Abbeville press. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, 1867-12-20
BY w. A. LEE AND HUGH WILSON,
Dr.. CUMMING ON THE SIGNS OF THE
TIMES

Mems Christian Association were in
augurated for tho present season a
tho Liverpool College, Shaw Street
on Tuesday evening, by an address
from the R"v. John Cunning, u. d.
who had chosen for his subject 9Th,
Signs of the Times" The ball wa.
crowded IN every part. The Rev. J
Il. Conor, incumbent Of St. .S,mon's
occupied the clair, and briefly intro
Iuced tho lecturer.
DR.. Cumming eaid that ho did not
mean t'y tho title of his lecture the
m"re features ard characteristics o
'ho',imes, however strongly defined
but fac,s and rhonoma which had in
Them somo relation TO the progress of
the age, the advancement cf the
Church Of Christ, and tho fulfillmcnt
Of the destiny of Tho word. All OF
thom, no doubt, believed that the
greet convulsion must one day como.
Very probably all Of those present
that night would not agree with him
in tho estimate he formed of tho .fca.
tnros to which ho Was about to ruf.r;
but if ho spoke TO them without the
least .fftctution of dogmatism or in
Ellibiiily, and simply proceeded to
lay before them tho features of tho
Inspired record, and compared them
with tho facts and phenomena rs full
filled in the progress of the world, he
might safely leave it to their judg.
ments TO draw their own conclusions.
He was far from prtending to rredic,
anything that should be; he would
only try to explain the features Which
seemed to Indicate tho relative ap.
proach of tho great events ihcy all
believed were designed to appear at
the consumnation of all things. Re-
gardng his subject fret ia the light Of
the Scriptures, he pointed out what ho
co"si'ierrd to be signs of the fulfill
icnt of prophecy. icferring first to
the predictions Of our Saviour as to
here bcing in tho latter days wars
aud rumors of wars, he observed that
although this might be said to oe up
picab!e 10 all times, still he thought
bat the present aspect of affairs in
l!Rt particular feature exceeded ev-
| "fthing previously known in the
hiNory IF the worli. Touching upon
hi prosress of science as applied to
iii destruction Of human life and tho
Singular improvements made in tho
cos struction Of engines of war,
c'plcd with the tendency to quarrel
"cr small matters, aud .he extreme
ser hilivcness Of public feeling on the
probability of war when soveroigns
me in conference, it seemed to him,
tah & these facts and scripture proph
scn together, that VIC. we're on tho
verP OF the last great struggle spo-
ke't of in tho Revelation and else
wbte. Another uf tho signs of the
Istsr timcs was to be earthquakes
~it troubling of nous minds
WI these convulsions of nature he
ooE ectcd convulsions of f.aucial
aud commercial character, such as
hscFecently troubled mems minds al
nos every where. There wcre also
grea convulsiohs in tho Christian II
ChuEh.- The Church of England
was this moment shaken almost to
its C. htre, and not only the Church OF
E"gN~d, but every section of the
Churh universal. Passing on the
state # tho political world, he re-
mark d what vast changes were, go.
ing o1 particularly amougst ourselves
|-chages ao.vust that u most iIlus-
trious| Statesman. had recently said
that w were about 10 "tzke leap in
'hc da| *" This indicated "a disor.
gan zaion and disquict of mems
minds the fact being that- every body
wantce chunge.. A"o,hor sign Wa.
fthe rrc cFulonce Of p,s!ilvnce in divers
tplaces. Pestilences had always pre-
.lvafied, Sut he referred then particu-
'sly to.he pes.ils. ce which hal re-
Getty Proved 80 destructive over the
COM en- Of Europe, aud especially
the eeEla, which had Levasled Italy.
A"o,,'Issign was the great judgmen,
v'e'piS srancing upon what 10 be-
!, ''eVed'o' g the great western apos-
tacy, hos scentro was at Rome; and
> 10 exRo'setan op' zion, that The pow
D or Of t]e Pok as a temporal sover
eigh wlpld be- s,irfoly abolished, or &c se
u!terly{{tdaoedes to .bo a virtua
atelishNteut. It ,us a fact that Oh
tho cen Hent Of Brope popery wa,
dying dFn to its rots, ard he wa.
i. aimed ttaS that III. .onty places in
y y Which 't,NssmAking vs., we're Eng
NJ NJ land aud NeotIsnd. AZ 4Cummino q
y noxt refsrti TO tue rise .aaad spread .
O. Of fitualism' ~ TO tbe defseion Of cor
!. \: tain elerasA ;fton the lrtiaies Q,
ny the chu. ch isNhich they wee ordain
~ I ed; and. to thA sta,.id <,s1a =