The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-10-22
BIBLICAL EMBLEMs OF RErRIBUrIoN.


The scriptural emblems of the endless
death have q secret burden OF significance.
An abyss Of meaning yawns behind and be-
meath them. They do not mean what we
mean when we flip them like peppercornIs,
into the air with the go-bv "Thcy are all
mere figures of speech" Figures Of speech,
indeed, they are; but igures-that is pic
tures-of eternal verities, the most fearfully
tragic of all that we know in the history OF
the universe. They are prophecies. They
are heavy-luden with Gol'S infinite indigna-
tion They mean what inspired men saw
in 'awe-stl uck vision, of the cycles of dura-
ton in which the infinitely holy sensibilities
OF God shall express themselves in undy1ng
wrath against undying wrong:
Those which our Lord originated mean
what He foresaw when His mission as the
Judge Of the living and the dead dawned up
on His trembling consciousness. They mean
what they seem when weighed with the re-
tributive enginery of the spiritual body. III
any man shall take away from the words OF
the Book Of this prophecy, God shall take
sway his part out of the Book OF Lite.' The
modern pulpit needs the biblical emblems IN
retributive discourse to arrest an alarming
decadence of the popular faith in the reality
of retributve infictions. OF the fact Of
such dccadence am compelled to judge, not
from personal hearing, but from cores
pondence.
This source Of information has brought to
my heritage evidence of such signs OF the
lines as these, namely, that many OF our
preachers, with no ayowal, and probably
with no consciousness Of unbellef, do not
preach the doctrine OF endless punishment
at all; that many more preach it only by
implication in the discussion of collateral
truths; that in many pulpits it is taught
more by censure of its eXtrt mes and abuses
than BY the calm. bal need, compas-
sionate, vet bold, presentation Of its blbli-
cal forms; that it Is seldom proved as Il
fundamental element of evangelical faith;
that often its proofs are so weighted by
its difficulties that the impression, rs q
whole, is that OF a negative; that. to
very considerable extent, it is evaded In the
instructions OF our sunday schools ana
Bible classes; and that the more amiab!c
features Of the divine government are OBJ.
truded in such disproportion that the biblical
eoupoise of truth is hope!cssly broken. The
retributiye sentiment is. to large extent.
dropped out Of the popular conception OF the
character Of God. In short. many Of or
pupils are practising the perilous experiment.
of preaching law without its underground
of penalty, and love without its underground
Of fear.
The change which has come upon the
usage Of our pulpits respecting comminatory
discourse is revolutionary. Forty years ago
the doctrine Of endless punishment was
preached without compromise or reserfa-
ton. By argument. by illustration, by, ex-
posruation. by appeal, it was planted deep
in The popular faith. 1t lived in the p9Ipu-
lar conscience. Men are still living III whose
memory the echo reverberatrs OF the imperl-
al tones OF President Finncy, in which he
pictured the cndessne>s of ''heil torments'
in that apostropbe ut which men sprang to
their feet-''Eternity, . eternity"
Men still live who heard the wailinS con.
fess,ons of Albert Barnes. from which they
caught some conceptions Of the crushed
spirit OF our Lord In His auticirations Of thu
day of DOOM Where can we hear sucl
preaching now?-[prof. Phelps.