The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1885-06-03

'''' ~ 49," f''''' ~
the nlniS Of pleasure.
Sometimes however the understanding has
all but accepted the conviction, and Is strctch.
Ing out lis arms, as 1t were, to welcome the
advancing trut!. Then with the greater en-
crgy the sovereign fncalty nf the human
soul drrides-;iis must not bel Will not
DC compromised, doing or enduring villa!
1 do not like must not thus he forced
upon Inc. The will can give effect to this
decision. II can baulk and thwnrt, or u
can give n prrrcrSc twist L" the other'
Very often by It's insidlOuS working the I'M
dclSiandins is act To thinking actively
how To discrcdit and rciutc the very ruin
which it had jast been on the point OF accept
ing. II
Tho will secs. that IL the Scriptures arc d.
vine, Il great deal that seriously niirctS ~,
That bears upon its enjoyment ana briiI io;,
lows, that new duties and new s;lcrillc"S VIII
be expected from 1t. licncc Is Will Gnucavnr
; to Withdraw the attention nf the understand,
ing from the considerations that prove ny
scriptures to be divine ANA to uirccI we nm" w
and iasicn 1t on considerations that &c, 10
show that the Bible may be- but Il trl"K, or Ih,'
Inclination. II II fail IN this course, u inc cyl
dcncc is So forced upoE the man that nc must
Overwhelming that he cannot niisrep.
resent 1t or deny It's force as: IN
appeal to reason. then the dcpraycd VIII
asserts, that even II the thing Is PROV
cd at the bar OF reason, it is Notwithstanding,
Contrary to common sense, or o:tlic 10 some
good 1t cannot part with, and so declares IRE
concilahle,. deadly war against VITAL coin'
mcnds itself to the UNDERSTANDING,
The more tho force Of external evidence
urges tho demand for attention to divine
truth, the more the man under the power Oh
sin, would rebel against the holy anu ticIc'
fore uncnnscniaI doctrine. One reason why
! there is So little violent opposition 10 the
Gospel in these days Is, that the FORM IN
which It's external evidence OF DIVINITY,
comes To our generation Is less compulsory,
and overwhelming, at least TO the mass Oh
men, than it was in the days OF the saviour
and His Apostles. Now 1t leaves room iol
doubt and permits lnfidcls to light by Sophls-
try. but then the oppuSrr> of the truth hau 10
give themselves up TO passion ana iiittrcu
without even pretending to reason anu 10
fight only by violence. We read or me per.
scculors OF Stephens: "And they were not
able To resist the wisdom and the spirit by
Which lie spoke. Then they subborncd men
which said, we have heard him speak BIAS.
pleniOus words against Moses ana aeiinst
tiud.' Had not Stephen utterly silcnced them
in discussion, they wculd not lave had re-
course to false witnesses, and TO Inur,
derons, stances, and other devices o,
and experience abundnntly,, prove, tina
tho man whose bcart IS fully opposed 70
u certain policy, and whose PRIDE and SCH
love strongly prompt him 10 adSocate 'iS Up.
present any reply to the Overwhelming arSu'
mcnts by which his " earnest rccoincnun'
ton Is nullliled? AS long as he can throw
doubt upon the opponents position ne u
| llOlts vi ltSS oliN w 80
every rampant of reason, he will II he can or
If he does not think 1t too impolitic, charge
upon his adversary with wrath ana piIySl'
cal violence. Hence It were easy 10 cite eases
| in which prudence forbade TO present all the
evidence That might I've forthcoming. or TO say
all lhnt might be urged in favor or sonu
cnuSc. Many such c:tScs may he iouna IN !ne
history OF the relation OF tho SOut, to the
general Government during tic last twenty
wears, The result Of presenting the who'C
evidence may sometimes bc, because OF inc
.t.l., 10 fth Sn nnnnSt
ton and make 1t more desperate against me
: right and the true. The operation OF thiS
principle then Is n sufficient reason why Goc
gives to our de2rareI race no more ulre"'
! int overwhelming proofs OF the supreme au'
thorlty OF Scripture, than those we possess
Wisdom dictated that He should Withhold
suci, evidence us would leave no room 10,
cnvil and sOphlStry, In orucr 10 PreFeh'
worse consequences.
Thus we see that the same frame or heart
the opposite of willing to dc. the Will or Goo
that hindcrs II man from seeing the diVlnltS
of Bible doctrine directly, would hinder ina
mans being persuaded, even If he received
by one whom he had seen laid IN the grave q
} message from God. AS long as the VIII ma:
) power to give the attention TO or withhold ].
from the evidence on one Side ana 10 ulrcci
the attention to considerations true or mlse
in favor OF the other side. the will has power
to control belief. ~
Ms 1t can boil up into fury against what Is
hateful to 1t, what condemns l., destroys ~
pleasures, and demand It's life. or, what Is Tho
same thing, tho surrender or all rs luois, ana
lis own perfect SubordinatiOn to o WILL
so long whenever IL can put no doubts OF rca'
son between itself AMI the hated thing that ~
about To turn conviction and conscience oVcl
on its side, The dcrravcd Will thus driven u
the wall Is sure to rage aud lush Itself into
fury and seek to apnihilate its enemy by
force; and so long the mans heart VIII deter
mine what he will believe or not hcliefc not
wjths,anding whatever evidence he may have
access to. The carnal heart, being cnmity To-
God, and being lis W God. would therefore
not lie persuaded, though one rose from tht
dead, but rather would be excited 10 chihitS
This exposition Is suited to put the sinner
in the way OF learning his need OF Inc Holy
Ghost. he must owl mat AZ ne ren oHTn n
cd, he will find that he has not this prcdnini
nant disposition. but rather rrc"ailing.tenl
dcnry TO please himself, or to dcvo;c hilnScl
10 some darling creature. lie VIII hiu 700
that il Is vain to look to any creature for tho
production in himself Of such 4 state or heart
What Is left him then, but 10 cry earnestly tC
God for help? To Il sinner In tins condition
the doctrine that though Paul plant and
ApollOs water, Cod alone can give the in
crease, appears reasonable, true, anu comfort
Ne may also infer that Justification by
fifth Is Il holy doctrine. II filth In Jesus
Christ were simply al affair OF the intellect
IL would not he more consistent With the lioli'
ness of God, to imputc the righteousness O
Christ to u believer In Christ than IT would te
to impule the same GA believer In the i7th
Problem OF Euclid; for neither faith would
secure the obedience OF the Justified man
But when I see that the spirit OF obedience is
the very organ OF faith, can see how Divlnt
Holiness can pronounce the believer %GniltlcSs
n nd exempted from NIL condemnation. II
the faith required could he exercised by ono
sunk In iniQuity and wallOwing In rebellion,
! could not see how the Gnd Of puffy eo't nS
/: justification. But saving faith has Its root In
the spirit Of obedience and evlnces n prcdoini'
nant principle Of love to God ID the heart:
Therefore God Is holy MS we'll as just when
He ~justifcs him that believeth In Jesus
brethren Is the spirit Of obedience the organ
of faith? Then learn the way to strengthen
faith. DO violence to this organ, fail to cher.
you IL dry book, cultivate 1t and the Bible
will be Respondent with Gods glory to your
souls. We are rot justified on account oi
our obedience but on account OF the obe'
dience of Jesus, yet there is mn indissolublc
bond between our obedience anu Justification,
as there Is also between our obedience und
holy comfort.
security of tho believers faith. Can you per-
suadc the cnraptured lover of the fine nrtS. ms
he stand before IL masterpiece or palntin"
that there Is no beauty there? Or as he lis
tens to the richest strains Of harmony, that
there is no delight In those sounds? Or rs he
enjoys tho orator who Is cmulatlns Cicero or
DeniosthcneS, that there IS no suhlimity In
1 plOQllpDCp. l:ll you COINluCc lue pitItSu wy
called iy the light of the morning. TO labor,
and dismissed by The shades OF night from
his toll that there Is no light IN the sun: Can
you demonstrate to the child that there Is no
Sweetness in sugar? Can all the science In
the world prove TO the moral man that there
Is no oblIging force In the DccaloSue? No
more can you destroy by hl the power OF
reason and science the rsgenerate nan,s
knowledge of II Is like the knowledge gained
through s~rnse-dlrcct and intuitive; When
the new nature In him Is growing and active,
he can no more deny It's pc rcptlon OF inc
glory OF the Gospel, than he can deny the ties.
limony of his bodily senses, or the truth OF
the primary beliefs which lie ut the basis OIL
certainty In the doctrines of christianity nro
the very sanc rs those Of any other truths,
these doctrines are concerned with realities
of thought-tlley reveal real relationships and
arc concerned with real cXis;cnccs. The 81.
ble Is but an atmosphere through which God
and the persons and things of the spiritual
world arc presented. Hence one knowledge
OF these doctrines Is founded on intuition and
consciousness Just as our knowledge Of this
material world Is founded OH certain primary
truths which defy analysis and all proof eX-
ccpt that of intuition. The bclicvcrs sublcc'
tive certainty Is the result OF the illuminating
Of the Holy Spirit. BY conforming us to Gods
will He enables us to see and fully to appreci-
ate the grounds of evidence In the doctrines
themselves and thus produces intuiIlVe anu
Were IT not that our minds were blinded
by sin, we would have intuitiye evidence OF
the divine glory OF Gods word Just us we have
of the divine origin OF creation. The spirit
restores our spiritual ars;,n to Its normal ron
dillon and SO it is adapted to the light Of the
spiritual world as our bodily eyes are TO that
OF the natural. The result Is an inialliblc
faith produced by the infnllible spirit. ,
We sec then that faith Is the gilt OF God and
that it Is His power directly operating In the
human heart that enables us to Fnow that
my Redecmer liveth and to count all things
as nothing In comparison with the eNGellcncy
of the Knowledge Of Christ Jesus my Lord.
Prohibition in Georgia.
There are one hundred and thlrty-scven
COMMITTEES in Georgia. and of these these tho
nincty-sevcnih has just wheeled into the
Prohibition line. rs we learn from the Chris
fiul Inocr, which has the following timely
and sensible comments upon the progress Of
temperance in that State:
Tie Georgia plan under the Local option
law, Is the best plan. The question Is not
mixed with politics; the vote is taken scpa-
rate from all other issues; and Mt a, time when
there arc no candidates for office. AMI, when
nobody has any capitol to make either, by
nvorlng the law or opposing 1t: and when