The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-03-06

the mount-blessed the poor; blessed the
mourner; blessed the meek; blessed tue hum
cry; blessed the merciful; blessed the pure;
blessed tho peaccmakers; blessed the perse-
cuted; blessed the revlled; blessed, blessed.
blessed: happy. happy, happy. Glorious
good news for the young "a through Christ
they may ha.ve their coming years ennohled.
! and for Il lifetime all the angels OF God their
coadjutors. and all the armies OF heaven
their allies. Glorious good news for the
middle aged as through Christ they may
have their perpleyities disentanged, and their
courage rallied, and their victory over all
obstacles and hindrances made forever sure.
Glorious good news for the aged as they may
have the sympathy of Hin OF whom st. John
wrote "His head and His hairs we're white
| like wool, as white az snow and tho de-
fense OF the everlasting arms. Glorious good
news for the dying as they may have minis
tering spirits to escort them and opening
gates to receive them and sweep OF eternal
| glories to encircle them, and the welcome OF q
loving God to emboSom them.
Oh, my text Is right when it speaks OF the
glorious gospel. 1t is al invitation from the
most radiant Being that ever trod the earth
| or assembled the heavens, to you aud me TO
come and be made happy, and then take af-
ter that royal castle for everlasting resi-
dence, the angels Of God our cup bearers.
The price paid for all of this on the cliff Of
| ll0eStOOo IDOUt rs lHku 10 IntS ttYusS. o'ott
seven minutes walk from the wall OF Jerlsa-
lem. where with an agony that with one
| hand tore down the rocks, and with the other
| drew midnight blackness over the helTens,
our Lord set us forever free Making no
| apology for any one OF the million sins OF our
! life, but confesslng all Of them. we can point
to that cliff of limestone and scy, "There was
paid our Indebtedness. and God never col
lects bill twice." Glad am I that all the
' ho, ovarrn6 fhntr Y
| tolliug the matchless one Of this gospel.
| 1sanc Watts, how do you feel concerning
Him2 And he writes: II am not
ashamed to own my Lord" Newton,
what do You think O.: this gospel?
And he wcitos, Amazing grace, how
sweet the sound!'' Cowper. what
10 you think Of Him? And the answer comesi
There is a fountain filled with blood.
Charles Wesley, what do you think OF Him.
And he answers, "Jesus, lover Of my SOUL,
Horatirls Bonar, what do you think OF HimI
And he responds, II lay my sins on Jesus.
Ray Palmer, what do you think of Him? And
ne writes, "My faith looks up to Thee"
Fannie Crosby, what do you think OF HimP
And she writes, 'Blessed assurance. Jesus Is
mine" But take higher testimony: Solo
mon, what do you think Of Him? And the
answer is, "Iily of the valley" Ezekiel,
what do you think of Him? And the answer
is. "Plant Of renown." David. what do you
think OF Him? And the answer is, "My shep-
herd" st. John, what do you think of Him?
And the answer is, bright and morttinS
sta-." ST. Paul, what do you think OF HIM
And tho answer comes, "Christ is all in all"
Do YOU think as we'll Of Him, o man, Q wo-
man az the blood bought immortal spirit?
Yes, Parl was right when he styled it "the
glorious gospel"
And then as druggist while you are
waiting foe him to make up the doctors
prescription, puts into q bottle SO many
grains o. this, and SO nlauy grains of that,
and so many drops of this, and so many
drops OF that, aud the intermixture taken,
though sour or bitter, restores to health.
SO Christ, tho Divine Physician. prepares
this trouble Of our lifetime, and that disap-
pointment, and this persecution, and that
hardship, and that tear, and we must take
the iGtermiXture. yet though it be bitter
draft Under the divine prescription it ad-
ministers 60 our restoration and spiritual
health, ''al things working together for
God" Glorious gospel.
And then the royal castle into which we
step out OF this life without so much as soil
ing our foot with the upturned earth OF tho
grave. They shall reign forever" Does
not that mean that you are, If saved, to be
kings and queens. and do not kings and
queens have castles? But tho one that you
are offered was for thirty-threa years ar
abandoned castle. though now gloriously in
habited. There is an abandoned royal castle
at Amber India. One hundred and seventy
years ago king moved out OF 1t never to
return. But the castle still stands in indie
scribable grandeur, and you go through
brazen doorway after brazen doorway,
and carved room after carved room.
and under embellished ceiling al
ter embellished ceiling, and through
halls precious stoned into wider halls prec-
ia,,c ufr p.aa M fhob
deeply dyed and tasseled and arched, the fire
OF colored gardens cooled by the snow OF
| white architecture; birds in the arabesque so
natural to life that while you cannot heaE
their vo!ceS you imagine you see the huttei
of their wings while you are passing; walls
pictured with triumphal procession; rooms
that vera called "Alcove Of Light" and
Hall OF Victory marble. white and black,
like u mixture of morn and night: a!abaster,
and mother Of pearl and lacquer work.
Standing before 1t the eye climbs from STEP
to latticed balcony, and from latticed bal.
cony to oriel, and from oriel to arch anG
| from avck to roof aud then descends on lad
| der OF all coors, and by stairs Of perfect
| lines to tropical gardens OF pomeSranate and
| pineapple. Seven stories Of respiendenl
architecture! But the royal castle provided
| for you. II You will only take 1t ON the pre-
scribed terms. is grander than all that; and,
though an abandoned castle while Christ was
here, achiering your redemption, is again oc-
| cupied hy the 'chisf among ten thousand"
! and some of your own kindred who have
gone up and waiting for YOU are leaning
| from the balcony. The windows OF that
castle look off on the Kings gardens where
| immo-tals walk linked in eternal friend
ship. and the banqueting hall Of that castle
has princes and pnncesses at the table. and
the wine is "the new wine Of the kingdom"
| and tho sunDpr ia tha n rarriapa sumner of the
! Lamb, and there are fountains into which no
| tear over fell, and there is music that tre-l-
| bles with no grief, and the light that falls
! upon that scene Is never bcclouded, and there
! is the kiss OF these reunited after long Sepa-
| ration. More nerve will we have there than
now, or wy would swoon' away under the
raptures. Stronger vision will we havo there
than now. or our eyesight would be blinded
| by the hriil;apce. Stronger ear will VIC have
there than now, or under tho roll Of that
minstre!sy, and the clapping Of that accla-
nation, aud the boom OF that haleiuiah we
| ould be isisat91
Glorious gospel. You thought religion
was s.raitjacket: that 1t put you on the
limits; that thereafter you must go cowed
down. No. no, no! 1t is to be castellated.
BY the cleansing power of the shed blood of
GolSOtha SGT your faces toward the shining
piunaclr$. Oh. it DOES not matter much
what becomes of us here-for at the longest
our stay il Short-if We can only land there.
You SEQ thera are 80 many l do want to
meet thee. Joshua, my favorite prophet,
and John among the evangelists. and Paul
among the apostles. and Wyclif among the
martyrs. AMI Bourdaloue among the preach
ers. and Dante among the poets, and
Haveock among tho heroes, and
missed since they left Us SO many darlings OF
the heart their absence sometimes almost