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


spiritual influence sweeps over the room
when the voices chorus that last grand
verse, Surely goodness and mercy
shall follow me all the days OF my
life, and I will dwell In the house of
the Lord forever"
Then for a little while silence reigns.
Why, 1t is so still that you can almost
hear each heart beat. Then another
sob. Then Peter arises and says ooh,
brethren why did deny him? Why
did I desert him at the saddest moment
OF his life? ! can now see him turning
his great loving eyes upon me. I de-
MED him not only once, but twice and
thrice. But, though the cock crew to
remind me. he never reproached me.
He surely forgives II we come and ask
his forgiveness" Then another silence.
Then Il searching Of the Scriptures.
Then n sobbing voice says II am
Thomas. the douhter But he forgives
me, even me" Then the prayer and
the supplications and The confessions
go on. But on the tenth day. while
they were still praying, suddenly each
ward the others and cried Look!
Look See the flames, It Is the mani
fesia'ion Of the Holy Spirit" And, oil,
my friends IL we come to God believ-
ing that he would bless us If we asked
him and If we would only meet and
pray and agonze and cousecratc our
selves to his service as the disciples OF
old did on the day of Pentecost do you
not believe Christ would give to us the
higher power of gospel life? He will.
Will you not therefore here and now
start forth TO seek your Pentecost and
begin to plead and TO consecrate your
whole life to the Masters service?
Came when Most Needed.
Put I cannot close without just one
thought moro. This baptism Of the
power Of the Holy Spirit came TO the
disciples Of old In the days when they
felt their greatest need of the promis-
cd comforter or supernatural power,
The crucifxion was over. Yes The
resurrection had come. Yes But one
day less than two weeks before sud
denly Christ had again departed Up
from the Mount Of Ascension he went;
higher and higher until his body dis
appears behind the clouds; higher and
higher until in bodily presence he was
gone forever. oh, the unuttera Die lone
illness and helplessness! Christ gone,
upon whom were they to lean? Then
came the power of the Holy Spirit.
That power is ready to descend upon
you If you only prepare yourself for
Gods gift
Friend, you need this higher power.
You need it now. Let me see; how
long ago did she de-she who was so
much TO your spiritual life? You need
this higher power. You need it now.
Last Sunday as a preacher you dcl,v-
cred a sermon which was in literary
sense poetic gem. But after you fin
isbed you knew rs messenger Of
Christ that 1t rang false all through.
You need this power in the home. In
your own strength you cannot rear
that family Alright for God. Can It he
that we are going 10 refuse longer to
seek this power OF the higher spiritual
life? 1t is said that on March IA, 1906.
the British steamer Phenix foundered
q
and nearly all on board We're lost be-
cause its hull was battered to pieces
by the barrels and heavy fixtures which
were torn from the ships deck and
then by the waves hurled against the
ships side, until under these batterlng
rams the ship went down. My Lord
and my God, shall we be eternally de-
strOyel for service for thee because we
continue to refuse to seek thy higher
power? Shall we not seek this high
power ms thy disciples Of old did at
Tentecost? Shall these continued re-
fusas to seek that higher power de-
stroy us as the deck debris Of the Brit
lsh steamer destroyed her off the New
foundland banks? Listen. friend.
Listen and answer to this vital Ques-
ton: Have we received the Holy
Ghost since ye belioved:'
Copyright 1905 by Louis Klopsch.l