Evening journal., 1916-01-27

something radically wrong with the !
meetings.
These men brought the evangelists
before the magistrate, and he, wish
ing to keep and curry the favor OF the
gang. commanded the police to beat
these two Christian workers with
rods. They scourged them until their
backs were bruised and bleeding, and +
then led them off to Jail. lt was /
doubtless no uncommon thing for the .
police to bring prisoners TO that Jail, |
but usually they came with a slow, |
shambling gait, and a crouching form. /
and leering eyes looking out from be- ]
meath scOwling brOws, watching Tor I
some chance to escape. and with NUT |
tered oatha and curses upon their !
lips. But these two prisoners came /
walking along with their heads erect |
and smiles upon their faces. You can !
hear them say, Good evening, Mr.
Jailer.v WELL" he said. you are
queer looking prisoners. | must say
will take those smiles off of your
faces very quickly We are told that
he took them and thrust them into the
inner prison. and made their feet
fast In the stocks.
As the door OF that dark. dismal
DUNGEON crCaked on the hinges and
the key turned i'm the lock, | imagine
this taller said to himself. 1T viii
not he long before you will be cursing
lust as loud as the others do But
did they? tell you nay. At midnight
Paul and Silas prayed and sang
praises unto God and the prisoners
heard them All about us are the
prisoners Of appetite and passion and
temptation and bad habit and sim
II. in the midnight Of sorrow and dis
tress. you can pray and sing praises
unto God. the world is going TO see
marked difference between you and
the ungodly. A ray OF hope will come
into their hearts. and the chains Of
doubt and discouragement and de-
spair will be broken.
Immediately there was an earth
quake. Every door was thrown open
and the prisoners bands were loos-
ened If every professed Christian
in this city would pray and praise
God with the earnestness and zeal
that you ought you would turn this
town upside down-or rather you
would turn It right side up. God
knows IL Is upside down now.
Then there was another thing that
brought the jailer 10 the point where
he desired TO be saved. II was be-
cause he realized he was lost. When
the prison doors were thrown open
he thought his prisoners were gone.
If his prisoners we're lost, his posi-
tion would be lost and his head would
be lostin more ways than one. In his
despair he came in and called upon
these Christian workers for help. II
every person i'm this city, without
Christ. could realize the fact that he
was eternally lost. there would he
no time or thought for mOney-mak-
ing or worldly honors or social pleas
ures or dissipation. The multltudes
bv the hundreds and thousands
would he calling upon God for mercy
How can you so to your home TO-
night and pillow your head IN sleep
conscious that " death should STRIKE
E YOU down before morning you woul'
Q hear tho sentence OF eternal doom
81 If Won have not Christ as your Lore
: and Saviour, God says you have noth
Z inc. You are dead In your trespassei
land YOUR sins. You are as sure o
hell as iomorrow's sun Will rise. j
was these two faults. the realization o
the mower i'm the lives of these Chris
tian workers and the consciousness
of his own danger that brought this
taller 10 the point where he rushed
into the presence OF Paul ana Siia'
and exclaimed "Sirs. what must
do to be saved?' II is ike ions
freight train approaching heaVy
grade. There must be the engine OF
in front to pull and the engine on be
/, hind 10 push, TO get the train up TN
grade. Now he was ready for tn
/. answer, Believe on the Lord Jesu
Christ and thou shalt be saved.
Note that there is a great dinerenc
J, between belief and mere assent. No
; may assent to great many thing
y that YOU do not believe. You may b
l, initiated into some organization or OF
: der. and they will proceed with
!. long rigmarole. and occasionally sto
II and tell YOU to say "yes" or Il do,
You do as you are bidden-yet 20
y may not believe a word OF IL. That
"a not belief
y In the next place belief is not mel
=. credulity. God never puts prem
y ium upon the credulous person. Va
= arc not expected TO believe ever,
'e thing. The Lord did not ask His di
ciples to believe in His divine pow
~ until He had given them abunda'
~ proof that He was what He claim'
~ TO be.
W Furthermore. faith in not mere
- sincerity. A shallow-brained wom;
l said to me one day. 81 have be-
~ present 10 hear you preach sever
- times. and you talk so much abo
II faith Why do you not let pers'
le believe what he pleases as long
! ne is sincere?" why" I reptile
le "sincerity cannot save a soul Nj
H. Eddy advanced the foolish idea tn
~ the reason that certain substanc
. are poisonous is because we nave !
sociated the idea OF poison WI
them, and for that reason they ha
an injurious effect According to tn
then they ought not to hurt a dc
because he never associated the i'd
of poison with them. l notice th
these folks are not willing TO ia
a dose Of poison and try il. Su
tossing I went down to a drug sto
desiring to get some quinine or cal
mel. see a jar on the shelf viii
to ] think is Quinine or calomel, but
~ is strychniie or arsenic. I get
:. spoon and take a large dose. ! q
III perfectly sincere. therefore Il will r
HI hurt me. You just try it and 81
III Supnosng there was a blind m
III coming along near a precipice. Y
III say. Man. right ahead Of you is
II drop OF a hundred feet. Imagine h
III replying. We'll. this matter OF