The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-01-25
DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
BY THE REV. FRANK DE WITT rALMAcs, D. D.

itual blessings he has to bestow Got clouds our skies and brings upon us z
 tidal wave of crushing disaster. that Vt may be driven to climb Into his loving l protecting arms.
 The dark. tempestuous nights of re
 ligious persecution have often been. ir Gods sight the brightest and the mosi 1 blessed of sunshiny days for the church 1 It was by having his eyes temporarily 1 blinded that Paul gained spiritual sight | It was by being lowered in a basket by g l few friends over the Damascus wall 1T order to escape the murderers dagger that Paul was set free to embark on hls missionary career. It was by exile to z 1 lonely island of the Mediterranean tha | John was enabled to see his marvelou: l apocalyptic visions It was not unti 1 Rome had been burned by the bloody Nero, who laughed and fiddled while tho confagration ragged; not until the Christ 1 fans had suffered under the false charge l of being the incendiaries, that the church | was fully purified and launched on its great evangelical work It was when Martin Luther had to face the diet of Worms and had been imprisoned for months in the Wartburg that the reform ation was started. When the pilgrim ia thers on account of persecution had to iedNS bilBldIlu, lneu lie II5I 1OuHudIOn stone of Christian America was laid. And in no time of church history can you find that a great religious awakening has occurred or a great religious leader has come forth without the previous roar of the Galilean tempest, as 1t yawned to destroy the church and engulf Christian faith.
 Purity Through Persecution
 Some time ago I heard 0 great minis ter of our country developing this thought In part, he said: "The reason we do not have Savonarolas and John Knoxes and John Husses In the present day Is because we do not have the an cient prosecutions which purified and en- nobled the ancient church." Some people are foolish enough to suppose that the best and greatest day of the early Chris tan church was when the Emperor Con stantine joined the church with the state and had thousands upon thousands of his subjects baptized by the priests in the different rivers. But I want to tell you that when Constantine joined the church with the state 1t was a sad day for the history of the Christian church. With the regal power of the church 1t became a corrupt church. With the regal power of the church there came the sins of a licentious and mercenary minded church. Then came the sins of the dark ages. It Is by persecution that the church Is purified, not by the commendation of sim full kings and fawning nobles. The church by It's past history ought to know that Gods loving and saving voice can be heard in the crawling thunder as we'll as in the whispering summer wind. His di- vine love can often be seen in a flood of heartrending tears as well as in the smile A~%.-4 -1. t.. 1@ @-xI.. of June sunrise.
 What tempetuous struggles have ac- complished for the church as "a whole they may also accomplish for the hum -ble individual workers in the church. God fits many of the humber workers for his vineyard as he spiritually prepared Adon- iram Judson the great missionary, for his work. For seven long years. MT. and Mrs. Judson seemed to labor in Burma in vain; for seven long years he testified for Christ amid almost nsurmountable diff culties; for seven long years he and his wife every four weeks sat down to the communion table absolutely alone. They had not yet made one convert for Christ. At the end of these seven long years of seeming defeat the missionary society wrote to him that he had better surren- der his mission as failure. and start in another field. Adoniram Judsony with his gospel spirit aglow with the awful strug- gle from those@ seven slonk yaars, ans wered the missionary s6cietE In these memorable words: No! No9q cannot and will not surrender this mission. Sue cess Is as certain here as the promise of a faithful God can make it." Then came the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit; then Burma sawauits day of Pentecost So, my brother In the Christian ministry or in the Christian pew, fighting against seemingly overwhelming obstacles, re- member that God has sent to you that tempest for a purpose: remember that you are being fitted for your work, If you are faithful to him, as Adoniram Judson was being fitted for his work: remember that in the dark hours of your tempest uous night Christ Is watching and car ing for you as he watched the disciples struggling on the waves of Lake Galilee; remember that at the fourth watch, or just at the breaking of the dawn Christ. as he did of old. will appear to you walk ing upon the crystal pavement of the deep.
 Fitting Us For the Work
 There is a suggestive story told of a young girl who sang in a large concert hall of London. One of her friends asked a noted musical critic who was present what he thought of her voice. "She lacks one element which would make her the greatest singer of Europe" answered the critic. "She lacks soul power. If I were a young man and could marry her and i'll treat her and break her heart then on account of her grief and her talent she would be one of the brightest stars in the musical Armament" Time passed on and this woman's heart was broken by a cruel husband. Then came the true days of her power and fame God, when he wishes to fit us for great and true work sends us hurricane of trouble. He com pels us to battle with the Galilean tenn