The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-08-14

frown Of wrath or its contraction OF palns
II the eye say one thing and the lips say an
other thing, you believe the eye rather than
the lips.
The ewes OF Archibald Alexander and
Charles G.. Finney were the miShtiest part
! of their sermon. George Whiteheld en-
thralled great asscmblages with his eyes,
though they were crippled with strabismus.
Many military chieftain has with look
hurled regiment to victory or to death.
Martin Luther turned his great eye on an as
sassin who came to take his life. and the VIII
| lain fled Under the glance Of the human
eve the tiger, with five times mans strength.
snarls back into the African jungle. But
those best appreciate the value OF the eye
who have lost it. The Emperor Adrian by
accident put out the eye of his servant. and
he said to his servant: "What shall I pay
you in, money or in lands? Anything you
ask me. am so sorry I put your eve out. .
But the servant refused to put any financial
estimate on the value OF the eye, and when
the Emperor urged and urged again the mat
but my lost eye!' Alas for those for whom
thick and impenetrable veil Is drawn across
the face of the heavens aAA the face OF ones
| own kindred. That was 0 pathetic scene
when blind man lighted a torch at night
| and was found passing along the highway,
and some one said. "Why do you carry that
torch, when you can't see2" 'Ah." said he,
IT can't see, but I Icarry this torch that Others
may see me and pity my helplessness,
and not run me down" Samson, the
giant, with his eyes put out by the Phil.
dwarf With vision unchanged. All the
sympathies of Christ were stirred when
He saw Bartimeus with darkened
retina, and the only salve He ever made that
we read OF was a mixture OF dust and saliva
and prayer. with which He cured the eyes
Of a man blind from his nativity. The value
Of the eye Is shown as much by its catastro-
phe as by Its healthful action. Ask the man
who for twenty years has not seen the sun
rise. Ask the man who for half century
has not seen the face Of friend. Ask IN the
hospital the victim Of ophthalmia. Ask the
man whose eyesight perished In powder
blast. Ask the Bsrtimens who never met
Christ or the man born blind who Is to die
blind. Ask him.
This morning, in my imperfect way.
have only limited at the splendors, the glo-
ries. the wonders. the divine revelations, the
apocalypses Of the human eye, and stagger
back from the awful portals Of the physiol-
ogical miracle which must have taxed the
ingenuity OF God, to cry out In your ears
the words of my text. che that formed the
eye, shall He not see?" Shall Herschel not
know as much as his telescopeP Shall
Fraunhoter notlcnow as much as his spec
troscope? Shall Swammerdan not know as
much as his microscope? Shall DR.. Hooke
not know as much as his micrometer2 Shall
the thing formed know more than its mas
ter2 "He that formed the eye, shall He not
see?'
The recoiI Of this question is tremendous.
We stand at the center OF vast c1rcumfer-
ence Of observation. No privacy. On Us,
eyes Of cherubim, eyes Of seraphim, eyes OF
archangel, eyes OF God. We may not be
able to see the habitants of other worlds,
but perhaps they may be able to see US. We
have not optical instruments enough to
descry them; perhaps they have optical In
struments strong enough to descry us. The
mole cannot see the eagle mid sky, but the
eagle mid sky can see the mole mid grass:
We are able to see mountains and caverns OF
another world, but perhaps the inhabitants
Of other worlds can see the towers OF our
cities, the fash OF our seas, the marching OF
our PROFESSIONS, the white robes OF our we'd
dings, the black scarfs of our obsequtes.
It passes out from the guess into the posi-
tive when we are told in the Bible that the
inhabitants Of other worlds do come as con-
voy to this. Are they not all ministering
spirits sent forth to minister to those VINO
shall be heirs of salvation? But human IN
spection, and angelic inspection, and stellar
inspection, and lunar inspection. and solar
inspection are tame compared with the
thought Of divine inspection. ''You con-
verted me twenty years ago. said black
man to my father Chow sof" said my
father. "Twenty years ago" said the other,
sin the old schoolhouse prayer meeting al
Bound Brook you said in your prayer,
Thou, God, seest me- and had no peace
under the eve Of God until became Chris
tian." Hear it. "The eyes Of the Lord are
in every place." ''Hs eyelids try the chill.
dren OF men," "His eyes were as flame OF
fire." 'I will guide thee with Mine eye.
oh, the eye Of God. so full Of pity, 80 full OF
power. go full of love. so full OF indigna,:
tion. so full of compassion, so full Of mercy!
HOW II peers through the darkness How 1t
outshines the day. How It glares upon the
offender. How it beams on the penitent
soul! Talk about the human eye as being
indescribably wonderful! How much more
wonderful the great, searching, overwhelm.
ing eve of God! All eternity past and all
eternity to come on that retina.
The eyes with which we look into each
others face to-day suggest it. It stands
written twice on your face and twice on
mine, unless through casualty one or both
have been obliterated. "He that formed the
eye, shall He not see?" Oh, the eye OF God!
II sees our sorrows to assuage them, sees
our perplexities to disentangle them, sees
our wants to sympathize with them. II we
fight Him back, the eye OF an antagonist. II
we ask His grace, the eye of an everlasting
friend. You often find in book or manu-
script star calling your attention to foot
note or explanation. That star the printer
calls an asterisk. But all the stars OF the
night are asterisks calling your attention to
God-an all observing God. Our every
nerve divine handwriting. Our every
muscle pulley divinely swung. Our every
bone sculptured with divine suggestion. Our
every eve a reflection Of the divine eye. God
above us, and God beneath US, and God be-
fore US, and God behind US, and God within
US.
What stupendous thing to live! What a
stupendous thing to die! No such thing as
hidden trangression. dramatic advocate
in olden times, at night in courtroom, per-
suaded of the innocence Of his client charged
with murder and of the guilt OF the witness
who was trying to swear the poor mans life
away-that advocate took up two bright
lamps and thrust them close up.o the face OF
the witness and cried, May it please the
court and gentlemen Of the jury, behold the
murderer" and the man, practically under
that awful glare confessed that he was the
criminal instead OF the man arraigned at tho
bar. Oh. my friends, our most hidden
sin Is under brighter light than that.
1t is under the burning eye Of God. He is
not a blind giant stumbling through the