The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-11-10

Witty and sin," This being the case even In Rome,
We need not wonder at the State Of things that existed
and does yet largely exist In heather lands. Where
ever The Gospel Da not gone, woman has been degra'
ded Into q slave, and ground down b-neath the tyran-
ny uf her husband. The batbarisn Of the East, nnd
the savage Of the West, have been alike in that they
have driven the weakest to the walls, and she who was
designed to be the %helpmeet Of her e'ihIaniOn, dOub-
ling bis j"ys, sharing his cares, and throwing o halo for
hun round his home, has been trainrlrd under The heel
Of cruelty, and branded with the scurs VI violence.
THIN. us to the IItI . children, who shall tell US how
many hOlocansts Of natiuns infanlicide has burned up
On Its affairs! While as regards the aged, 1t would 10
Impossible to reckon the number Of them who b we
been LEFT to starvo In the desert, or 10 perish by the riv-
er side. | may be tpll, indeed, that such things are
not altogether unknown among ourselves. l may bv
reminded Of the brutality nf drunken husbands, and
the cold .heartcdness OF children to their parents, Of
which we zee the records In the public prints and It
may be said that such evils exist even where the Cos.
pei prevails. Blu. the cases are not parallel. That
which is the rule in pagun lands, is the exception here:
Of is bore viewed vita adherence and regarded as .
crime. Now, how shall We acc' unit for the difference!
| answer, simply by the influence among us OF the Gus.
pei OF Christ The Lord Jesus has rev0lutiunized
re-enactine the primal luw. that one man should b.
the husband Of one life. lie restored woman " her
true positi0n rs the %hclpinect and companion of the
husband. lie took the little children In his arms and
narrative is only o type of the work In which he Is
still eng ,gcd wherever his message Of love Is pro.
claimed. by his tender care for his venerable mother
in the very climax Of bis own agony, he gave a sacred
ness to old age. which has gathered to 1t ever since the
affection aud benevulence VI men. The chiyulry III
meiiP val knighthood and the g~allantry Of modern 20.
likeness have alike their roots In tile religion 81 Jesus;
while for everything VI 'sweetness and light" OF hap.
pinpss and purity, that there Ia enshrined for Us In The
word "hUunr," We nre brhO!den to the Gospel. Not by
any sudden and violent uph' avail, indeed, was this Ell.
frcted. Had that been the case. the world would have
been more conscious of Its obligation to tho Lord IN
thfe r.uar1 Iknf kitsnfly Onnflv QImnGf inf pFrehti.
b y. the influence, Of Christianity filtered into the fam.
iIy, until ut length. through 1t, society Mt large Was
Quickened and s%nnohled. Now, 10 that a work to be
ashamed Off Is that . service l." humanity that du'
serves to be requitrd BY st,ning with stonesi Cali
such grapes as these be gathered from thUrns? Or such
figs rs these from thistles! 1t is easy for = man with
n smattrring Of learning, or o mollcum Of science, to
ralse questions about what ho calls the mistakes Of
Moses, and so bewilder the unlrttercd reader u the
Word Of God. ills nut difficult, either, 30 10 magnify
matters Ms tO make apparent discrepancies between
the Gospels serin to bc absolutely unrecOncilablc con-
trndictiUns, mud thus tn perpirx the minds or those who
have heretofore rested In tile truth Of the Gospel. And
nll such directors can be met, and have been met over
ind over again, on their own ground. But In the light
II what ] have Just now advanced, I am disposed to
say, never mind what these apostles OF inAdelity al.
lege. That Is In n region Of which perhaps you are mot
competent to judge, but here 10 q him. before your
eyes. Is not the family OF to.dny all ~unanswerahle at.
hesitation OF the good which Christianity has effected!
And can such undnubted COED have sprung from y
source that Is evil and to be ~despised , Take care, lest,
In parting with the Gospel, you throw not away with
1t thht fanily life which Christianity has created. Du
not repeat the folly Of the Jews. and by crucifyinR him
who came to bless you, draw down irreparable ruin On
your heads. II It be an evil thing u hallow the house.
hold and elevate the home, then sweep away the Cos.
Del that ha. wrought that result; but if that Is bless.
Ing, The worth Of which no arithmetic can calculate.
then cherish earnestly tho Christianity " which We
owe It.
But as q third GOOD work which the Gospel ha.
wrought, | name the Inauguration Of etfurts for the
ameIiorution Of the condition Of what for want If =
better word, 1 am compelled to call the masses Of man.
kind. The Lord Jesus has taught the universal broth.
erhmG Of mnp. He has given every other, and so be
Is the founder and leader Of sll the benevolent and
missionary movements Of the m"dern world. ale
that 10 greatest among you. let him be your servant.
even MS the Son Of Man came not to he ministerrd un-
~ but to minister, nnd to give his life Q ramon for
many" Lave your enemies, bless them that curse
you. do good to them that hate you, and pray for them
that drspitefully use ynu and pcrsecuie you. that you
may De children Of your Father which Is In heaven. for
he maketh his sun to rise On The evil and on the good.
and sendeth rain on toe just and oD the unjust"
The 50 are sume Of the 50, ings Of our Lord on this sub.
ject. His parable Of The Good Samaritan. illustrated
md enforced BY bis own infinite sacrifice. h, put the
deed, that benevolence is manifested now among us BY
muny who rrpudinte bis right To their loyalty and oil.
l~egiance. and deny that he is God. And l gladly mako
th,s admission. But, even while making 1t, contend
thut these friends. unconsci0usly to themselves, and
even in spite Of themselves, have absorbed much Of
The Christianity that is in the moral atmosphere by
which they arr surrounded. They have obtained d
great deal from The Gospel without knowing It, for
That Gosprl, thanks tn the nobleness Of the founders
of this nation, has saturated oil our institutions. and
81, even though they do not receive It with their intel
lects, they hav. taken In much Of It's influence by in.
volunt r. aud unconscious absorption. They ure 60
much better than their creed, even rs, unhnprily. senle
protesting Christians are a great deal worse than theirs.
III. anc ent philosopher lid not concern Themselves
about the lnwer orders Of tho people. They never
thought Of going out into the streets and lanes of the
-t.I -. iktn. h nav "a fhnlH f,ittu -tnn
They were content to deal with what ono hos called
"lhe intellectual aristocracy Of mankind" They re-
quirrd a test Of fitness for admission to their schools
nike that which one OF them blszrd over the entrance
t., his academy, In the words, Let no one ignorant Of
geometry enter here" and they affirmed that their spe.
clal mission was ITO those Of mankind who have q nat.
ural tendency and disposition toward VIRTUE" But
Jesus came not to call the righteous, but sinners to
Yer his precious invitation, "IOme unto me all "
that labor and are heavy laden and | will giYe you
rest" Nay, more, bis Church has been bis reprcsen-
ta,ire In this rega d, Even In medieval lines. before
1t had b, come utterly corrupt, through the selfish all,
bition u those ~ho, without the Spirit Of Christ, had
called themselves by bis maine. the Church Of Rome
was the great mediator between the highest and low
1t. I, stood as q living b. eak water between the sell
nshness OF the frudnl lords and the weakness Of their
dependents, anil was, In the durk.st age, the only In.
tlnrnccof q refining and humanizing sort that existed
throughout I urope. Then In the wake Of the Eefor.
nation came o grand revival Of beneyulence, which Is
going on still, and | ~rlgating the lands with blessing.
If tLen 1t b. worthy Of rrprobation to remember the
p.Ur, to seek TO lessen their ~suferings, Ito attempt To
LII them into selfr-spect and sclf-slpp"rt, TO give
them the hand Of sympathy and the help OF brother
huod, thUn let the Gosp. bc stoned for trac. Ing men
thus to bridge the gulf between rich and poor, be-
tween employers aud employed. between the c"nf"rt.
able and the suffering. II the Towards, and the Frys
and the NiyhtIngalrs, and the Joneses Of our modern
benevolcnce have b,cn curses to the world and moi
blessings, then let the gospel be made the rxccratiOn
Of humanity, for ky It Were these characters inspired
and moulded. But if-contrariwise-these are the
names which stir mems HEARTS to their depths, and
waken the en- husiasm Of the multitude to deafrning
applause at their very mention, then with what CON
~si,tency shall we stone the Gospel, Of which their
lives were the bright efa"re'cence and delightful
rrlit!
Finally, I name as another good work OF the Cos.
pei, the securing Of civil liberty for the people wher-
ever It Is generally believed. 1t has been alleged By
my to freed"m, but they who SO speak know .'neither
what they say, nor whereof they affirm" They rea
son froni that abnormal state OF things, when, amid
the corruption Of the Church, prlest.crat and king
But they nre w~illfully blind to the condition Of affair.
In the world ut the present time. Take the map OF
the globe. AID ask what th0se countries on It are which
have the fullest measure Of civil and religious. liberty,
Gospel OF Christ IL most widely known, most general,
ly believed, and most commonly Obcyed. What has
made this nation How comes It that we have here
such r. measure Of liberty as makes US the envy Of The
| HUFIu, nllpOu IcuT VI Cbuuh tlCtlUu EGUl1 bHut vi
owe these things to the lcavening and peryaslve infu.
rnce Of Christianity among US. The Bible, indeed
contains no treatise on civil government, but lis lrin'
ciples lay the ax to the root .! every form OF despot'
SIN. Jesus has taught US not only to ASSERT freedom
OF conscience for ourselves, but to respect it In others
and defend II for them and In contcnding for liberty
Of conscience, Christian men-building moro wisely
than they knew-secured the highest form Of civil
freelum. Nay, more, The Lord hus taught US to 'hon.
or all men" because they wear that nature which he
con:ecrat.d by his incarnatiOn; and wherever the nys'
terry Of bis cross 10 even dimly understood, men are
disposed, while receiving salvation through It, to. soc
riAce themselves for others good. Hence the whole
spirit OF Christianity stimulates mon to look not only
on their own things, but also on the things Of others
and that 10 the disposition out Of which true liberty
Is born. See how oil this Is established by the history
OF the Protestant Reformation. Wherever in the sin
tcenth century the Gospel found a fNthold In Europe
1t cleared forth with BIZ asylum for liberty, which by
and by became tho headquarters Of propaganda &c
tiyIIy on Its behalf. The name Of Geneva Is as prom
ineni In the history Of the progress, Of European lib
erty, as 1t Is In that of religious reformation; while
on the other hand, the na tions which in those day
stamped out the ~incipient workings Of spiritual re-
furin, nre those whose histories since then have been
darkest With despotism or reddest with blood. Nor II
this all. How came Il that the revolution OF 1858 In
England, was o new start for liberty, making every sor
Of Great Britain proud Of that
Land of just and old renown,
Where freedom broadens slowly down
From precedent to precedent,
Where faction seldom gathers head,
But by degrees to fullnesn wrought,
The strength Of some ditinslye thought
Hath time and space to work and spread
How came 1t that tho Revolution Of 1I76 secured the
independ. nee Of this Republic, set up = new asylum
for liberty, and brought into birth the Institutions OF
the New World 10 give on impulse to freedom In the
Old? How came It l ask, that these things GRO true
OF England and America, while the Revolution Of 1898
II Eron,a u,apf nuf I'm n delu0e pf blood and Apttlrd