Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-05-24

ready to believe that Christ will give
us this higher power II We obey his
commands?
A Crucial Test.
Oh, that is a crucial test of faith! II
Is not difficult for me to understand
how God could give the higher power
TO Moody or Finney or Wesley or
Peter or a James or a John or
Mary on the day OF Pentecost, but that
he will give 10 me this higher power II
] obey his wlll-ah. me, that is hard to
believe. And vet is not God keeping
his promises with those who are men
tally and physically no stronger or
better than you or I? Some time ago
I was riding out to the grave of
southern lady who had been a member
Of my church. Among the pallbearers
was gentleman who. with all his
family, had been rescued from the
Galveston food Of a few years ago
said, Tell me about It," Then he told
me how the waters rose higher and
higher. First they came to the top of
the gates Then they rose to the first
floors. They grew higher and higher
when the winds in an angry hurricane
blew them IN. Then the people were
drowned, not by the hundreds. but by
the thousands. The walls tottered
The houses were battered to pieces.
Flying through the air went great
beams. It was death overhead. II
was death all around. It was death
everywhere. The dead were so many
that after the water had subsidized they
were piled into boats and taken out
and dumped into the gulf stream. They
were too many even to be buried.
How did you feel during that awful
tragedy" | asked. "As calm as I do
now" he replied. 81 knew that In the
face of this storm and food no human
arm could save me. Human help was
beyond the question. 1t could do no
good If 1t came. | could not swim.
Besides that. had In my house n wife
and two little children and FIVE or six
old people who had come there for
shelter. So when the storm was raging
its fiercest 7 gathered them all togeth
or in an upper room. Then I said:
Friends, the Bible tells us that II we
come TO God in believing prayer and
ask Of him anything we will he will
grant us that request. Now, I believe
God will save us If we ask him. Do
you believe as I believe? Yes they
said Then we all knelt and we all
prayed. When l arose. felt that God
would save us I never had q tremor
1<,,,y IL I 81
er awhile roof came floating past
My aged negro servant caught 1t. He
held It for a little while by the side Of
the house I placed the whole family
upon the roof Then I climbed there
myself. It was an awful night. No
horror could be greater than those
hours we passed through. Yet all
lleve. | believe. believe he will
save us. I believe And save us he
did" Could you in time Of trouble
make believing prayer like that?
Could you appropriate to yourself the
promise as he did? DO you believe
God will bless you as an individual If
you obey his commandments the same
weston food and blessed the disciples
of old who tarried still in Jerusalem
until they were endued with power
from on high:
why the Power Came.
But these disciples of old did more
than to simply believe that Christ
would give to them the higher power il
D.
ing the days preceding Pentecost, by
prayer, by supplication and by conse-
Grafton Of their full lives to God. they
put themselves into proper condition
TO receive this power Of the Holy Spirit.
They not only threw themselves upon
the divine love, but they prayed and
kept on praying something like this:
20 God, cleanse me from sin, Q God,
make me clean vessel for the spirit
life! O God, take all selfshness and
meanness and world lines out OF my
life. o God. may | live and breathe
and plan and work only for thee" Is
not that your idea Of how the disciples
of old passed. the days in Jerusalem
preceding the moment when the power
of the Holy Spirit came upon them in
tongues Of fire? If you and would
only do as those disciples OF old did
and come with such prayers and plead
ings upon our lips, do you not believe
that Christ would also endue us with
power from on high?
IL might be pardoned n smile. my
idea OF those days preceding Pentecost
were not like our evangeistc meet
lngs when preacher would stand up
and deliver text and then have an in
PRODUCTION and conclusion. They
were rather like the days of the Welsh
revival Of 1908. There, | am told, the
people crowded into the churches. and
there was no set leader. Now hymn
would be started. Now the promises Of
God would be repeated by many differ.
ent lips. Now testimony would bs
given. Now an earnest prayer would
be lifted up. The meetings would not
start at or o'clock and run for an
hour and half and have every one
look at his watch if the service
went second over ninety minutes.
But there the meetings would start at
any time. Then when the meetings
once got started they would run on and
on, sometimes five or even ten hours
long. as though the Christian people
We're loath to leave each other and go
home and go to sleep. Yes, the Welsh
revival was TO me an exact duplication
=, i.