Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1892-08-13

purp1se. take II. a. | have come hithef
with an earnest purpose, an We meet iafs
to face, and / tell Yoa, first 0. all. II yo1
want 70 fin the Lord you must pray and
pray AMI oray.
remark again. you must seek the Lori
through Bible study. Tbs Bible is the new
est book IN the world. Oh you say, III
vas male hundreds Of years ago. and the
learned nlen % kin- Jane. translated ii
funjT~3s ot years ago | confute thai
ilea bv telling you it is not five minutes old.
when God, by His blessed spirit, retransiates
i into the heart. Ii you will, 10 the seek-
ing OF tue way II life through Scripture
study. implore God light &c fall upon the
page, yoa Will find that these promises are
not one second old and that they dror
straight from the throne O: God into yous
heart.
There are many people 70 whom the Bible
toes not amount to much. II they merely
look at tae outside beauty. why it will no
more lead them TO Christ than Washington's
farewell address or the Koran OF Mahomet
or the Shast.r Of the Hin1oos. It's the in
ward light Of Gods Word you must get or
die. | went up 10 The church OF the Made
leine in Paris AMI looked at the doors, which
we're the most won ierful.Y constructed |
ever saw, and | could have staid there for a
whole week: but | mad only a little time, 50,
having glanced at the wonderful carving on
the doors, | passed III ami looked at the ra-
diani affairs and the scuiDture1 dome. Alas!
that 50 many stop at the outside door OF
ttodis holy Wort, looiln, at the rhetorical
t~eaut3es, instead OF going in aud looking at
ihe affairs Of sacrifice and the dome OF Gods
i..-cy ant salvation that hovers over every
penIt.-. and belle soul,
Oh. my friends, II you merely want to
study the laws of language, do not go TO the
Bitle- 1t was not male for that. Take
Howe: Elements Of Criticism" 1t would
De better tnan the Bible for that. II you
want TO study metaphysics, better than the
Bible viii be the writings Of William Harnil-
ton. But if you want 10 know how TO have
sin pardoned, and at last To gain the blessed
ness of heaven, search the Scriptures, "for
In them We have eternal life"
Wien people are anxious about their souls
and there are sore here to-day-there are
those who recommend goo1 books. That Is
all right. But | want to tell you that the
Bible is the best book under such circum-
stances. Baxter wrote "A Call to the I'm
converted,' but the Bible is the best call to
the u~uconverted. Philip Doddridge wrote
The Rise and Progress o: Religion in tue
Soul, y Tut the Bible is the best rise and pro-
lrees. john Angel James wrote. advice
- the Anxious Inquirer but the Bible Is
the best advice to the anxious inquirer.
Oh, the Bible IS the very look you. need,
anxious and inaujring soul, A dying soldier
SID to his mate, 'Conrade, give me u
crop The couIrade shook up the canteeu
:li said, There isn't II l.rop OF water III the
e4nteeu." Oh said ,hs dying soldier.
that's not whnt want ie.i III my KNAPP
~trk for my Bible And his comrade found
the Bible and real him Il few Of the gracious
promises, an The DYING soldier said: An,
lnats what | want. There isn't anything
ak, tn. Blhl,. Tor = dying soldier. is there,
NV coInradet' %, blessed bo,s while We
i've. B.e>sei book wll-n we die.
remark, again, We must seek GottATolgu
church ordinances. "What,' say You,
cant man be saved without going to
church, reply. there are rilen, | suppose,
IN glory, who have never seen Is church;
but the church IS the ordained means by
which W. are u be brought to God: AMI If
truth affects us when we are alone. 1t affects
rs more nightly when VT are IN the
assembly the feelings Of others empha-
sang our Uwn feelings. The great law OF
sympathy comes Into play. and Il truth that
would tike hoai only with the grasp of Il
sick man beats nightly against the soul
with a thousand heart throbs.
When you come IntO the religious circle,
come only with one notion and only for one
purpose-to find the way to Christ. When
[ see people critical about sermons. and
critical about tones OF voices, and critical
about >ernonic delivery, they make me
tAiuk Of u man IN pr'Son. He Is condemned
to death, tut the oil II Of the Government
brings a pardon and pats it through the
wicket OF the prison anil says: Here is your
paruory Come AMI get IT. what Do
YOU cxprc. me - tahe that pardon offered
with such 4 voice as you have, and with such
an awkward manner rs You have? L would
rather tl- than 50 cotnpro MISC my rhetorical
uotion>f' All. tho man does not say that;
ls ,aKes it 1t = his life. He does not care
how It is handed u him. And il this morn
ny that pardon from til throne Of God is
offer, to our eoul, should we not seize 1t.
regardless OF All criticl>ll, feeling that 1t is
u matter OF heaven or he'll?
But | come now TO the last part OF my
text. It tells Us vrnen we are to seek the
Lord. while He may he found" When is
that Old age, You may not see old age.
o-morroWt Iou may not see tomorrow.
Te-night> You may not see tonight. Now!
tb, If could only writ, on Fry heart i'll
threa capital letters that word NOW
now
Sin i an awful disease. l hear people say.
with the toss of the head and with a trivial
manner. Oh yes. I'm a sinner" Sin Is an
awful dlseasa. 1t IS leprosy. 1t is dropsy.
1t is consumption. 1t Is all moral disorders
IN one. Now YOU know there Is q crisis in a
disease. Perhaps YOU have had some illus
irAtion of it III your family. Sometimes the
phvsiclsn has called and ne has looked at
the patient and said: That case was simple
enough, but the crisis has passed. IL you
had called me Yesterday or this morning l
could have cured the patient. 1t Is too lat
nov the crisis has passed. just so 1t Is Ill
the spiritual treatment Of the soul; there Is
u crisis. Before that, life! After that,
death, y my Gear brother, as you love your
soul, DO not let the crisis pass unattended
to-
There are some here who can remember
instances III life when if they had bought q
certain property they would have become
Very rich. \ Few acres that would have
cost them almost nothing were offered them.
! They refused them. Afterward a large vii
LACE OF city spran- up on these acres OF
ground AMI they >ee what q mistake they
made il not buying the property. There
Was an opportunity OF getting 1t. 1t never
came back AGAIN. And So II Is IN regard to
A mans spiritual and eternal fortune. There
is a chance; if You let that go. perhaps it
never COMES bach. Certainly that one
never comes back.
There IS n time which mercy has set for
leaving port. Ii you are on board before
that YOU will get q passage for heaven. If
You are not on beari YOU miss Your pas
sace for heaven. As in lax courts a case ~
sometimes Al urI1ei from term to term.
AMI traun wear 10 Year. TIL the hi! Of costs
eats W. The entlr" estate. - there are men
WHO are a f10urullv Iaa matter OF reil non