Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1892-07-28

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Then come to him and say: 80 Lord,
know thou canst not lie. Thou hast
told me to come for pardon, and I could
get it. come, Lord. Keep thy prom
ise and hberate my captive soul.
TIE PLACE FOR PRAYER.
Oh, that you might have an altar IL
the parlor, in the kitchen, in the store.
in the barn! fox Christ will be willing to
come again to the manger to hes- pr9yer.
He will come in your place of bus1. IS
as he confronted Matthew, the tax COM
missioner. If a measure should come
before congress that you thought would
ruin the nation, how you would send in
petitions and remonstrances. And yet
there has been enough sin in your heart
to ruin it forever. and you have never
demonstrated or petitioned against it.
If Your physical health failed, and you
had the means. you would go and spend
the summer in Germany and the winter
in Italy, and you would think it Very
cheap outlay if you had to go all around
the earth to get back your physical
health. Have you made any effort, any
expenditure. ary exertion fog your inn
mortal and spiritual health: No, you
have not taken one step.
Oh, that you might now begin to seek
after God with earnest prayer. Some
Of YOU have been working for years and
years for the support Of your families.
Have you given one half day to the work
ing ont OF Your salvation with fear and
trembling? You came here this morn
ing with an earnest purpose. take 1t. as
l have come hither with an earnest pur-
pose, and we meet face to face, and l
tell you. first of all, if you want TO find
the Lord you must pray and pray and
pray.
l remark again, yon must seek the
Lord through Bible study. The Bible is
the newest book III the world. "Oh,"
You say. 1t was made hundreds of years
ago, and the learned men of King James
translated it hundreds of years ago l
confute that idea by telling you it IS not
five minutes old, when God. by his
blessed spirit, retranslates it into the
heart. If YOU will. in the seeking OF the
way of life through Scripture study, i'm
plore Gods light to fail upon the page.
You viii find that these promises are
not one second old and that they drop
straight from the throne of God into
Your heart.
There are many people TO whom the
Bible does not amount to much. Il they
merely look at the outside beauty, why
il Will no more lead them to Christ than
Wash;ngton's farewell address or the
Koran of Mahomet or the Shaster of the
IIindoos. 1t is the inward hight of Gods
Word You must get or die. Went up
10 the church of the Madeleine in Paris
and looked at the doors. which We're the
most wonderfully constructed l ever
saw. and | could have staid there for
a whole week: but l had only little
time. 50, having glanced at the wonder
ful carving on the doors, passed IN and
looked at the radiant altars and the
sculp,ured dome. Alas. that so many
stop at the outside door of Gods holy
Word, looking at the rhetorical beau
ties, instead of going in and looking at
the altars of sacrifice and the dome OF
Gods mercy and salvation that hovers
over every penitent and believing soul.
SEARCH TIE SCRIPTURES.
Oh, my friends. if You merely want to
study the laws of language, do not go to
the Bible 1t was not made for that.
Take ~Howe's Elements Of Criticism. =
II would be better than the Bible for
that. If YOU want 10 study metaphysics,
better than the Bible will be the writ
ings of William Hamilton. But if yo:s
want TO know how to have sir pardoned,
and at last 10 gain the ble>sedness OF
heaven search the Scriptures, for III
them ye have eternal life.
When people are anxious about their
son!s-..nd there are some here today
there are those who recommend good
books Tha, IS all right. But want to
tell You that the Bible IS the best book
under such circumstances. Baxter wrote
"A Cali 70 the Cnconverted. but the
Bible is the best call to the unconverted.
Philip Doddrdge wrote The Rise and
Progress of Religion in the Soul, but
the Bible is the best rise and progress
JOHN Angel James wrote advice to
the Anxious Inquirer" but the Bible Is
the best advice to the anxious inquirer.
Oh the Bible is the very book you
need. anxiors and .inGuiring soul. a
diving soldier said 10 his mate, Com
rad,.. give me drop The comrade
Shook q the canteen and said, There
isnta drop of water in the canteen.
oh. said the dying soldier, that's not
what want; feel il my lsnapsach for
my Bible" And his comrade found the
Bible and read him Few of the gra-
cious promises, and the dying soldier
said: All. that's what want. There
isn't anything Ike the Bible for a dying
soldier. is there. nay comrade:a Oh,
blessed book while @e live. Blessed
book when We die.
Iremark. again, we must seek God
through church ordinances. "Whar.
say Won, cant man be saved without
going to church," l reply, there are
men, suppose. in glory, who have never
seen church; bat the church is the or
dained means by which we are to be
brought to God; and if truth affects us
when we are alone, it affects us more
mightily when we are in the assembly
the feelings of others emphasizing our
,wn feelings. The great law Of sympa-
thy comes into play, and a truth that
would take hold only with the grasp of
a sick man beats nightly against the
soul with thousand heart throbs.
When you come into the religious cir
Gle, come only with one notion, and
only for one purpose-to fad the way to
Christ When see people critical about
sermons, and critical about tones Of
voice. and critical about sermonic de-
livery, they make me think of man III
prison He is condemned to death, but
an officer of the government brings a
pardon al, puts it through the wicket
OF The prison, and says: Here is your
pardon. Come and get il" What
Do you expect me to take that pardon
offered with such voice as 'oU have,
with such an awkward manner as You
have: would rather die than so com
promise my rhetorical notions" All.
the man does not say that: he takes it.
1t is his life He does not care how it
is handed TO him. And if this morning
that pardon from the throne of God is
offered to our souls, should we not seize
it, regardless of all criticism, feeling
that it is matter of heaven or hell:
now Is THE TINE.