The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1894-02-03

anything in Carlyle, or Goethe, or Her
bert Spencer, that could compare il
strength or beauty with Paul's Epistles
donot think there is anything in ths
writings of Sir William Hamilton thai
shows such mental discipline as you
find in Paufs argument about justifi
cation and the resurrection. have
not found anything in Milton finer in
the way of Imagination than I car
find in st. Paurs illustration
drawn from the amphitheater
There was nothing in Robert Emmett
pleading for his life. or in Edmund
Burke arraigning Warren Hastings in
Westminster hall, that compared with
the scene in the court room. when be-
fore robed officials Paul bowed and be-
gan his speech, saying: 81 think my
self happy. King Agrippa, because
shall answer for myself this day.. re-
peat, that religion that can capture a
man like that must have some power
in it. it's time you stopped talking
as though all the brain of the world
were opposed to Christianity. Where
Paul leads. we can afford to fol-
low. | am glad to know that
Christ has in the different ages of the
world had in His discipleship Mozart
and Handel in music; Raphael and
Reynolds in painting; an Angelo and
Canova in sculpture; Rush and a
Harvey in medicine; Grotius and
Washington in craftsmanship; a Black
stone, Marshall and Kent in law;
and the time will come when the re-
ligion of Christ will conquer all the OBJ
servatories and universities, and phi
losophy will through her telescope be-
hold the morning star of Jesus, and
In her laboratory see 'sthat all things
work together for good" and with
her geological hammer discover the
Rock of Ages" Oh. instead of
covering and shivering when the skep-
tic stands before you and talks religion
as though it were pusillanlmous thing
instead of that, take your Testament
from your pocket and show him the
picture OF the intellectual giant of all
the ages, Frustrated on the road to
Damascus while his horse is flying
wildly away; then ask your skeptic
what it was that frightened the one
and threw the other. Oh, no; it is no
weak Gospel 1t is glorious Gospel. |
1t is an all-conquering Gospel. 1t is |
an omnipotent Gospel 1t is the power
of God and the widom of God unto sal
walton.
Again, learn from the text a man
can not become Christian until he is
The trouble is, we want to
ride into the kingdom of God, just as
the knight rode into the castle gate on
a palfrey, beautifully caparisoned. We
want to come into the kingdom of God
in fine style. No kneeling down at
the altar. no sitting on anxious Seats"
no crying over sin; no begging
1T the door of Gods mercy.
Clear the road, and let us come in all
orancing in the pride of our soul. No,
We will never get into Heaven that
way. We must dismount There is
10 knight-errantry in religion, no
ringed trappings of repentance, but
IN utter prostration before God, a go
ng down in the dust with the cry:
'Unclean, unclean!"-a bewailing of
he soul. like David from the belly of
leila going down in the dust, until
'hrist by His grace lifts us up as He
fitted Paul. Oh, proud-hearted hear.
r, you must get off that horse May
light from the throne of God bright
r than the sun throw You. Come
own into the dust and cry for pardon, ,
nd life. and Heaven.
Again, learn from this scene of the ,
ext that the grace of God can over ,
ONE the prosecutor. Christ and Paul
vere boys at the same time in different ;
iilages, and Paul's antipathy to Christ .
'as increasing. He hated everything
bout Christ. He was going down
hen with writs in his pockets to have
hrist's disciples arrested. He was not :
DING as sheriff goes, to arrest a man
yainst whom he had no spite, but !.
aul was going down to arrest those
eople because he was glad to arrest ,.
lem. The Bible says: "He breathed
ut slaughter. He wanted them cap
lred. and he wanted them butchered.
hear the click and clash and clatter .
the hoofs of the galloping steeds on ?
} Damascus. Oh! do you think that }.
loud man on horseback can ever be- y
me Christian? Yes, there is a
ice from Heaven like thunder-clap u
'tering two words, the second the r.
me as the first, but uttered with q
ore emphasis, so that the proud n
Iuestrian may have no doubt as n
who is meant: saul! Saulr' n
nat man was saved, and he
IS prosecutor; and so God can by His m
ace overcome any prosecutor. The n
Us OF sword and fire for Christians W
EN- to have gone by. The bayoneters 81
Napoleon l. pried open the ..Inqui- m
ion" and let the rotting wretches m
t. The ancient dungeons around II
'me are to-day mere curiosities for W
Q travellers. The Coliseum, where
Id beasts used to suck up the life of 81
e martys while the emperor watched in
d Lola Paulina sat with emerald II
ornments worth sixty million ses- 70
'ces, clapping her hands as the Chris
ms died under the paw and the tooth tn
The lion-that Coliseum is ruin now. sp
e scene of the Smithfield fire is a at
y market The day of FIRE and Ell
ord for Christians seems to have gone OPP
; but has the day of persecution tn
'sed? No. Are you not caricatured de
your religion? In proportion as no
! try to serve God and be faithful to mi
n, are You not sometimes NAL pa