Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1879-06-05
&eaaina fur the Sabbath.
CONDUCTED BY
REV. ROBERT LATHAM.
SIN

Sin is the mysterious virus or malaria from
which, as pestilence from poisoned air, have
come into our world all forms of SORROWS. Sin
works even in the material elements-the vol
cano, the earthquake, the winters tempest,
the summers thunderbolt !-these are through
some mysterious afinity-sequence OF moral
evils. And working more directly on the hu-
pain, wrings out every tear, burdens every
breaking heart, wounds every tortured spirit,
convulses every death-bed, digs every grave !!
So that, without any thought of its more ter
rible workings on the invincible spirit within
man. if I could only bring before you an ag-
gregate of it's simply physical outworkings!
If I could gather into one broad view the
hundred millions of heather idolators, adul-
terers, infanticides, murderers of fathers If
1 could bring out all the foul inmates of the
worlds dungeons of punishment and dark
chambers of evil doing If could collect all
the worlds gibbets and scaffolds, and inquis-
itorial racks and martyr-death fires If l
could assemble in one CHASTITY host all the
earth's wants and woe, the manned, and halt
and blind, the beggary, the orphanage, the
widowhood, the chained slaves, the polluted
outcasts! If could spread here, side by side,
all earth's death-beds If 1 could pile In one
throbbng pyramid all it's bleeding, breaking
hearts If 1 could gather together all the
burning cities, the desolated dwellings, the
manned and mangled carcaSSes, the bleaching
bones of all it's wide and scattered war-felds !!
If could pour into one dark Asphaltites all
the tears and the blood that are flowing on
the earth to-day, and cause to pass over the
stagnant flood in one fearful typhoon all the
oaths and blasphemies and maniac shrieks,
and frightful death-cries, all blent in one
mighty wailing! If could 60 down into the
Ill Of otyaa nd iT1C
into one hideous Golgotha all the skeletons of
the dead say, if could do only this, me-
thinks, even in these material outworkings
of sin, there would be enough to make us re-
coil from it. But, if beyond all this, I could
show it's more terrible effects upon the invisi-
BILE and living spirit If I could bid you look
into the chambers of imagery, even OF living
men, where an accusing conscience and un-
controlled passions work tortured! And if l
could send a voice through the grave, and
bring back the disembodied souls that in all
time have gone forth in their sins to wander
without hope through eternityl Yea, and as
after all, the most monstrous of all these in,
effable achievements of moral evil, if could
plant in the midst of this black panorama
the bloody cross whereon sin dared to cruelty
the Incarnate Son of God-the Lord of life
and glory! ...... ...
If God had given poor worm power to
set forth the stupendous facts of divine incar-
nation-the coming forth of the Eternal Son
of God from the bosom of infinite love, that
by suffering and sacrifice He might sare men
from sin-laying aside His robes of glory
that disguised in human flesh, He might walk
fttingly as a great Physician through sins
dark lazar-house, and storm, as great Cap
tain, sims dreadful stronghold and yet, even
around that Divine Form, sin gathered it's ac-
cursed agencies; and upon that Incarnate God
wrought the ineffable iniquity Of the crucifix-
ion.
say, if I could speak fttingly of a manifes-
tation like this! If in the midst of picture
of sins doing have tried to draw, as it's tre-
mendous master-work, I could plant that aagfM
Cross, and fill the darkened air with that di.
zine death-cryl Then, as poured the light OF
heaven on the scene, till you saw in it all moth
ing more than the oad,uorkings Of sin, then sure
ly, it would need no other argument to prove
that sin is an evil demanding awful punish
ment, and need no further illustration of the
text-that fools, and only fools make mock at
sin.-Dr. WadsaUorth.