The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1901-01-25

stefan who has cured more blind eyes.
and bound up more broken hearts, and
healed more ghastly wounds than all
the doctors since the time of Escula-
plus. Be obliging and just make the
experiment. lfyou are not acquainted
with the ordinary modes of prayer, say
in substance: go Lord Jesus, this is
strange thing for me to do. ] know
nothing about the formulas of reli-
gion. These Christian people have been
talking so long about what thou canst
do for me am ready to do whatever
thou commandest me. If there be any
power in religion, as these people say,
let me have the advantage of it," Will
you not try that experiment?
| do not now say there is anything
in religion. Do not take my counsel
or the counsel of any clergyman, for
you may dislike clergymen. Perhaps
we may talk professionally Perhaps
we may be prejudiced in the matter
Perhaps our advice is not worth taxi
ing. Then take the counsel of some
very respectable layman, as John Mil
ton, the poet; as William Wilberforce,
the emancipator; as Isaac Newton, the
astronomer; as Robert Boyle, the phil
osopher; as Locke, the metaphysician;
as Morse, the telegrapher; as Washing
ton, the statesman. They never
preached or pretended to preach, yet,
putting down one his telescope and an
other his pariamentarian scroll and
another his electricians wire. came
| forth and commended the religion of
Christ as the best thing for the cure
of the worlds woes. If you will not
take the recommendation of ministers
of the Gospel, take the recommendation
of highly respectable laymen.
Oh, men, skeptical and struck
through with unrestl l beg you to
come off that great Sahara desert of
doubt into the bright and luxuriant
land of Gospel hope and peace. You
do not want your children to come
up in that skepticism. If you do not
believe in anything else, you believe
in love-a fathers love, mothers
love, wife's love, child's love. Then
let me tell you that God loves you
more than all these together. The
great heart of Christ aches to have
| you come in. and He looks into your
eyes this moment, saying: "Other
| sheep | have which are not of this
| fold"
Again, l remark that the Heavenly
| Shepherd is going to find great
many of the sheep among those who
have been full of evil habit. They
were all cheated into sin. The spider
] 1pag ~ In va
| the web where | kill insects" Oh,
no. The spider says Dearest fly,
come and talk morning walk with
me on this suspension bridge of gos-
samer glittering with diamonds of
dew" Do not be hard on those gone
astray. 1t makes me sad to see Chris
tian people give up n prodigal as lost.
! There are those who talk as though
the grace of God were n chain of 40
or 80 links and that when they had
run out there was nothing left to
touch a bad case. If they were hunt
ing and got off the track of the deer,
they would look longer among the
brakes and bushes for the lost game
than they would look for that lost
soul.
They talk about the catacombs of
Naples and the catacombs of Rome
and the catacombs of Egypt, the
great burial places under the city
where is the dust of many genera
tons passed on, but | tell you New
York has its catacombs and Washing
ton its catacombs and all our cities
their catacombs. They are under
ground liquor dives, full of dead mems
bones and all uncleanliness. There is
no need of going into the art gallery
TO see in sl>illful sculpture that won
derful presentation of a man and
his sons wound round with serpents.
There are families represented here
to-day that are wrapped in the mar
tyrdom of lang and scale and venom,
a living LAGOON of ghastliness and
horror
There is only one class of persons
about whom | am disheartened. and
they are the Gospel hardened. They
have been faithful i'm attendance at
churches for 20, 30 and 80 years, yet
never have surrendered themselves Ia
God. As Christ says: "pub'icuns and
harlots 60 into the Kingdom OF hea,-
en- before them They have resisted
/ all the Importantly of divine mercy
and have gone through most power
/ full earthquakes OF religious feeling
and they are farther away from GOD
than ever. After awhile they will ID,
down sick. aud some day il will be
told that they are dead. No hope!
Iut | turu IN outsiders with nm .v.