The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-01-29

tho throne, and the Athaliah Of infidelity
and persecu tion would fly out the back door
Of the palace, and drop her miserable carcass
under the hoofs Of the horses of the Kings
stables. You cannot e1terminate Christi
anity! You cannot kill Joash!
The second thought hand you from my
subject is, that there are opportunities in
which we may save royal life. You know
that profane history is replete with stories Of
strangled Monarchs and Of young Princes who
have been put out Of the way. Here is the
story Of a young King saved. How
Jehosheba, the clergyman's wife, must have
cry and snatched up Joash: bow she hushed
him, lest by his cry he hinder the escape.
Fly with himl Jehosheba, you hold in your
arms the cause Of God and good government.
Fail, and he is slain. Succeed, and you turn
the tide Of the worlds history in the right
direction. It seems as if between that young
King and his assassins there is nothing but
the frail arm of woman. But why should
we spend our time in praising this bravery Of
expedition when God asks the same thing Of
you and me? All around us are the imperiled
children Of great King.
They are born Of Almighty parentage, and
will cometo throne or crown, if permitted.
But sin, the old Athaliah, goes forth to the
massacre. Murderous temptations are out
for the assassination. Valens, the Emperor,
was told that there was somebody in his realm
who would usurp his throne, and that the
name Of the man who should be the usurper
would begin with the letters T. 81. E. O-D..
aud the edict went forth from the Emperofs
throne: "Kill everybody whose name begins
with T. 81. E. o. Dr. And hundreds and
thousands were slain, hoping by that mas
sacre to put an end to that one usurper. But
sin is more terrific in its denunciation. 1t
matters not how you spell your name, you
come under its knife, under its sword, under
its DOOM unless there be som,. omnipotent
relief brought to the rescue. But, blessed be
God, there is such a thing as delivering
royal soul? Who will snatch away Joash?
This afternoon in your Sabbath school
class, there will be a Prince Of God-some
one who may yet reign as King forever be-
fore the throne: there will be some one in
your class who has corrupt physical inher-
who has a father and mother who do not
know how to pray; there will be some one in
your class who is destined to COM
mand in church or state-some Crom-
we'll to dissolve a parliament, some
Beethoven to touch the worlds harp strings,
some John Howard to pour fresh air into the
lazaretto, some Florence Nightingale to band
age the battle wounds, some Miss Dix to
soothe the crazed brain, some John Frederick
Brainard to change the Indians war whoop
to Sabbath song, some John Wesley to mar
shal three-fourths Of Christendom, some John
Knox to make Queens turn pale, some Joash
to demolish idolatry and strike for the king
dom Of heaven.
There are sleeping in your cradles by night,
there are playing in your nurseries by day,
imperial souls waiting for dominion. and
whichever side the cradle they get out will
fho 0f aa
Of those children sin and holiness contend
Athaliah on the one side and Jehosheba on
the other. But I hear people say: "Whats
the use Of bothering children with religious
instruction? Let them grow up and choose
for themselves. Don't interfere with their
volition." Suppose some one had said to
Jehosheba. 'Don't interfere with that young
Joash. Let him grow up and decide whether
he likes the palace or not, whether he wants
to be King or not. Don't disturb his voli-
ton" Jehosheba knew right well that I'M
less that day the young King was rescued, he
would never be rescued at all.
tell you, my friends, tho reason we don't
reclaim all our children from worldliness is
because we begin too late. Parents wait un-
til their children lie before they teach them
the value of truth. They wait until their
children swear before they teach them the
Importance Of righteous conversation. They
in this world before they tell them Of q bet
ter world. Too late with your prayers. Too
late with yonr discipline. Too late with
your benediction. You put all care
upon your children between twelve
and eighteen. Why do you not put the chief
care between four and nine? It is too late
to repair vessel when it has got out Of the
dry docks. It is too late to save Joash after
the executioners have broken in. May God
arm us all for this work of snatching royal
souls from death to coronation. Can you
imagine any sublimer work than this soul
saving? That was what flushed Fauls cheek
with enthusiasm, that was what led Munson
to risk his life amid Bornesian cannibals;
that was what sent DR.. Abeel to preach
under the consuming skies of China; that
was what gave courage to Phocus in
the third century. When the military
officers came to put him to death
for Christ's sake, he put them to bed that
they might rest while he himself went out,
then came back and said: ''I am ready"
but they were shocked at the idea of taking
the life Of their host. He said: ut is the
will of God that should die," and he stood
on the margin of his own grave and they be-
headed him. You say it is a mania, a fool
hardness, a fanaticism. Rather would I
call it glorious self-abnegation, the thrill Of
from death, and raising him to coronation.
The third thought l hand to you from my
text is that the church of God is a good hid
ing place. When Jehosheba rushes into the
nursery Of the King and picks up Joash,
what shall she do with him? Shall she take
him to some room in the palace? No; for
the official desperadoes will hunt through
every nook and corner of that building.
Shall she take him to the residence of some
4o.A
dare to harbor the fugitive. But she has to
take him somewhae. She hears the cry
of the mob in the streets; she hears the
shrek Of the dying nobility; so she
rushes with Joash unto the room Of the
temple, into the house of God, and then she
puts him down. She knows that Athaliah
and her wicked assassins will not bother the
temple great deal; they are not apt to go
very much to church, and so she sets down
Joash in the temple. There he will be hear
ing the songs of the worshipers year after
golden censers In that sacred spot he will
tarry, secreted until the six years have
passed and he comes to enthronement.
Would God that we were as wise as Je>
hosheba, and knew that the church Of God Is
took us there in early days; they snatched Us
away from the world and hid us behind the
baptismal fonts and amid the Bibles and the
psalm books o, glorious inclosurel We
have been breathing the breath Of the golden
censers all the time, and we have seen the
lamb on the altar and we have handled the
phials which are the prayers of all saints,
and we have dwelt under the wings OF the
cherubim. Glorious incloSlrel When my
father and mother died, ano>the property
was settled up there was harh5, anything
left; but they endowed us with a P:;eaerty