The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-06-29

those who have just entered Christian life,
and that Is be faithful in prayer. You
might as we'll, business men, start out in the
morning without food,and expect to be stronf
all that day-you might as we'll abstain
from food all the week and expect to be
strong physically, as to be strong without
prayer. The only way to get any strength
difference between that Christian that ID
worth anything and that who is worth
| nothing Is the fact that the Last does not
| pray and the other does.
And the only difference between this
| Christian, who is getting along very fast in
the holy life, and this, who is only getting
along tolerably, is that the first prays more
than the last. You can graduate a mans
progress in religion by the amount Of
prayer; not by the number OF hours per.
haps, but by the earnest supplication that
the rule. Show me a Christian man who
neglects this kind Of duty, and will show
you one who is inconsistent. Show me q
man who prays and his strength and his
power cannot be exaggerated. why. just
give to a man this power Of prayer and you
give him almost onlnipotence.
This afternoon you will see two SaoDatn
school teachers. That one does not gam the
attention Of her class. This one does. what
lects being about equal. The first thought
only of her own apparel. The other came
from great prostration before God in earnest
supplication, asking that Gods mercy might
come upon the scnool and that in the after.
noon she might gain the attention of those
five or six immortals that would be around
her. The ons teacher has no control over
her class The other sits as with the strength
of the Lord God Almighty.
0rl ~ I hau fa ry1ry
Be careful in Bible research. A great many
good books are now coming out. We can
not read half Of them At every revolution
of the printing press they are coming. They
cover our parlor tables, and are in our sit
ting rooms and libraries. Glorious books
they are. We thank God every day for the
work Of the Christian printing press. But
have thought that perhaps the followers of
Christ sometimes allow this religious litera-
ture to take their attention from Gods
Word, and that there may not be as much
Bible reading as there ought to be.
How is that with your own experience?
Just calculate in your minds how much re-
ligious literature you have read during the
year and then how large portion OF the
Word Of God you have read, and then con-
trast tho two and answer within your own
soul whether you are giving more attention
to the books that were written by the hani
Now, you go to the drug store and you get
the mineral waters, but you have noticed
that the waters are not 80 fresh or spark
ling or healthful as when you get these very
waters at Saratoga and Sharon-getting
them right where they bubble from tho
rock.
And have noticed the same thing in re-
gard to the truth of the Gospel; while thers
IS good deal of refreshment and health Of
80 Hol
books find it is better when I come to thu
eternal rock Of Gods Word and drink forth
that fountain that bubbles up fresh AMI
pure to the life and the refreShment and the
health Of the soul.
Read the Bible and it brings you into the
association of the best people that ever lived.
You stand beside Moses and learn mis- meek
ness. beside JOB and learn his patience, be-
side Paul and catch something Of his enrhus-
iasm, beside Christ and you feel His love.
AMI yet how strange it is that great many
men have given their whole lives to the as
saulting of that book I cannot understand
it. Tom Paine worked against that book as
though he received large wages and was in
spired by the very power OF darkness, con-
Tossing that all the time he was writing he
did noS have the Bible anywhere near him.
How m my powerful intellects have endeav-
ored to destroy it. Hume Bolingbroke.
Voltalre have been after it. Ten thousand
men now are warning against the truth OF
Gods Word What do you think Of them:
think tits mean and will prove it. 1 will
prove it Is the meanest thing that has ever
been done in all the centuries.
There is ship at sea and in trouble. The
captain and the crew are at their wits end.
You are on board. You are an old seaman.
You como up and give some good counsel,
which is kindly taken That is all right.
But suppose, instead Of doing that, in the
midst Of all the trouble, you pick up the only
compass that is on board and pitca it over
the taffrail? Oh, you say, that is dastardly.
But is it as mean as this! Here is the vessel
of the world going on with sixteen hundred
millions Of passengers, tossed and driven in
the tempest, and at the time We want help
the infidel comes and he takes hold of the
only compass and he tries to pitch it over
board. 1t is contemplate beyond everything
that is contemplate. Have you any better
light? Bring it on if you have. Have you
IL you have. Have you any better hope.
Bring it on il you have, and then you may
have this Bible and I shall never want it
again.
But can think Of meaner thing than
that, and that is an old man going along on
the mountains with staff in one hand and
q lantern in the other. Darkness has come
on suddenly, He is very old. just able to
pick his way out amid the rocks and preci-
pices, leaning OH his staff witt one hand and
guiding himself with the light in the other.
You come up and say. Father, you seem to
be lost. You are long way from home"
s'Yes" he replies. And then you take him
by the hand and lead him home. That is
very kind of you. But suppose instead Of
that you should snatch the staff from his
hands and hurl it over the ROCKS, and snatch
the lantern and blow it out? That would be
dastardly, contemplate until there is no
depth of contempt beneath 1t. II you have
better staff, give it to him. II you have
better light, give it to him.
When God has put the staff Of the Gospel
in our hands and the lamp OF Gods Word to
light our feet, ara you going to take from US
our only support and our only illumination'
love the sting of the wasp and the rattle
snake better than do the man who wants
to clutch the Word Of God from my grasp.
Cling to your Bible! If this Bible should
be DESTROYED, il all the Bibles that have ever
been printed should be destroyed, we could
make up Bible right out OF this audience.
From that Christian mans experience take
one cluster of promises, and from taat OLD
Christian mans experience another, l put
them all together, and [ think would have
Bible.
You see. my friends. have not tried {
hide the fact that have large expectation
Of you who have entered the Christian life.
Do not be discouraged. Press on toward
the prize; God beside you and heaven before
you. Keep your courage up. Look in thirty
man in the pulpit. Other faces in the pews.
Another man leading the song Others
carrying around the aims boxes Of the
church All cnan -ed Thirty years haya