The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-04-05

ages, was converted at 8 years of age;
Jonathan Edwards, perhaps the might
est intellect that the American pulpit
| ever produced, was converted at Z years
/ of age, and that father and mother take
| an awful responsibility when they tell
| their child at Z years of age, "You are
1 too young to be a Christian" or, You
| are too young to connect yourself with
| the church" That is a mistake as long
as eternity.
If during a revival two persons present
themselves as candidates for the church
and the one is 10 years of age and the
other is 40 years of age, l will have
more confidence in the profession Of re-
ligion of the one 10 years of age h
the one 40 years of age. Why? The
one who processes at 40 years of age
has 40 years of impulse in the wrong di-
rection to correct, and the child has only
ten years in the wrong direction to cor
rect. Four times 10 are 40. -Four times
the religious prospect for the lad that
comes into the kingdom of God and into
the church at 10 years of age than the
man at 40.
1 am very apt to look upon ~revivals as
connected with certain men who foster
ed them. People who in this day do not
like ~revivals nevertheless have not words
to express their admiration for the re-
v~ivalists of the past, for they were re-
yivalists-Jonathan Edwards, John Yves
ley, George Whitfield, Fletcher, Griffin,
Davies, Osborne, Knapp, Nettleton, Moo
dy and many others whose names come
to my mind. The strength of their intel
lect and the holiness of their lives make
me think they would not have had any
thing to do with that which was ephem-
oral oh II lS CoSV tn talk against re-
vivals!
A man said to Mr.. Dawson: Il like
your sermons very much, but the after
meetings / despise. When the prayer
meeting begins. l always go up into the
gallery and look down. and am disgust
ed. well" said Mr.. Dawson, ''the reason
is you go on the top of your neighbours
house and look down his chimney to ex-
anime his fire. and of course you get only
smoke in your eyes. Why don't you come
in the door and sit down and warm"
Sin Against Holy Ghost.
Oh, I am afraid to say anything against
~revivaIs of religion or against anything
that looks like them. because | think it
may be a sin against the Holy Ghost. and
you know the Bible says that Il sin
against the Holy Ghost shall never he
forgiven, neither in this world nor the
| WOrl0 10 come. NOW. Il you are IL DI!!IeI
and I speak against your pictures DO |
not speak against you? If YOU are IN
architect. and / speak against n buildic;,
you put up, do | not speak against you!
If q revival be the work of the Hoy
Ghost. and I speak against that revival.
do / not speak against the Holy Ghost:
And whose speaketh against the Holy
Ghost, says the Bible. he shall never be
forgiven. neither in this world nor in The
world to come. | think sometimes people
have made a fatal mistake in this direc-
ton.
Many Of you know the history of Aaron
Burr. He was one of the most brilliant
men of his day. | suppose this country
never produced a stronger intellect. He
was capable of doing anything good and
great for his country or for the church Of
God had he been rightly disposed, but
his name is associated with treason
against the United States government,
which he tried to overthrow, and with
libertinism and immortality. Do you know
where Aaron Burr started on the down
ward road? It was when he was in col
lege, and he became anxious about his
soul and was about to put himself under
the influences of a revival, and a minister
of religion said: Don't go there, Aaron;
don't go there. That's a place Of wild
fire and great excitement. No religion
about that. Don't go there" He tarried
away. His serious impressions departed.
He started on the downward road. And
who is responsible for his ruin for this
world and his everlasting ruin in the
world to come? Was it the minister who
warned him against that revival? When
/ speak of excitement in revivals, | do
not mean temporary arrangement of the
DarvpS I do DOf moan tho abSurd THINGS
of which we have read as transpiring
sometimes in the church of Christ, but !
mean an intelligent, intense, all absorb
ing agitation of body, mind and soul in
the work Of spiritual escape and spiritual
rescue.
of the Objector.
Now l come to the real, genuine cause
of objection to REVEALS. That is the cold
ness of the objector. 1t is the secret and
hidden but unmistakable cause in every
case, a low state of religion in the heart.
Wide awake. consecrated, useful Chris
tians are never afraid OF revivals. 1t is
the spiritually dead who are afraid of
having their sepulcher molested. The
chief agents of the devil during a great
awakening are always unconverted pro-
fesSors of religion. As soon as Christ's
work begins they begin to gossip against
II III lame q pan VI water u Try "
put out this spark Of religious influence,
and they try to put out another spark.
Do they succeed? As well when Chicago
was on fire might some one lave gone out
with a garden water pot trying to extin-
guish it. The difficulty is that when a re-
vival begins in a church it begins at so
many points that while you have doused
one anxious soul with a pail Of cold wa
ter 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 stop
the chariot, but we ourselves will be
ground to powder.
Did you ever hear that there was a
convention once held among the icebergs
in the arctic? 1t seems that the sum-
NOR I-aS canning ON anA tLa-Ssn nns