mented on the absurdity of
such supposed representatives from the Sunday-school world.
Surely this seeming folly had been the power of God, and the wisdom of
God. There were those in the first church, as, indeed, there are many in
every church of Christ, who rejoiced with all their souls at the sound
of this good news.
There was another thing that occurred that night over which the angels,
at least, rejoiced. There was another witness. He was only a poor young
fellow, a day laborer in one of the machine shops, a new-comer to the
city. He knew almost nobody in that great church where he had chanced to
be a worshipper, and, literally no one knew him.
When the invitation was first given, he had shrunken from it. Satan,
with ever-ready skill, and with that consummate wisdom which makes him
as eager after the common day laborers as he is among the wealthy and
influential, had whispered to him that the pastor did not mean such as
he; no one knew him, his influence would be nothing. This church was too
large and too grand, and it was not meant that he should make himself so
conspicuous as to stand alone in that great audience-room, and testify
that the Lord Jesus had called him.
So he sat still; but as one and another of those young ladies arose
quietly, with true dignity and sweet composure testifying to their love
for the Lord, John Warden's earnest soul was moved to shame at his own
shrinking, and from his obscure seat, back under the gallery, he rose
up, and Satan, foiled that time, shrunk away.
As for our girls, they held no parley with their consciences, or with
the tempter; they did not even think of it. On the contrary, they were
glad, every one, that the way was made so plain and so easy to them.
Each of them had friends whom they especially desired to have know of
the recent and great change that had come to their lives. With some of
these friends they shrank unaccountably from talking about this matter.
With others of them they did not understand how to made the matter
plain.
But here it was explained for them, so plainly, so simply, that it
seemed that every one must understand, and their own future
determination as to life was carefully explained for them. There was
nothing to do but to rise up, and, by that simple act, subscribe their
names to the explanation--so making it theirs.
I declare to you that the thought of its being a cross to do so did not
once occur to them. Neither did the thought tha
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