The Chickasaw messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1880-1900, 1881-08-04

OF sermon Preached by Ircr
Anaos hkcndnlI Lufy 2afh.
Issn.

''Hc Auforerc0mcfh shall not Be hmt
II ne second death. ."-ReU al.
/ The SOVEREIGNTY OF GoD The
absolute sovereignty Of the Divine
Being is awe inspiring 10 finite man.
He doeth whatsoever lie pleases
among the armies Of the skies and to
the inhabitants OF the earth He has
done many things without consult
ing any one, aud the only acts which
lie cannot now perform without the
consent OF man are ell those which in
His infinite wisdom He has made con
tingent upon our fidelity 10 Him The
only limitations Of His sovereignty
are self imposed, and relate 10 man IS
q moral agent In the creation Of
all things, the gift Of His Son, the
inspiration Of the Scriptures, aud
ellusion Of His SPIRIT, God acted
independently Of conditions, and with
that sovereigniy characteristic Of His
God head but IN the salvation OF
humanity lie works upon conditions
and therefore makes the promise
to him that overcometh, and to i'm
only.
H. The text suggests 10 us the first
death. Itconldnoi speak Of the second
unless there was a first death. Though
not exaotl, in the line OF our discourse
/ it is interesting TO notice the first
death OF which we have any account
II occurred in a strange place, and
was a remarkable death The frst
death occurred in Heaven-the death
Of certain angels "who kept not their
first estate" and was therefore spir-
itusl death. II we believe the Scrip.
tutes We must say that angels sinned
in Heaven. What this SIN was we
do not know-probably il was sin
Of OmissiOn-but this we do know,
as soon as it occurred they lost the
spiritual lie which had so long lowed
through the veins of their being
They were hurled from the skies
aud shut up in the prison house Of
bell to await further Developments Of
inexorable justice aud yindlotiye
wrath. There FIRST sin was death to
all their ennobling aspirations, and
the knell of their Heavenly bliss.
The first death that occurred in
the human family was a spirit
ual death and took place in Para
disc. As Adam turned his back upon
the withering beauties Of Eden be
became painfully conscious that his
heat was dead to every lofty reach
Tor God or unending bliss. But the
first death suggested BY the text Is
not spiritual Il is temporal death.
Many curious persons have asked
how this death was brought on the
race. Is Sin THE cAusEl The late
DR. Bledsoe held that sin was only the
occasion Of physical death but we
prefer to say with Paul "By one
man sin entered into the world
and death by sin, and so death
passed upon all for that all sinned" "
The first has gone forth, and "the
living know that they must die
However ignorant of other liings he
may be every man knows that there
is a valley ahead through which he
must pass, aud whose shadows must
be seen by his own eyes.
III. With The FIRST death Of which
we have spoken the second Of in the
text contrasts most Yiyidly. One is
the suspension Of the animal func-
lions OF human existence, and is the
heritage Of the christian as well as the
sinner; the other is the punishment
10 be inflicted by the th ongs Of justice
upon him who fails TO overcome the
evils of his own heart. The eternal
death Of the wicked is desired by the
Annihilationist who says that the soul
is 10 60 into nonentity at It's separa-
tion iron the body. The restoration-
ist says that though the soul pass ont
of this world iull Of sin, Che bound
less mercy Of Heaven will wash away
its every stain and give It "an ihher
itanoe with the Saints in light" But
in refutation Of this God has said Of
Of the souls after the Resurrection
Let him that is filthy be filthy still I"
(a) The duration Of this punisn-
ment arises out of the sOufs immor-
tality. The sinful soul must suffer as
long it lives, and as il is immortal II
will suffer forever.
(b) Tbs death implies The failure
Of the sinner to accomplish any thing
worthy OF himself. Banks suspend,
merchants make assignments, and
business men ofevery kind aresuper
oeded by their more aagaei0us patt-
ners, but nothing Is 80 calamitous as
the failure Of an immortal spirit TO
overcome evils Of this world. A man
may lail TO amass wealth, or even 70
provide food for bis own. and the CRY
Of the hungry will be the penalty for
his delinquency, but the iallureto ac-
complish Tie salvation 81 tue soul viii
ba followed by weeping and gnashing
Of teethH that viii CRATE upon the
eare Oi the damned.
(cl This death implies Remorse,
The question is often asked is
there a place 10 which The wicked are
burned by material fire y We care
40. how son answer this queslioh il
does not affect the argument " favor
OF eternal punishment. The bitterost
ingredient in tLe cup Of woe will be
Remorso Like the vulture at Pro-
metheus' liver, Il will gnaw at The
vitals and corrupt the life blood OF
unfortunate souls.
(dl Another horror which hangs
around Tie second death Is despab'
The harvest Is past, the summer
ended end we are not saved was The
sigh heaved by the aueients, and VIII
be repeated by the souls left in The
aelds Of sin when the Gospel reapers
shall have gone for the last time after
sheayes. lie who sorambles IL the
stuhhlenelds Of this world for that
on which immortality wonld stsrv'
: 10 death, will hopelessly perish whel
the wrath Of God makes its ana
sweep over the plains Of sin
lei This second death implies ihi
/. lirreparable loss ofeverything. Thi
includes seif "What Is a man prof
ffod IF En ahal aaiu tho whole uOrll