Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-03-06
The
cENrRAL BAPTTsT CHuRCH.

1890
great, stand before God"
He said that to-day we are to look away
from the empty cradles and t%enantless
little beds to soft, inviting visions, which
beam down on us out Of heaven. The lit
tie missed ones-beautiful buds, sweet,
half-opened blOssoms-are transplsnt6d
from our Wintry atmosphere into
''Those everlasting gardens,
Where angels walk and seraphs are the
wsrdens."
And yet, the preacher said, the thoughts
viii cling around the spot where the little
ones sleep; and when We look beyond
that, there comes the questioning, where
is my child, where is That bright young
spirit that looked through those beaming
little eyes ? Is it hsppy2 Where2 Howl
YES" he answered, sit Is happy in
heaven, with the angels and ths Lord"
He showed the certain salvation
Of infants First-FrOm the fact
of their resurrection from the dead
Death, he argued, was nOt q punishment
dealt u to the child for its sin or its sim
fitness. It was a physical consequence
Of Adams transgressiOu. When the
child rose from the dead, the curse and It's
consequences were exhausted. The sim
less dead rose to a new and glorious life.
resurrection was to render judgment
according to acts done, deeds committed.
child had lone no act, could not be
judged according to deeds done in the
bOdy-could uot3be punished. The haath-
On would be judged by a different stand
ard from those having a written law
Judged by cOnsCience-by the Light they
had. Children must be judged by what
light or knowledge they had; but as they
had none, judgment to them would be
impossible. and punishment unjust. He
proved from the EpisJle Of Romans, that
no being is responsible for the
acts or sins Of another. Chill
own for which to be punished, and il is
an imputatiOn on the character of Divine
good ess and mercy to suppose God
WOuld torture or punish eternally for the
set of another. The preacher passed from
this line of argument to the words OF
JesUs-"Of such is the kingdom Of
heaven, aad unless We become as little
children ye can in nOwiss enter the king
dom of heaven" No special class Of
children were designated. 1t was not
children of the seed Of Abraham alone;
not children Of piOus parents, to the eX-
ClusiOn Of others; not those who had been
submitted to rites; but children. "EOr
these angels do always behold the face Of
my Father in heaven" The preacher sail
that every babe had It's guardian angel
that it watched the pillow Of the dying
One; that it bore the infant spirit up to
the Eisenhower OF the bl- ssed. That as hf-
teen thousand million infants must have
died since the fall Of Adam, Heaven was
thrOnged with glori6ed infancy, whose
m~yriad-vOiced anthems rang through the
temple of the Eternal City.
A CHILD IN GLORY WAS A HILL FOR
EVER.
Differing from Abraham or Paul, they
would ever add variety and beauty, and
wOndrOus delight, 70 the sDioyments Of
that sinless world. Children, said the
preacher, are dear to GOd-are dear 10
Jesus. They are without sin, without
law; they are guarded by angels, flowers
tinted with beauty and filed with sweets
by that same hand from which dropped
sun and flaming contestant same be-
ing who clothed the cheruUim in his
mstchless splendOr.
Our little ones in Heaven should attract
US to their home. If we reach that sphere,
we shall know them, and love them as
ours for ever, whose Cherub smiles viii
fling a brighter radiance over its slul5ss
scenes.
THE BLIND PREACHER.
1t is a mistake to suppose that the blind
preacher is an eloquent talk6r and
nothing more. He has penetrated deeper.
His acquaintance with the theology of the
is extensive, deep, accurate. His
plan Of preaching is beautifully con
He lays before his audience the
providence, the divine law of a fact in the
bible, draws his conclusions, makes the
application, and then IN the psrOra-
ton. as a man who speaks to the he4l and
to 1.-THE euses merely, should make
a high o sounding, polished,
Offering sample Of pulpit OratOry;
a lOw-tOnsd, earnest, imprsssiOued,
appeal to the hearts OF his audi
already melting under the rays of
religious light which he causes TO shine
upon them. He preached last night at st.
Lazarus Church. The announcement of
that fact had drawn thIJhsr such q con-
of people that long before the scr
vices began b church was filled even 10
.he aisles, and al least as many more went
away unable to obtain s5andiug-roOm.
THE SERMON.
The preacher took his text from the
whole book of Job. The whole spiritual
of that patriarch was the theme
If his discourse. He said that the whole
of human suffering was well uigh /
exhausted in that book, the whole Uhuos-
lphy of it. and ali that it teaches. in a
moral sense, to Christians. Job was the
Of God, and as his servant, va so /
n spirit and truth, be was surrounded by
he various goods of this world in excep-
iOnable abundance. There was no slight
his name, no blemish on his character:
N upright man fearing God and avoiding
vii, doing good in his sphere according
o the law. We see him standing. as the
)ook opens to us, with the glory of
deaYen shining upon him. We go on g
title farther, and the scene changes, The
.ngels of God stand before the throne,
nd among them there is the evil one, the
ccuser, the enemy Of man. He accuses
mankind and points out their w~icksdness.
heir faithlessuess, their ingratituds To
The Almighty, as if anxious to
HELD his children, as ii wishing to Just
fy himself in all no had done for them, as
f giving reason for his love, said: " Hast
hOu considered my servant JOb2" He is
asst. He fears the Lord, doeth no evil.
food man. Then we see the proud, curl
lg lip, and hear the high, sarcastic tones
f doubt, as the auswe comes from the
vii one, who points out the comforts of
his ease OF living, his great popular
y, his lofty place among his ueighbOrs;
is easy for him to do good, easy TO ap-
faithful, easy to serve God. Il is
ather an amusement 90 him. This same
leer is reflected in the conduct of hu-
il can be seen to-day in Mem ,
his. That society which pretonds to ,
ave no faith in she purity or fidelity of ,
ny soul, which holds that every man has
Is price, and every woman, and thar their I
Iuls may be purchased as the cattle in
le market. This was exactly the posi- :
on the devil took in the presence Of God .
regard to Job. Take away the coed J
lings with which he is surrounded, de- :
i've him of his means, his herds and .
lcks, his position, leave him poor, the @
west degradation to which man can~be
duced in this world of Wealth-wOrship-
$. God is not averse to putting Job
the test sail that he hath is in thy
,wer but touch not his hesh," aud the
enc changes again. We behold what
fore was fair and prosperous now laid
aste and desOlate. The great and pros Y
.rous and good Job is Frustrated IN for
All is taken from him. Every
is swept away. His family are ri
ken from his homs-seven sons and
rec daughters. He has lost all. The
.sfOrtunes of one fell day have left him
Was there ever such a sudden
.sfOrtune? A man that was great and
"a, wealthy, hOnored, full Oftbe worlds A
DDS one day is LETT with nothing the
clothed in sackcloth and ashes,
none to comfort him. In this con-
ion we see the divine philosophy
lich is the rule and guide Of jobs life.
iiCh has been d subjec5O OF his thoughts. nj
see how little he accounted the things N
Luo 6aEbl5 anu now mucu us u5drb WAS Ut
iced on that eternal possession which By
me is the true reward of the soul. II
'aked have / come into the world and Oh
shall 1 return" How hard 10 was of
that! Have you ever stood sur Cl
wing the ruins of a splendid tn
tune gone to utter wreck with nothing DO
Have you realized in that hour Of is
lotion how hard it was to eXclaim from fu
depths of a heart filed with the love at
God, "The Lord givsth and the Lord ds
eth away, blessed be the name Of the III
rd - 1t is the hardest thing to say, eli
he said 1t. Heroic Job, he is still IN tn
Iquersdl He still approves himself the az
want of God, a man who fears only to th
evil. The devil is baliled. The subtle co.
diligence of the prince OF darkness can Of
La..aa u.nnn. - .n.Ln Arn Ill. -. -