The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1894-03-28

remember a few years ago, when every
paper in the United States had an edi-
torial on the subject, els There Such a
Thing as Future Punishment" It was
the strangest thing that there should be
a discussion in the secular papers on that
subject, but every paper in the United
States and in Christendom discussed,
SIS There Such a Thing as Retribution:"
I know there were small wits who made
sport Of the discussion, but there was
not an intelligent man on earth who, as
the result of that discussion, did not ask
himself the question, 'eWhat is going to
be my eternal destinyY So it was in re-
gard to Tyndalfs prayer gauge.
About IL years ago, you remember,
the secular papers discussed that, and
with just IS much earnestness as the re-
ligious papers, and there was not a man
in Christendom who did not ask himself
the questions:"Is there anything in pray
er? May the creature impress the Gre
atorY' Oh, what a mighty fact, what a
glorious fact-the secular printing press
and the pulpit of the church OF Jesus
Christ harnessed in the same team!
Then look at the international series
of Sunday school lessons. Do you know
that every Sabbath, between 8 and 5
o'clock, there are 5 ,O0O, 900 children study
ing the same lesson-a lesson prepared
by the leading minds of the country
and printed in the papers-andthen these
subjects are discussed and given over to
the teachers, who give them over to the
children? So, whereas, once, and within
our memory, the children nibbled here
and there at a story in the Bible, nov
they are taken through from Genesis to
Revelation, and we shall have 100000
children forestalled for Christianity. My
soul is full Of %e1ultation. I feel as if I
could shout will shout, "Alleluia, the
Lord God omnipotent reigneth!"
SCIENTIFIC CONSOLATION.
Then you notice a nor significant
fact, if you have talked with people on
the subject, that they are getting dissat-
isfed with philosophy and science is a
matter of comfort. They say it does not
amount to anything when you have a
dead child in the house. They will tell
you, when they were sick and the dooro
the future seemed opening, the only CON-
fort they could find was in the gospel.
People are having demonstrated all over
the land that science and philosophy can
not solace the trouble and woes of the
world, and they want some other reli-
gion, and they are taking Christianity,
the only sympathetic religion that ever
came into the world.
You just take your scientific consola-
ton into that where /. mother has
lost her child. Try in that case your
splendid doctrine of the survival of the
fttest." Tell her that child died because
it was not worth as much as the other
children. That is your survival of the
fttest." Go to that dying man and tell
him to pluck up courage for the future.
Use your transcendental phraseolosy up
on him. Tell him he ought to be conf
dent in 1.-The great to be-" and the ever
lasting now" and the eternal what is
it." Just try your transcendentalism
and your philosophy and your science on
him.
Go to that widowed soul and tell her
it was a geological necessity that her
companion should be taken away from
her, just as in the course Of the worlds
history the megatherium had to pass out
of existence, and then you go on in your
scientific consolation until you get tothe
sublime fact that $4,000, 900 years from
now we ourselves may be scientific spec
linens on a geological shelf, petrifed
specimens of an extinct human race.
And after you have got all through
with your consolation, if the poor aflict-
ed soul is not crazed by it, I will send
forth from this church the plamest
Christian we have, and with n half
hour of prayer and reading of Scripture
promises the tears will be wiped away,
and the house from floor to cupola will
be flooded with the calmness Of an In
dian summer sunset. There is where !
see the triumph of Christianity. Peo-
pie are dissatisfied with everything else.
They want God. They want Jesus Christ.
Talk about the exact sciences. There
is only one exact science. tits not math-
ematics. Taylor's logarithms have many
imperfections. The French metric sys-
tenn has many imperfections. The only
exact science is Christianity-the only
thing under which you can appropriately
write, "Quod erat demonstrandum."You
tell me that two and two make four.
I do not dispute it, but it is not so plain
that two and two make four as that the
Lord God Almighty made this world
and for man, the sinner, he sent his only
begotten Son to die.
I put on the witness stand to testify
in behalf Of Christianity the church
on earth and all the church in heaven.
Not 80, not a thousand, not a million,
but all of the church on earth and all
the redeemed in heaven.
A QUESTION OF TESTIMONY.
You tell me James A. Garfield was IN
augurated presidentof the United States
nm the 4th of March. 1881. How do l