The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1901-10-26
4 WORD OF NIGHT.
Great Meaning Contained in Text
of DR.. Talmage's Sermon.
composed of But Four Letters But
=. the Queen of Words-Solace
of Christian Faith-Two
Things to Believe.

In this Ut. calls
III neople to gladness and opens all
.hs doors of expectancy; texts, Cen
Wis vi. IS. Come" Revelations xii,
II. Come"
Imperial, tender and all persuasive
l.. +be word Come" Six hundred and
ssventy-eight times it is found in the
car;ntures. 1t stands at the front
nate of the Bible as in my first text,
i%ny;ting antediluvians into Noah's ark,
and il stands at the other gate of the
pihle as in my second text, inviting
the postdiluvians of all later ages
into the ark of q S%aviour's mercy.
.Come" is only a word of four let
tors. but it is the queen of words,
and nearly the entire nation of Eng
clish vocabulary bows to its scepter.
II is an ocean into which empties TO-
600 rivers of meaning. Other words
drive, but this beckons. All moods of
feeling hath that word Come"
Sometimes it weeps and sometimes it
laughs. Sometimes it prays, some
times it tempts, and sometimes it de-
stroys. 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 heir
ess of most of the past and the al
moner 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.
To-day l 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 it's
depths, and, though l tie together all
the cables and cordage l have on
board, / will not be able to touch bot
tom. All the power of the Christian
religion is in that word, Come" The
dictatorial and commendatory in re-
ligion are of no avail. The impera-
tive mood is not the appropriate
mood when we would have people saw
ingly impressed. They may be
coaxed, but they cannot be driven.
Our hearts are like our homes; at
a friendly knock the door will be
opened, but an attempt to force open
our doors would land the assailant
in prison. Our theological seminaries,
which keep young men three years in
their curriculum before launching
them into the ministry, will do well
If in so short a time they car teach
the candidates for the holy office how
to say with right emphasis and into
nation and power that one word,
"Come!" That man who has such
efficiency in Christian work and that
woman who has such power to per-
suade people to quit the wrong and
begin the right went through a series
of losses, bereavements, prosecutions
and the trials of 20 or 80 years be-
fore they could make it a triumph of
grace every time they uttered 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 accu-
rate census, the statistics of how
many are down in fraud, in drunken
ness, in gambling, in impurity or in
vice of any sort, and l will give you
the accurate census or statistics of
how many have been slain by the
word Come" Come and click wine
glasses with me at this ivory bar"
Come and see what we can win at
this gaming table" "Come enter
with me this doubtful speculation"
Tome with me and read those in
hdel tracts on Christianity" "Come
with me to a place of bad amuse-
ment." Come with me in a gay bout
through the underground life of the
city, If in this city there are $1,000
who are down in moral character.
1hen 10000 fell under the power of
the word Come" l was reading of
a wife whose husband had been over
thrown by strong drink, and she went
10 the saloon where he was ruined,
and she said: "Give me back nv
husband" And the bartender, point
ing to a maudlin and battered man
browsing in the corner of the bar
room, said: There he is. Jim, wake
up; here's your wife come for YOU"
ana the woman said: do you call
,hat my husband? What have you
oeen doing with him? Is that the
manly brow, is that the clear eve,
rs that the noble heart, that 1 mar
,ied? What vile drug have you given
MN that has turned him into n fiend?
lake your tiger claws off of him.
oncoil those serpent folds of evil
nuolt that are crushing him. Give me
oack my husband, the one with whom
stood at the altar ten years ago.
1iVe him back to me-" Victim was
me- as many millions of others have
'een' OF the word "Opme!"
Now we want all the world over
10 harness this word for good as
o'hers have harnessed il for evil, and
!. Will draw the five continents and
.he seas between them-yea, it will