The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-07-17
A Georgia Sermon.
A BAPTIST BROTHER GIVES HIS OPIN-
ION ABOUT THE PRESBYTERIANS.

A lady correspondent of the Inde-
pendent gives sketch of q sermon
she heard in Georgia nearly half cen
tury ago from which we give an ex-
tract:
The preacher was apparently about
fifty years of age, large, muscular and
well propertioned. On entering the
pulpit he took off his coat and hung it
on nail behind him, then opened his
collar aud wristbands, and wiped the
perspiration from his face, neck and
hands. He was clad in striped cotton
homespun, and his shirt was of the
same material. He had travelled sew
eral miles that morning, and seemed
almost overcome by the heat. But the
brethren sang a couple of hymns
while he was tanning and cooling on,
and when he arose he looked comfort
able and good-natured.
He had preached there once or twice
before, but to most of the audience he
was 8 stranger. Hence he thought it
necessary to announce himself, as he
did, as "Old Club. Axe Davis, from
Screven county, a half hard ana half
soft shell Baptist" >,
II have given myself that name,"' l"
said he, tbecause I believe the Lord
elected ME from all eternity to 60
ahead in the backwoods and grub out
a path and blaze the way for others to
follow. After the thickest of it Is cut
away, q good Methodist brother will
come along and take my trail and
make things little smoother and a
good deal wiser. And after all the un-
derbrush is cleared out, and the owls
and wolves skeered off, Presbyterian
brother in black broadcloth and white
crayat will come along and cry for de-
cency and order. And they'll both do
good in their sphere. I don't desplse o
iarnt man, even if he don't dress and
think as T do. You couldn't pay me
enough to wear broadcloth, summer or
winter, and you couldn't pay Presby-
terian enough to 90 without 1t in dog
days. ~ .,.,-o ,,,u
brethren; but every man his own
sphere. When God has place to NIL
he makes man and puts him in 1t.
When he wanted General Jackson, He
made him and set him to fightin' In
dians and the English; when He
wanted George Whitfield, He made
him to blow the Gospel trumpet as no
other man ever blowed it, and when
He wanted old Club Axe Davis, he
made him and set him to grubbin' In
the backwoods.
"But my shell isn't so hard but |
can see good pints in everybody and
as for the Presbyterisns, they are Q
| long way ahead of US Baptists and
Methodist in some things. They raise
their children better than any people
on the face of the earth. only 1eW
days ago Methodist class-leader sald
to me: Brother Club Axe, ! was
born Methodist, I was raised q Meth
odist, and by the grace OF God 1 nope
| TO die q Methodist; but thank GOD l
got Presbyterian wife to raise my
land I believe, my brethren, If the
Lord should open the way for me to
marry again. I'd try my best to find a
PRESBYTERIAN woman, and run my
chances of breakin' her in into the
sayin' doctrines of feet washin' and
| Immersion afterwards"
Just at this time he was interrupted
by two spotted hounds that had been
continuing running up and down the
nulpit stairs. One of them jumped
iIpon the seat and began to gnaw his
coat tail, in which was something he
had brought along for his lunch.
He turned slowly and took him by
the ears and tail and threw him out OF
the window behind as easily as II IL
had been a young kitten. The other
took warning and got out as rapldly as
possible, though not without bowling
and yelping as if he had been nall
He then turned to the audience and
said smilingly: "St. Paul exhorted the
brethren beware of dogs 1 wonder
what he would do if he were in my
place this morning? 1t appears ike 1
am compassed about with dogs, as Da-
vid says he was"
He had scarcely commenced preaon-
| ing again before there was squeallng
and kicking among the mules and
horses that were tied to trees close by.
He nut his head out of the window
and said: "No harm done, brethren.
Inst creetur with sidesaddle broke
loose. Will some brother head the
amman lOI uO oiSGeA S"h ""AA
this hot day."
Quiet being restored, be continued
"Well, my brethren, I will now try TO
saw what T allowed to about the Pres
byterians. AS said before, they raise
their children q heap better than we
do, They behave better in church and
keep the Sabbath better, and read the
Bible, and learn the catechism better
than ours do. I declare, brethren,
their Children are larnt that Westmin-
lister catechism before the time they be-
gin to talk plain.
WIt amt three weeks since I was out
cattle huntin,-for two OF my yearllns
had strayed off.--and stopped at old
Brother Hardy's on Rund creek and
took dinner. He is deacon in the
PRESBYTERIAN church over thar. Well,
as sure as I stand here, my brethren,
sister Hardy had her little gal stand
| in right before her, with her toes just
even with the crack of the floor, and
her hands were hanging down by her
side, and her mouth turned up like a
chicken when it drinks, and she was
putting this question to her out o. that
cate chism: '"What are the benefits
which in this life do either accompany
or flow from justification, adoption or
sanctification
"Now, the question in itself was
anonph TO break the child down. But
when she began to say the question all
over, flor that's the way it was in the
book, and then hitch the answer to it.,
and Which all put together made this /:
1.-The benefits which in this life 90
either accompany or flow from justifi-