The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1885-11-25

the treasures Of the hearts affection and start
for the throne. Go in and hear the waters
of salvation dashing in fountains all around
about the throne. Sit down at the banquet
the wine pressed from to grapes Of the
heavenly eshcol-the angels OF God the cup.
bearers. Goad on the came!s; Jerusalem will
never come to you; you must e to Jerusa-
lem. The Bible declaresi it. "The Queen Of
the South-that is, this very woman l am
speaking OF, the Queen Of the South-shall
! rise up in judgment against this generation
and condemn it; for she came from the utter
most parts OF the earth to hear the wisdom
OF Solomon, and 10! a greater than Solomon
is here" God help me to break up the in
fatuation of those people who are sitting
down in idleness expecting to be saved.
''Strive to enter in at the strait gate. Ask
and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall
md; knock and it shall be opened to you"
Take the kingdom OF heaven by violence.
Urge on the camels
Again. my subject impresses me with the
fact that religion is a surprise to any one mat
gets it. This story Of the new religion in
Jerusalem and Of the glory Of King Solomon,
who was a type of Christ-that story rolls on
| and on and is told by every traveller coming
back from Jerusalem. The news goes on the
wing of every ship and with every caravan,
and you know a story enlarges as it IS retold,
| and by the time that story gets down into
the southern part Of Arabia, Felix n the
Queen of Sheba hears it, it must be q tremen-
dous story. And yet this queen declares in
regard to it, although she had heard so much
and had her anticipations raised SO high, the
half-t the half was not told her. So religion
is always q surprise to any one that gets 1t.
The story of grace-an old story. Apostles
preached it with rattle Of chain, martyrs de-
cIared it with arm of fire, death-beds have
affirmed with visions Of glory, and ministers
of religion nave sounded it through the lanes
and the highways and the chapels n the
cathedrals. 1t has been cut into stone with
chisel and spread on the canyas with pencil;
and it has been recited in the doxology OF
great congregations. And yet, when a man
first comes to look on the palace OF Gods
mercy, and to see tie royalty of Christ. and
the wealth Of his banquet, and the luxriance
of his attendants, and the loneliness Of his
face, and the joy Of his name, he e1claims
with prayers. with tears, with songs, with
triumph: ''Ths half-she half was not told
me-"
I appeal to those in this house who are
Christians! Compare the idea you had of the
JOY of the Christian life before you became a
Christian, with the appreciation OF that JOY
you have now since you have Gecome q Chris
ian, and you are willing to attest before
angels and men that you never in the days
Of your spiritual! bondage had any apprecia-
ton of what was to come. You are ready to-
day to answer and if / gave you an Oppor-
tunity, in the midst Of this asSelnblage, you
would speak out and say in regard to the dis
~coverie, you have made OF the mercy and the
grace and the goodness OF God: The half
the half was not told me!
Well, we hear a great deal about the good
lima that is coming to this world when it is
TO be girdled with salvation. Holiness on the
bells Of tho horses. The lions nlane patted
by the hand Of a babe. Ships OF Tarshish
bringing cargoes for Jesus and tho hard. dry,
barren, winter. bleached, storm-scarred,
thunder-split rock breaking into floods OF
bright water. Deserts into which dromeda-
riess thrust their nostrils because they were
afraid OF the simeon, deserts blooming into
carnation roses and silver-tipped lilies. 1t is
the old story. Everybody tells it. Isaiah told
it. John told it. Paul told it Ezekiel told
it. Luther told it. Calvin told it. John
Milton told it. Everybody tells it, and yet
and yet when the midnight shall fly
the hills and Christ shall marshall his great
army and China, dashing her idols into the
dust, shall hear the voice Of God and wheel
into line; and India, destroying her Jugger-
naut and snatchins up little children from
tho Ganges, shall hear the voice Of God and
wheel into line; and uncovered Italy and
wheat-crowned Russia and all the nations OF
the earth shall hear the voice of Goo and fall
into line; then the church which has been
toillng and struggling through the centuries,
robed and garlanded like a bride adorned for
her husband, shall put aside her veil and
look up into the face of her Lord, the King.
and say: 'The half-the half was not told
me-"
Well, there is coming a greater surprise to
every Christian-a greater surprise than
anything I have depicted. Heaven is an old
story Everybody talks about it. There is
hardly a hymn in the hymn-book that does
~ - - HlsIl~nr ~aol oho,3f ~ in
their sabbath-school book. Aged men put on
their spectacles to study it. We say it is a
harbor from the storm. We call it our home.
We say it is the house OF many mansions. We
weave together sweet, beautiful, delicate, ex-
hilarant words-we weave them into letters
and we spell it out in rose and lily and amar-
anth. And yet that place is going to be a
SURPRISE t. the most intelligent Christian.
Like the Queen Of Sheba, the report has come
to US from the far country and many of ushave
started. 1t is a desert march, but we urge
on the camels. What though our feet be
blistered with the way, we are Fastening to
the palace. We take all our loves and hopes
aud Christian ambitions as frankincense and
myrrh and cassia to the great King. We
must not rest. We must not halt h
night is coming on and it is not safe out here
in the desert. I see the domes against the
sky and houses Of Lebanon, and the temples,
| dIu tu5 RdIOcu6 u lIO oSSAAS 49,
the sun and the gates fash as they open to
let in the poor pilgrims. Send the word up
to the palace that We are coming and that
we are weary Of the march Of the desert. The
King will come out and say: "Welcome to
the palace, battle in these waters, reclino on
these banks. Take this cinnamon and frank
incense and myrrh and put it upon a censor
and swing it before the alter"
And yet, my friends, when heaven bursts
,,pop TIC IL will ha q rrpqtar SI1rDriSo than
that. Jesus on the throne and we made like
him! All our Christian friends surrounding
us in glory. All our sorrows and tears and
sins gone by forever. The thousands OF
thousands, the one hundred and forty and
four thousands, the great multitudes that no
man can number will cry world without end:
"The halt. the half was not told me-"
tell you heaven will be a glorious sur
prise. Surprise at the throne, surprise at the
companionship, surprise at the music, ever
lasting surprise. Oh, sse those two souls be-
son. When that mother died and went up to
glory she left a wandering boy. She said to
him in the last hour, "Meet me in Heaven."
He made no promise. He went right on.
For twenty years he went on in sin, but one
day, memory, a gracious memory came to
his soul and he cried unto God and was for
given. and he turned into paths Of righteous
ness and be served the Lord, and then after a
while went up to the shining gate and he
"Oh," she says, "what a glorious surprise
this is. My poor lost boy. Praise the grace
that saves the chief Of sinners. The dead Is
alive again, the lost is found. Hallelujahl
Hallelujah! Come all Heaven and rejoice
with me-"
Blest are the saints beloved OF God,
Washed are their robes in Jesus blood,