do with that which
was ephcmeral. Oh, it is easy to
talk against rsvivalsl
A man said to Mr.. Dawson: st
like your sermons very much, but
tho after meetings despise. When
the prayer meeting begins. I always
so up into the gallery ui1d look down,
and I am disgusted." "Wen," said
Mr.. Dawson, "the reason ia you 60
on tho top Of your neighbours house
and look down his chimney TO exam
Inc his fire, and Of course you get
only smoke in your eyes. Why don't
you como in tho door and sit down
| and warm?"
Oh, I am afraid to say anything
against reyivals Of religion or against
anything that looks lilso them, be-
cause think 1t may be sin against
tho Holy Ghost, and you know tho
Eible says that sin against tho Holy
Ghost shall never be forgiven, neither
IN this world nor tho world to come.
Now, It you are q painter and speak
against your pictures, do not speak
against you? If you are an arohi-
tect, and speak against building
you put up, do I not speak against
you? If q revival be the work Of the
Holy Ghost, and speak against that
revival, do I not speak against tho
Holy Ghost? And whose speakcth
against the Holy Ghost, says the
Biblo, he shall never be forgiven.
neither in this world nor in the world
to come. think sometimes people
have made fatal mistake in this d.
rection.
Now come to tho real, genuine
cause Of objection to reyivals. That
Is the coldness Of the objector. It il
the secret and hidden but unmistak-
able cause In every case, low state
Of religion In the heart. Wide awake,
oonsccrated, useful Christians arc
never afraid of revivals. It Is the
spiritually dead who arc afraid OF
having their sepulcher molested. Tho
chief agents Of thu devil during a
great awakening are always uncon-
verted professors Of religion. AS soon
as Christ's work begins they begin
to gossip against 1t and take a pail
Of water and try to put out this
| spark of religious influence, and they
try to put out another apark. Do
they succeed? AS we'll when Chicago
was on fire might somo one hayo
gono out with o garden water pot
trying to oxtinguish It. The difficulty
Is that when revival begins In d
church It begins nt so many points
that while you have doused one anx-
ious soul with pail Of cold water
there are 500 other anxious souls on
fire. Oh, how much better It would
be to lay hold Of the chariot OF
Christ's Gospel and help pull It on
rather than to fling ourselves in front
OF the wheels, trying to block their
progress. We will not atop the
chariot, but we ourselves will be
ground to powder.
But think, after all, the greatcst
obstacle to revivals throughout
Christendom is nm unconverted Ininis-
try. We must believe that the vast
majority of those who ofaoiate at
sacred altars are regenerated, but I
suppose there may float into the
ministry Of all tho denominations Of
Christians men whose hearts have
never been changed by grace. They
are all antagonistio to REVEALS. How
did they get into tho ministry? Per
haps some of them chose It as q re-
spectacle profession. Perhaps somo
OF them were sincere, but were mis-
taken. AS Thomas Chalmers said. he
had been many years preaching the
Gospel before his heart had been
changed, and as many ministers Of
the Gospel declare they wero preach
Ing and had been orda ined to sacred