The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-10-30

the blood rolls down the sides of the altar
| and drops Kissing into the fire, and l hear
the words, "Behold the Lamb OF God who
takes away the sins Of the world"
| Well. what are you going to get out OF
this? There is an aged minister OF the gos-
pei. He says: ~ should get out OF 1t that
when God tells you to do thing, whether 1t
seems reasonable to you or not, go ahead
and do it. Here Abraham couldn't have
been mistaken. God didn't speak so indistinct-
| ly that it WAS not certain whether he called
Sarah or Abimelech or somebody else, but
with divine articulation, divine intonation,
divine emphasis. he said, abraham" Abra-
ham rushed blindly ahead to do his duty,
knowing that things would come out right.
Likewise do so yourselves. There is mys-
tery of your life. There is some burden you
have to carry. You don't know why God
has put it on you. There is some persecu-
tion. some trial, ard you don't know why
God allows it. There is work for you to
do, and you have not enough grace, you
think, to do it. Do as Abraham did. Ad-
vance and do your whole duty. Be willing
to give up Isaac, and perhaps you will not
have to give up anything. 'Jehovah-jireh'
the Lord will provide" A capital lesson
this old minister gives US.
Out yonder in this house Is an aged
woman, the light OF heaven In her face. She
Is half way through the door. She has her
hand on the pearl of the gate. Mother. what
would you get out OF this subject? "Oh,"
she says, ~ would learn that it Is in the last
pinch that God comes to the relief. You see.
the altar was ready, and Isaac was fastened
on it, and the knife was lifted. and just at
the last moment God broke in and stopped
proceedings. So it has been in my life Of
seventy years. Why, sir, there was time
when the -four was all out OF the house, and
II eak& &hat oh nf nd
put on it, but FIVE minutes of l o'clock loaf
OF bread came. The Lord will provide. My
son was very sick, and said: Dear Lord,
you don't mean to take him away from
me. do you? Please, Lord, don't take
him away. Why, there are neighbors
who have three and four sons. This is my
only son. This Is my Isaac. Lord, You
won't take him away from me, will You?'
But saw he was getting worse and worse
all the time, and turned round and prayed.
until after awhile felt submissive, and
could say, Thy will, o Lord. be done! The
doctors gave him up, and We all gave him
up. And, rs was the custom in those times.
we had made the grave clothes, and we were
whispering about the last exercises, when
looked and saw some perspiration on his
brow, showing that the fever had broken,
and he spoke to us so naturally that knew
he was going to get we'll. He did get we'll,
and my son Isaac, whom thought was go
ing to be slain and consumed OF disease. was
loosened from that altar. And, bless your
souls, that's been 80 for seventy years, and
If my voice we're not so weak, and II could
see better, I could preach to you younger
people sermon, for though I Ican'tsee much
I can see this-whenever you get into
tough place and your heart Is breaking, II
you will look little farther into the woods,
you will see, caught in the branches, sub
stitute and q deliverance. My son. God will
provide Himself lamb" |
Thank you. mother, for that short sermon.
I could preach back to you for q minute or
two and say, never do you fear! I wish had
half as good hope of heaven as you have.
Do not fear, mother. Whatever happens, no
harm will ever happen to you. was going
up long flight Of stairs and I saw an aged
woman, very decrepit and with cane,
creeping on up. She made but very little
progress, and felt very exuberant, and I
saidto her, "Why, mother, that Is no way to
20 upstairs" and threw nay arms around
her and carried her up and put her down
on the landing at the top Of the stairs. She
said: "Thank you, thank you. am very
thankful" o mother, when you get through
this ife's work and you want to go upstairs
and rest in the good place that God has pro-
vided for you, you will not have to climb up,
you will not have to crawl up painfully. The
two arms that were stretched on the cross
will be flung around you, and you will be
hoisted with glorious lift beyond all wearl-
ness and all struggle. May the God Of Abra-
ham and Isaac be with you until you see the
Lamb on the hilltops.
Now, that aged minister has made sug-
gestion, and this uged woman has made
suggestion. Twill make a suggestion: Isaac
going I'D the hill makes me think OF the
great sacrifice. Isaac, the only son Of Abra-
ham. Jesus, the only SON OF God. On those
two "onlys" build q fearful emphasis. o
Isaac! o Jesus! But this last sacrifice was
a more tremendous one. When the knife
was lifted over Calvary there was no voice
that cried "Stopm and no hand arrested It.
Sharp, keen and tremendous 1t cut down
through nerve and artery until the blood
sprayed the faces Of the e1ecutioners, and
the midday sun dropped a veil OF cloud over
its face because it could not endure the
spectacle. o Isaac of Mount Moriah! o
Jesus of Mount Calvary! Better could God
have thrown away into annihilation thou
sand worlds than to have sacrificed His only
Son. It was not one of the ten sons; 1t was
His only Son. II He had not given up Him,
you and would have perished. "God 30
loved the world that He gave His only"
stop there, not because have forgotten the
quotation, but because I want to think.
"God so loved the world that He gave Ills
only begotton Son that whosoeyer believeth
in Him should not perish, but have everlast-
ing life." Great God, break my heart at the
thought Of that sacrifice. Isaac the only,
typical of Jesus the only.
You say: "1f this young man was twenty
or thirty years Of age, why did not he resistP
Why was it not Isaac binding Abraham, in
stead of Abraham binding Isaac2 The mus
Gle in Isaac's arm was stronger than the
muscle in Abraham's withered arm. No
young man twenty-five years Of age would
submit to have his father fasten him to
pile Of wood with intention Of burning"
Isaac was willing sacrifice, and 80 type
of Christ who willingly came to save the
world. If all the armies Of heaven had re-
solved to force Christ out from the gate,
they could not havs done it. Christ was
equal with God. II all the battalions Of
glory had armed themselves and resolved to
put Christ forth and make Him come out
and save this world, they could not have
succeeded In 1t. With one stroke He would
have toppled over angelic and archangeio
dominion.
! But there was one thing that the omni-
potent Christ could not stand. Our sorrows
mastered Him. He could not bear to see the
world die without an offer Of pardon and
help, and il all heaven had armed itself to
keep Him back, II the gates Of life had been
boiled and double barred, Christ would have
flung the everlasting doors from their
hinges, and would have sprung forth, scat
terlng the hindering hosts OF heaven like
chaff before the whirlwind, as He cried:
$50! come to suffer. Lo! come to die"
Hh r;ot rpillinr eanriAna WILLING to take