Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1901-10-24
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Se1rtl)lol!!,)'|i
N-[.+'.rr| 1852

COURSE Ut. lullluh' GUNS an IN't'N ~
gladness and opens all the doors of eN-
pectancy; texts, Genesis vi, Is, Come
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
dluvians into Noah's ark, and it stands
at the other gate Of the Bible as in my
second text, inviting the postdiluvians Of
all later ages into the ark of a SnvioIr's
mercy. "Comc" is only Il word of four
letters, but it is the queen of words ana
nearly the entire nation of English Vo-
cabulary bows to it's sccpter. 1t is an
ocean into which empGcs ten thousand
rivers Of meaning. Other words drive,
but this bpckons. All moods Of feeling
hath that word Come" Sometime it
wceps and sometimes it laughs. Some
times it prays, sometimes it tempts, and
sometimes it destroys. 1t sounds from
the door of the church ana from the
seraglios of sin, from the gates Of heaven
and the gates of he'll. 1t is continent and
accrcscent of all power. 1t is the hcircSs
of most of the past and the almoner of
most of the future. Come, You may
pronounce It so that all the heayciVs viii!
be heard n its cadcncCS or pronounce 1t
so that all the wees Of time and eternity
shall reverberatc in its one syllable. 1t is
on the lip of saint and profigatc. 1t is
the mghtcst of all solicitants either for
good or bad.
Today | weigh anchor and haul in the
planks and set sail On that great word
although | am sure 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 | tie
together all the cables and cordagc |
have on board, will not be able TO touch
bottom. All the power of the Christian
religion is in that word, Come The
dictatoiial and commentators 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;
a. n friendly knock the door will be open
ed. but an attempt to force open our door
would land the assaiant 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
and information and power that one word,
Come" That man who has such eff
cheney in Christian work and that woman
who has such power to persuade people
to quit the wrong and begin the right
went through a series of losses, bercave-
mcuts. prosecutions and the trials of
twenty or thirty years before they could
make il 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 III vice of any sort, and
will give you the accurate census or sta
tistos of how many have been slain by
! the word Come" Come and click
! wincglasses with me at this ivory bar
I Come and see what we can win ut this
I gaming table" Come, enter with me
/ this doubtful speculation" Come with
1 me and read those iniidel tracts on Chris
( tianity." Come with me to n place OF
l bad amusement" Come with me in 4
gay bout through the underground life
| of the city" If in this city there arc
| twenty thousand who are down in mora
! character, then twenty thousand fell un
der the power Of the word Come"
was reading Of wife whose HUSBAND
had been overthrown by strong drink
and she went to the saloon where he wa
rttipp1 nd bo cold ''f,ivp mn hncl< IN
husband" And the bartender, pointing
to maudliu and battered man browsing
in the corner of the barroom, said
There he is. Jim, wake up; here's you
wife come for you" And the womaI
said: do you call that my husband
What have you been doing with him
Is that the manly brow, is that the clea
eye, is that the noble heart, that | MAJ
red? What vile drug have you given hin
that has turned him into n fendi TAX
your tiger claws off of him. Uncoil thos
serpent folds OF evil habit that are crusl
ing him. Give me back my husban,
the one with whom | stood at the alta
ten years ago. Give him back to me.
Victim was he, rs many millions OF otl
ers have been, Of the word Gomez
Now we want ali the world over I
harness this word for good as others hay
hanessed it for evil, and it will draw I'll
five continents and the seas betwcc
them--yea, it will draw the whole cart
back to God from whom it has wandere
1t is that wooing and persuasive woI
that will lead men to give up their sin
Was skepticism ever brought into love
the truth by an ebulltion Of hot wore
against nfdelty: Was ever the bla
phemer stopped in his oaths by denunci
ton of blasphemy? Was ever the drum
ard weaned from his cups by the tel
perance lecturers mimcry Of staggeriI
step aud hiccough? No. 1t was; Con
with me to church today and hear o.
singing Come and let me introdu
you to a Christian man whom you W
be sure to admire Come with me in
associations that are cheerful and got
and inspiring" Come with me into j.
such as you never before experienced"
Made Right with God.
With that word which has done
much for others l approach you todn
Are you all right with God? mo" y
say,"I think not; am sometimes alarm
when / think Of him; | fear l will Il
be ready to meet him in the last day; I
heart is not right with God" Come tn
and have it made right. Through t
Christ who died to save you, come! VIII
is the use in waiting? The longer y
wait the farther oft you are and the dee
or you ara down. Strike ont for heaVC