Saints shouted, and lost
themselves in transports. His congregations were always crowded, and the
dense, mixed masses of men and women, good and evil, old and young, all
were moved by him like the sea by a strong wind. All understood him: all
felt him; and all were awed and bowed as by the power of God. His
sermons were always practical. Whether he spake to the saint or the
sinner, he went directly to the conscience. And all that he said you
saw. Sin stared you full in the face and looked unspeakably sinful; it
rose and stood before you a monster group of all imaginable horrors and
abominations. The sinner shook, he shrank, he writhed at the sight, in
mortal agony. God, as Dawson pictured Him, was terrible in majesty and
infinite in glory. Jesus was the perfection of tenderness, of love, and
power, and almighty to save. Thousands were converted under him. His
influence pervaded the whole country, and was everywhere a check on
evil, and a power for good. The effect of his ministry on me, on my
imagination, my mind and my heart, was living and powerful to the last
degree, and I remember his sermons, and feel his power, to the present
day, and he will dwell in my memory, to be loved and honored, as long as
I live.
David Stoner was a travelling preacher.
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