Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1896-11-19
PASSION OF SOULS.
-" IALMAGE'S SUNDAY THEME
D.'' 7" ay to Cultivate h Div;re
-"Ssion for Souls is to Work o.
Their Salvations. "

"eLr SalvatiOns.
aExE II could wish tina. myself were
aScursed from Christ for NV brethren. nv
H.. g. :" "' ho'h.~-i'ohah'
tan 1ough passage, inieel, for those vh5
.heoiogians declared that they wore ,%r,lli,,o
W damned for the glory 81 Col. they III
"n"t no one believed. Paul did not ~, ,ha
So hedn ne was willing to di. forever 70
VIZ us rsiatives. He usei hyperbo.e. an
w. nc ucciarcd, II could wish that nvself
49, accursed from Christ for nv brethren
Iy kinsinen according to the ceah " \.
az IA tue most vehement of all possible
49, ueciare his anxiety for he .alva,io,
relatives and friends. i. was > passion
oftD" NO. more than one Christian out
oa9dlcs 81 Christians feels il. All ab-
oorplhS desire for the betternent ~ ~.
unysicai and mental condition Is very com
MN. II would take more of n p,thera-
.ciah ,-an L ever eau be to Calculate bor
ILL are, up TO an f.nxiety that sometimes
w hot let them sleep nights. planning for
Ine clnciency OF hospitals where IN. siok
anu wounded OF body arc treated. am for
80 anu ear 1nfirmaries. and for dispensar.4
-. .o.teats where tho poorest NAV have
~ az selilui surgery AMI helpful treatment.
- Is beautiful and glorious this wide
spread and ever inteDsifyinc roovare,t -
"ncVIate and cure physical misfortunes.
10y uoa encourage ana help the thousands
,.on.I nn men and women engage in that
\MohA' put aHthat is outside OF my subject to-
guy. In behalf Of the immortality al y man
the inner eye, thu inner ear. tho inner "a.
Pacity Tor gladness or distress, how few feel
anything like tho overwhelming concentra-
iaon expressed in my text. Rarer than four
iea,ved clovers, rarer than century nfon.c 1
rarer than primasdonna, have been tbo,. al
~ncfn it may be said, "rhey have Il passion
Ior souls" You cnull count on the fingers
a4u numb OF your left hanI all tho name.
othose you can recall who in the last-.he
Were 50 characterized.
hri the names OF those you could recall in
ourtine as having this passion for soui3 yos
eait count on the fingers and thumbs OF YOUR
rlgnt and left hands. There are many more
suci eonsccrated souls. but tfiey are scattered
so widely you do not know them. T~horouyh4v
christian people by the hundreds Of millions
tnere are to-day, but how lew peopie 10 sou
know who are utterly obliviou, To every
th'nR I'D TINS world except the ~redenption Of
Souls! Paul had 1t when he wrote my text.
ana the time wilt come when the majority Of
Christians will have il, if this world is eyer
10 be lifted out Of the slough in which it has
been sinking and Laundering for near nlnn-
teen centuries, and the hetterment had bet
ter begin with myself and yourself. Whena
CoEl1nittee OF the Society OF Friends called
upon a Il to reprinand him Tor breal-
ing some small rule OF the society. the mcIn-
Der replied: 81 hal q dream, in which all
the friends had to plan some way
10 have our meeting house cleaned. for il
was very filthy. Many propositions were
made, but no conclusion was reached unit.
one OF the members rOs" and said. Friends,
think ii each one would take II broom and
sweep Immediately around his own seat, the
meeting house would be- clean.'' so let
tho work OF spiritual III Improvement begin
around our own soul. Some ore whispers
up from the right hand side OF the pulpit
and says, will you pleas" nam" some Of
the persons III our times who have this pas
sion for Souls?" Oh, no. That would be in
vidious and impruient, and the mere men
tioning of the names OF such persons might
cause in them spiritual pride, and then the
Lord would have no more use for them.
Some one whispers up from the left hand
side Of the pulpit, Will you not, then. mem
ton among the people OF the past some who
had this passionfor souls?" oh. yes. Samuel
Rutherford, the Scotchman OF 300 years ago
his Imprisonment ut Aberdeen for his re-
ligious zeal, and the public burning Of mis-
book, LEX Rex" in Edinburgh, and his un-
just a~rraigu,uant for high treason and other
! prosecutions, purifying and sanctifying him
80 that his works, entitled Trial and
Triumph OF Faith and 'Christ Dying and
Drawing Sinners to. Himself and, above
all, his 215 Unparalleled letters showed that
no had the passion for souls: Richard Baxter.
whose "Paraphrase Of the New Testament
caused him to be dragged before Lord JET
freys, who howled at him as "a rascai' ant
'SnIVellnE presbyterian ana. imprisoned
him for two year.-Baxter, writing les r"
]igious books, his "Cail to the Uncovered
bringing amounted thousands into the par
don of the gospel, and his Saints Everlast
ing Rest" opening heaven to a host innun
cradle; Richard Cecil Thomas a kempis
writing his 'Imitation OF Christ FOR all ages
Harlan Page, Robert McCheyne, Nettieton
Finney and more whom | might mention
the characteristic of whose lives was an over
passion for souls. a. 3. Earl, tn
Baptist evangelist. had it. t. lnskip, tn
Methodist evangelist. had II. Jacob knapl
had it. DR.. Bachus, President Of Hamilton
College. had it. And when told he had onl,
hall an hour 10 ike said: us that so rhel
take me out OF my bed ana place me upol
my and lp4 me spend that time in call
ing on God for the salvation of the world.
And so he died upon his knees. Then thcr
have been others whose names have bee
known only in their own family or neg ppr
hood. and here and there YOU think o@nf
What JUNCTION they had in prayer! VIVA
mower they had in exhortatioa. II the
walked intoa home. every member ot 1t lei
a holy thrill. AMI II they w1lked into
PRAYER meeting tho dizziness and stoiidit
Instantly vanished. One Of them Woul
wake up whole church. One OF them Wous
sometimes electrify 4 Whole city
But the most wonderful ono Ct that char
acterizatiOn the world ever saw or heard Q
felt was a peasant in tho Ear lust. Wearln
a main blouse like an inverted wheat ea.h
with three o~penin-~-onc ior tina meek an
the other two for the arms, HIS 'atLer
wheeIwright and house builder aud given I
various carpentry. His mother 1t lr~t und.
susnicion because of the circumstances OF II
nativity, and He chased by Il ierodlc mann
out of His native land - live awhile und'
the shadows Of the sphinx and pyramid
Gizeb, afterward contoundinS tue LII. II
OF Jerasalem, then stopping the Taroxystr
III tempcst :fs1 81 .Aldman. Ills pain StreW
with slain dropsies and cataiepsies anu onI
thalmias.. transfiSured on one n!ountai
preaching on another mountain, dying
another mountain and ascending from a
other mountain--thc greatest, the loveite-
the mishtiest, the kind1 Sd the m hos. t ,sll- sx
touched the earth. Tell us, We deserts W
heard otr Saviour's PRAYER. tell US. We SCI
that drenched Him with Your surf: tell u
We nul,itudes who heard Him rr"aeh :
Ieol. on beach. en- hillside: tell u, &c
cotha, who heard the stroke Of til" ha'nm
on the spikeheads and the dylnS -roan
that midnight that dropped on miinoo
did anyone like Jesus have tins passion I
souls? -,