Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-07-15

the sick man walked He was healed
by being placed. a hopeless. helpless
invalid. ut the feet OF Jesus Christ.
Sickness has been u spiritual bless
Ing TO you. y man. as the palsy was TO
the invalid Of old. 1t has placed you
almost within touch OF our Saviour
and King. For years and years you
did not know what pain meant.
When you heard people complaining
about their invalidlsm you had no SYM
pathy. You would petulantly say:
"Nine-tenths of these SO called inyalids
are mere hypochondriacs. IL men and
women would only get up and stop
their complaining and stop dosing
themselves with medicines they would
be all right" When a minister i'm
church would preach from the text.
Thou fool. this night thy soul shall
be required Of thee" you would settle
back in your seat and smile. You
would say 10 yourself: Perhaps. Per
haps not. Ny ancestors were all long
lived. I guess ! will be also Then
you wouLI complaccnily pat your chest
ms You expanded your lungs three or
four inches. ami you would say: Web.
my ancestors never had Il finer breath
ing apparatus than have. Perhaps i
shall die tonight. Perhaps not
b.. two years ago there came that
sudden attack of illness 1t came al
most without amy W. rn.Ig at ALL You
remember how your check became as
white as that of Al corpse and your lips
turned blue and cold. You remember
how that pneumonia stabbed at your
lungs. or how that typhoid made you
sink NO low That for weeks and weeks
you lowered between life and death,
You remember how asthma ehoked you
until II seemed as though you would
so mad with the agony. Aye. that sick,
ness made out OF you changed man,
When the minister now announces the
text. Luke. twelfth chapter aud TWEEN.
tieth verse. Thou fool. this night thy
soul shall be required or thee" you do
not flppantly say: Perhaps. Perhaps
not" You know II Is not out OF the
range OF possibilities that this night
you may be brought face to face with
God at the Judgment scat OF Christ.
~ man, even while | speak today all
the good and the bad Of your past life
are flying swirter than the winds
through your seething brain. Aye,
they are Tying as swiftly as the piano.
rama OF bygone years In second Of
time moves before the vision of O.
drowning man. Your past sIcknesses
have changed your feelings toward
God. The pain ut your heart Is warn
Ing you that God shall bring every
work unto Judgment. with every 10.
cret thing. whether II be good or
whether it be evil" This day-aye.
this very minute-on account OF that
past sick bed. thou art not far from
the kingdom OF God"
sisas of the Time.
Almost saved. Yes, you are. know
It. Why? The many signs OF the
time tell us that hundreds aud thou
sands of immortal men and women
are now enrolling themselves as Chris
tian soldiers under the standard of the
cross. And there is mighty propel-
ling force IN the power OF numbers.
We all marvel Mt the wonderful abil-
lily OF observation to which the trap
pers and the hunters OF old were able
to train their visual powers, For days
and weeks the Indian scouts were able
TO follow their enemies across the west
ern prairies. by the twisted blades OF
grass and by other minute signs they
Were able To tell how many Indians
were I'm the war party ahead, how
many horses and cattle and squaws
N MI
Prussian war I'm 1896 Archduke Joseph
OF Austria was warned OF an imminent
night attack by gypsy soldier who
was able to foresee the advance of the
pursuing hosts by watching the birds
fly over the Austrian encampment.
This soldier said to Prince Joseph:
Your highness. birds sleep as well as
men. These birds would not be flying
about at this time of night II they had
not been disturbed. The enemy In
large numbers Is marching through the
woods and has frightened them. There
Will soon be fighting on our front lines"
But. though hunters and trappers have
almost miraculous seeing powers In
reference to the natural world, II does
not take an inspired vision to see that
we are now living I'm n time OF great
religious awakening. How else can
you account for the thousands who, as
converts. are giving their hearts TO
Jesus Christ under the consecrated la
bors OF the evangelistic committee OF
the Presbyterian church? How else
can you account for the wonderful,
meetings OF Campbell Morgan In Amer
lea, and OF Torrey and Alexander In
Australia and England, and the crowd
ed schools for Bible study In Winona
and Northheld and ChautauQua and
Moody's Institute OF Chicago? Every
where the vital question is upon every
lip. what shall then do with Jesus,
who Is called the ChrsstY' Like PLATE
before tbe Jewish people, yen must de-
eide tbs question In reference 70 Jesus.
You must decide for Christ or against
Christ. And ia Bringing VOW up to this
question ] cannot be far wrong In stat
Ing that thou art not far from the
Kingdom OF God"
But why talk so much about the
wonderful manifestations OF the Holy
Spirits power In reference to the world
at large? Have not we sea- that DOW
er unaffected In our own church? Men
and women. can you SIT stolidly In your
pews when husbands and wives and
children and young men and women
are seeking Jesus Christ, while so
many old people and middle aged peo-
pieand young people are coming? God
Will neves give you a better opportu-
nifty to seek him than just now. VIII
you not come to the Saviour now?
The last time Dwight L. Moody ever
preached was at n great series OF meet
ings being held Ia Convention hall.
Kansas City. Suddenly he broke down,
and the doctors told him he must stop
work at once. They bundled the great
evangelist up and started him east for
his Northfeld home. But, though the
doctors could silence his tongue. they
could not keep still his pen. When
they carried him to Mortified, with
his weak fingers he wrote out a tele-
gram to his Kansas City friends who
Were caE~ying on the meetings in his
stead. His telegram went something