Great Rev i va l s and Evang e l i s t s By JOHN H. HUNTER IV. CHARLES G. FINNEY (Concluded) Copyright, 1915, by John H. Hunter
quently, I had prepared a discourse, which I intended should bring them to the point, and if it appeared to take effect, I intendèd to call on them to commit themselves. Judge G. at the time I was there before; when his wife was converted, had opposed the anxious seat. I expected he would do so again, as I knew he had strongly com mitted himself, in what he had said, against the use of the anxious seat. When I came to preach the sermon o f which I have spoken, I observed that Judge G. was not in the seat he had usually occupied ; and on looking around, I could not see hirn anywhere among the members of thè bar or.the judges,. I felt concerned about this, for I had prepared myself with ref erence to his case. I knew his influence was great, and that if he would take a decided stand, it would have a very great influence upon all the legal profession in the. city. However, I soon observed that he had come into the gallery, and had found a sea,t just at the head o f the gallery stairs, where he sat wrapped in.his cloak. I went on with my discourse; but near the close o f what I designed to say, I observed Judge G. had gone from his seat. I felt distressed, for I concluded that, as it was cold where he sat, and perhaps there was some confusion, it being near the head o f the stairs, -he had gone home; and hence the sermon which I had prepared with my eye upon him, had failed of its effect. "“ From the basement room o f the church, there, was a narrow stairway into the audi ence-room above, coming up just by the side of, and partly behind, the pulpit. Just as I was drawing my sermon to a close,' and with my heart almost sinking with the fear that I was to fail, in what I had hoped to secure that night, I felt someone pulling
^§§1 GAIN we take up Mr. Fin- ney’s narrative at the point w^ere he was speaking o f v°M@n vu ^ P ) the conversion o f Judge G., o f the Court o f Appeals, Rochester, N. Y .: “As-Judge G.’s w ife was a particular friend o f mine, I had occasion to see him not infrequently, and was very sure that the word was getting a strong hold o f him. He remarked to me after I had delivered several lectures, ‘Mr. Finney, you have cleared the ground to my satisfaction, thus fa r ; but when' you come to the question o f the endless punishment o f the wicked, you will slip up ; you fill fail to convince us on that, question.’ I replied, ‘Wait and see, Judge.’ This hint made me the more care; ful, when I came to that poifit, to discuss it with all thoroughness. The next day I met him, and he volunteered the remark at once, ‘Mr. Finney, I am convinced. Your dealing with that subject was a success ;s nothing can be said against it.’ The man ner in which he said this indicated that the subject had not merely convinced his intel lect, but had deeply impressed him. “ I was going on from night to night, hut had not thought my somewhat new and select audience yet prepared for me to call for any decision, on the part o f the inquir ers; But I had arrived at a point where I thought it was time to draw the net ashore. I had been carefully laying it around the whole mass o f lawyers and hedging them in, as I supposed, by a train of reasoning that they could not resist., I was aware that lawyers are accustomed to listen to -arguments, to feel the weight o f a logically presented truth; and had no doubt that the great majority o f them were thoroughly convinced, as far as I had gone, conse
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