The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1893-03-29
,;b,e. Standing amid the dreadful and des


martial strains OF victory make the chorus
like an anthem Of eternity. This book
seems to you the ocean OF truth, on every
wave of which Christ walks-sometimes In
the darkness of prophecy, again IN the
splendors with which he walks on Gaiilee.
In this book apostle answers to prophet,
,SauI 70 Isalan nevelarlon to Genests-Zlori-
ous light, turning midnight sorrow into the
midnoon toy, dispensing every fog, hushlng
every tempest. Take this book; it Is the kiss
of God upon the soul OF lost man. Perfect
Bible. complete Biblei No mau has ever
proposed any Improvement.
God provided Saviour. lie Is con-
plete Saviour-God-mau-d and
humanity united in ths same person. He
set up the starry pillars OF the univ 9 rse and
the towers of light. He planted the cedars
and the heavenly Lebanon. He str uck out
of the rock the rivers Of life, singing under
the trees, singing under the thrones. He
quarried the sardonyx and crystal and the
topaz Of the heavenly wall. BE put down
the Jasper for the foundation and heapsd up
the amethyst for the capital and swung the
Il gates which ara IL 2pesrls. In one instant
He thought out a universe, and yet He be-
came child crying for His mother. feeling
along the sides of the manger, learning TO
walk.
Omnipotence sheathed in the muscle and
flesh Of q child's arm; omuisclence strung IN
the optic nerve Of q childs eye: infinite
love beating in child's heart; great Goa
appearing in the form Of q child year old,
S years old, Is years old While all the
heavens were ascribing to Him glory and
honor and power on earth, men said, "Who
Is this feliows' While all the heavenly
hosts with folded wing about their faces.
bowed down before Him crying. "aoly,
holy" on earth, they denounced Him as
blasphemer and sot. Rocked in boat on
Gennesaret and yet he it Is that uudtrked
the lightning from the storm clou1 and dis
massed Lebanon Of its forests and holds the
five oceans on the tip Of His finger as the
leaf holds the raindrop.
Oh, the complete Saviour, rubbing His
hand over the place where we have the pain,
yet the stars Of heaven the adorntng gems
OF His right hand. Holding us In His arms
when we take our last view Of our dead. Sit.
ting down with Us on the tombstone, and
while we plant roses there He planting con-
ISOLATION in our heart, every chapter stalk,
every verse q stem, every word rose A
complete Saviour, oomplets Bible, COM.
plete universe, complete Jordanic passage.
Everything that God does is complete
Assin, learn from this Jorianic passage
that between Us aud every Canaan OF sue.
cess and prosperity there is q river that
must be passed. "Oh, how I would like
to have some Of those grapss on the other
sider' said some OF the Israelitss to Joshua.
SWELL" says Joshua, why don't you cross
over and get themT There IS o river OF
difficulty between us and everything that Is
worth knowing. That which costs nosnlnS
is worth nothing. ....9.
God didn't intend this world for an easy
parlor, through which we are to be drawn
Ia a rocking chair, but we are to work our
passage climb mastS fight battles, scale
mountains and ford rivers. God makes
everything valuable difficult to get at, for
the same reason that He put ths gold down
In the mine and the pearl clear down IN the
sea-to make US dig and dive for them. We
acknowledge this principle in worldly things;
oh, that we were only visa enough TO ac'
knowledge it in religious things! E.
You have scores Of illustrations under
your own observation where men nays had
the hardest lot and been trodden unier foot,
and yet after awhile had it easy. Now their
homes blossom and bloom with p.ctures
and carpets that made foreign looms laugh
now embrace their feet; the sum ner winds
lift the tapestry about the window gorS .ou'
enough for Turkish sultan; impatient
steeds paw and neigh at tha door. their car
riages moving through the sea OF New YORK
life a very wave Of spleudor.
Who isit. Why, it is a boy who came to
New York with dollar in his pocket and
all his estots slung over his shoulder in a
cotton handkerchief. All that silver on the
dancing span is petrifed sweat drops; that
beautiful dress is the faded calico over
which G I'D put His hand of perfection, turning
it to Turkish satin Or italian silk; those dia-
monds are the tears which suffering froze as
they fell. On, there is river OF difficulty
between us and every earthly achievement.
olp hot
You know this Is so with regard to the
acquisition of knowledge. The ancients
used to say that Vulcan struck Jupiter on
the head and the goddess OF wisdom jumped
out, illustrating the truth that wisdom
comes by hard knocks There was river
Of difficulty between Shakespeare, the boy,
holding the horse at the door OF the London
theatre, and that Shakespeare, the great
dramatist, winning the applause OF all au.
diences by his tragedies. There was river
between Benjamin Franklin, with loaf OF
bread under Lis arm, walking the streets OF
Philadelphia. and tnat same Ben amin
Franklin, the philosopher, just outside OF
Boston flying q kite in the thunderstorm.
An idler was cured OF his Cad habit by
looking through the win low, night after
night, at man who seemed sitting at his
dess turning of one sheet OF writing alter
another until almost the dawn OF the morn
ing. The man sitting there writing until
morning was Industrious Walter Scott; tie
man who looked at him through the window
was Lockhart his illustrious biograpler
afterward. Lord Mansfield. pursued oy the
press and by the populare, because Of u GER
tain line Of duty, went on to discharge the
duty, and while the mob were aroul him
demanding the taking OF his life he shook
his fist in the face OF the mob and said,
'tSirs, when ones last end comes, it cannot
come too soon ie he falls in defense Of law
and the liberty OF his country"
And 80 there is my friends, tug. tus-
sle, trial, a push, an anxiety, turou IN
which every man must go before he comes
to worldly success and worldly achievement.
You admit it. Now be wise enough to ap'
ply it in religion. Eminent Christian char
acter is only gained by the Jordanic
passage, no man just happened to get good
Why does that man know SO muca about
the Scripturesf He was studying thu Bible
while you were reading novel. He was on
fire with the sublimities o. the Bible while
you were sound asleep; by tug tussle, push
ing and running in the Christian life thst
man got so strong for God; in hundred
Solferinos he learnei how to fight: In hun.
dred shipwrecks he learned how to swim
Tears over sin, tears over Zion'S desolation,
tears over the impenitent, tears over the
graves made. are the Jordan which that
man had passed. Sorrow pales the cheek,
and fades the eye. and wrinkles the brow,
and wirhers the hands. There are mourn
ing garments in the wardrobe, and there are
deaths in every family record; all around are
the relics Of the dead.
The Christian has passed the Rsd sea Of
trouble, and yet he thinks there is Jordan
Of death between him and heaven. he
comes down to that Jordan Of death and
thinks how many nave been lost there.
When Molyneu1 was exploring the Jordan
IN Palestine, he had his boats all knocked to,
pieces in the rapids OF that river. And there