The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-10-09
q Christ when he can ride In one Of these

So you have found out, and so have found
out. If there are any people who you would
think ought to have had good time in get
ting out of this world. the apostles OF Jesus
Christ ought to have been the men. Have
you ever noticed how they got out Of the
world? st. James lost his head; st. Philip
was hung to death against pillar; st.
Matthew was struck to death by haloerd;
st. Mark was dragged to death through the
streets; ST. James the Less had his brains
dashed out with fuller's club; st. Matthias
was stoned to death; st. Thomas was struck
through with spear. John Huss In the
fire, the Albigenses. the Waldenses, the
Scotch Covenanters-did they always find
smooth sailing? Why go so far2
There Is a young man In store In new
York who has a hard time to maintain his
Christian character. All the clerks laugn
at him, the employers in that store laugh at
him, and when he loses his patience they
say, "You are pretty Christian" Not 80
easy is it for that young man to follow
Christ. If the Lord did not help him hour
by hour, he would fail. There are scores OF
young men to-day who would be willing to
testify that in following Christ one does not
always find smooth sailing. There 1s
Christian girl. In her home they do NOT
like Christ. She has hard work to get silent
place in which to say her prayers. Father
ligion: brothers and sisters opposed to reltg-
ion. The Christian girl docs not always find
it smooth sailing when she tries to follow.
Jesus. But be OF good heart. As seafarers,
when winds are dead ahead, by setting the
ship on starboard tack and bracing the yards
make the winds that oppose the course pro-
pei the ship forward, 80 opposing troubles,
through Christ, veering around the bowsprit
Of faith, will watt you to heaven when, ifthe
-, L1l hof
rocked and sung you to sleep, and while
dreaming Of the destined port Of heaven you
could not have heard the cry OF warning and
would have gone crashing into the breakers.
Again, my subject teaches me that good
people sometimes get very much frightened.
From the tone and manner OF these disciples
as they rushed into the stern OF the vessel
and woke Christ up, you know that they are
fearfully scared. And 80 1t Is now that you
often find good people wildly agitated;
"Oh!" says some Christian man, "the infldel
magazines, the bad newspapers, the spirit
ualistic societies. the importation OF 30 many
foreign errors. the church Of God Is going to
be lost, the ship Is going to fouuder! The
ship Is going down" What are you fright
ened about2 An old lion goes into his cav
ern to take sleep, and he lies down until
his shaggy name covers his paws. Mean
while the spiders outside begin to spin webs
over the mouth of his cavern and say. "That
lion cannot break out through this web"
and they keep on spinning the ,gossamer
threads until they get the mouth OF the
cavern covered over. "Now," they say,
.'the lions done. the lions done" After
awhile the lion awakes and shakes himself,
and he walks out from the cavern, never
knowing there were any spiders webs, and
with his voice he shakes the mountain. Let
the inhdels and the skeptics of this day 60
on spinning their webs, spinning their Inn.
del gossamer theories, spinning them all
over the place where Christ seems to be
sleeping. They cay: "Christ can never
again come out. The work Is done. He
can never get through this logical web we
have been spinning" The day will come
when the Lion of Judah's tribe will rouse
himself and come forth and shake nightly
the Nations. What then all your gossamer
threads? What is spiders web to an
aroused lion? Do not fret, then, about the
worlds going backward. It Is going for
ward.
You stand on the banks of the sea when
the tide is rising. The almanac says the
tide Is rising, but the wave comes up to
certain point and then it recedes. why
you say, "the tide is going back" No. 1t 1s
not. Thenext wave comes up a little higher,
and it goes back. Again you say the tide Is
comes to higher point, and then to higher
point. Notwithstanding all these recessions
at last all the shipping Of the world knows it
is high tide. So it Is with the cause OF Christ
in the world. One year it comes up to one
point, and we are greatly encouraged. Then
it seems to 60 back next year. We say the
tide is going out. Next year it comes to @
higher point and falls back, and next year it
comes to still higher point and falls back,
but all the time 1t Is advancing, until 1t shall
be full tide, land the earth shall be full OF
the knowledge of God as the waters fill the
sea-"
Again, I learn from this subject that Christ
is God and man in the same person. l 90
into the back part of that boat, and 1 look
on Christ's sleeping face and see In that face
the story of sorrow and weariness, and
deeper shadow comes over His face, and
think He must be dreaming OF the cross that
is to come. AS I stand on the back part OF
the boat looking on His face I say: che isa
man! He is man. But when I see Him
come to the Prov OF the boat, and the sea
kneels in His presence, and the winds ioid
their wings at His command, say: HE is
God! He is God" The hand that set
up tho stormy pillars OF the universe
wiping away the tears OF an Or
phan! When I want pity and sympa-
thy. go into the back part of this boat, and
I look at Him. and say: 20 Lord Jesus,
Thou weary One, Thou suffering One, have
mercy on mel" "Ecce honor Behold the
man! But when want courage for the con-
1ict of life. when want some one to beat
down my enemies, when want faith for the
great future, then come to the front OF the
boat and see Christ standing there in all
His omnipotence, and say, 20 Christ, Thou
who couldst hush the storm can hush all my
sorroWs nil nv foundations all NV iearS!"
"Ecce Deus" Behold the God!
learn also from this subject that Christ
can hush the tempest. Some OF you, my
hearers, have q heavy load OF troubles.
Some OF you have wept until you can weep
no more. Perhaps God took the sweetest
child out of your house, the one that asked
the most curious questions, the one that
hung around you with greatest fondness.
The gravedigger's spade cut down through
your bleeding heart. Or perhaps 1t was the
only one that you had. and your soul has
ever since been like desolated castle, where
the birds of the night hoot amid the falling
towers and along the crumbling stairway.
Or perhaps 1t was an aged mother that was
called away. You used to send for her when
you had any kind of trouble. She was
in your home to welcome your children
into life, when they died she was there
to pity you. You know that the old
hand will never do any more Kindness
for you, and the lock of white hair that you
keep so we'll in the casket of the locket does
not look so we'll as 1t did on the day when
she moved it back from the wrinkled fore
head under the old fashioned bonnet in the
property has gone You said. sThere,
have so much in bank stock, so much have
In lands, 80 much I have In securities"
Suddenly If is all gone AiaSi for the man