The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1896-01-03
gains or deplore its worst losses or roll up its
mightiest magnitude or sweep its vaster

Oh. what question. what an important
question! Is there any question that COM
, pares with 1t in Importance? What is Ii now
| to Napoleon III. whether he triumphed or
surrendered at Sedan, whether he died at
the Tuileries or Chiselhurst, whether he was
emperor or exile? Because he was laid out
| in the coffin in the dress of a field marshal.
did that give him any better chance for the
future than il he had been laid out in a
plain shroud? What difference will 1t soon
| make to you or to me whether in this world
| we walked or rode. whether we were bowed
| to or maltreated, whether we were applaud
| ed or hissed at, welcomed in or kicked out?
While laying hold OF every moment OF the
| future and burning in every sp,endor or
every grief and overarching or undergirding
| all time and all eternity will be the plain.
startling. infinite, stupendous question of
the text. "What must do to be saved?'
Again, characterize this question OF the
aSitated Jail keeper rs one crushed out by
his misfortunes, pressed out by his misfor-
| tunes. The falling of the penitentiary. his
| occupation was gone. Besides that the
| flight ofn prisoner was ordinarily the death
| of the jailer. He was held responsible. If
nll had gone well. if the prison walls had not
been shaken of tho earthquake. if the pris-
oners had all STAYED quietly in the stocks, il
| the morning sunlight nad calmly dropped on
the iailors pillow, DO you think he would
have hurled this red hot question from his
soul into the ear of his apostolic prisoners?
All. no. You know rs well us / do it was the
| earthquake that reused him up. And it is
asG the same Question: 1T has been so with
| Il multitude of you. Your apparel !s not rs
| bright as it once was. Why have you
| changed tho larb! Do you not like solfer-
inc and crimson and purple as we'll as once?
Yes. But you say: "While / was prosperel
| and happy thos" colors were accoriHnt with
my feelings. Now they would hn discord to
my soul" And so you nave plated uD the
shadows into your apparel. The world is Il
very different place from what ii was once
for you. Oncev said. "Oh, if ] could only
have 1t quiet u little while" 1T is too quiet.
Some people say that they would not
bring back their departed friends from
heaven even If they had the opportunity.
but II you had the opportunity you would
bring back your loved ones. and soon their
feet would be sounding in the hall, and soon
their voices would be heard in the family,
and the old times would come back Just as
tho feStal days OF Christmas and Thaukssiv-
inS-days gone forever. Oh. it is the earth
quake that startled you to asking this ques-
tion-the earthquake of domestic misfortune
Death is so cruel. so devouring, so relent-
less, that when ii swallows up our loved
ones we must have some ono to whom we
can carry our torn and bleeding hearts We
nced a balsam better than anything that
ever eXuded from earthly tree to heal the
panS of tho soul. 1t is pleasant to have our
friends gather around us and tell us how
sorry they are. aud try to break up the lone
illness, but nothing but the hand of Jesus
Christ can take the bruised soul and put it
in His bosom, hushing il with the lullaby of
heaven. o brothcri o sister, The grave
stone will never be lifted from your heart
until Christ lifts it. Was il not the loss of
your friends. or the persecution of your enc
mics, or the overthrow OF your worldly cs-
tat"-waS it not an earthquake that STARTLED
YOU out TO ask this stup"ndouS question Of
nv text.
But remark acain. characterize, this
question Of the aG;at"d Jail keeper as hasty,
urgent and Immediate. He put it on the
run. BY the light Of his torch ;ls he goes to
look for the apostles. behold his face, see the
startled look and seq the rarncS. ness. No
one can doubt by that look that the man is
in earnest. He must have that question an
swerel before the earth stops rocking, or
perhaps he will never have il answered at
al. Is that tie way, my brothc., my sister
You are putting this question? i it on tho
run? IL il hasty! Is it urgent? Is il imme-
diate! IL il is not, it will not be answered.
Ihat is the only Kind of question that is an
swercd. 1t is the urgent and Immediate
question oi tho gospel Christ answers a
great many are asking this question, but
they drawi 1t our, and there iS Indifference
In their manner. as II they DO not mean il.
Make II IN urgent question and then YOU
Will have il answered before an hour passes
before n minute pasS"s. When Il man with
all the carneSln">S "a his soul cries out for
God. he finds Him, and finds Him rishi
away.
On. are there not in this house o-dayt those
who ar" poStpOninS until the last hour OF
liHin; the Attending tOthc things of the soul?
| Gve It as my opinion that EineGy-nine out
Of the ono hundred dea.h-hrd rcpcntances
amount to nothing. OF all the scores of per-
sons mentioned ~ dying in the Bible. of how
mlnv do you read that they successfully re-
rentcd in the last hour? or 30. No. or 40!
No. OF 30! No. Of2I? No. Or 10? No.
or 81 No. OIL? Only one. barely one, nS
if to demonstrate the fact tn II there is II bare
possibility OF repentance in tho last hour
But that is improbahlr. awiuiIy improbabIc,
terriicnlly Improbable One hundred to
one against the man. If, my brother,
my sister. you have ever seen Il man
try TO repent in the last hour, YOU
have seen something very sad. | do not
know anything on earth SO sad to See n
man to repent on Il dcathbrd. There iS no,
from the moment that life begins To breathe
in infancy to the last gasp such an unf;tvor-
able. completely unf'!vorlDlc. hour for re-
pcnta zee as tho death hour. the last hour |
There are the doctors standing with the
medicines. There is the lawyer standing
with the half written will. There i the
family in CONSERVATION to what is to be-
come Of them. All the bells OF rternity ring
ing tn" sou! ont of tho body. All the past
rising before Ms and all the future. Oh. that
man is an infinite fool VINO procrds:inatcs to
the dcathb?d his repentance
My text does not answer the question. 1t
only asks it, with deep and impnrtunato car
ncstncSs asks il. and according, 10 the rules
of srrmomiHng you would say, 'Adlourn
that To some other time" but dara not.
What are the rules of s"rmonzn.; to me
wncn am alter sous? What uth"r time
could hav" when uUraapS this is the only
;m"! Inis might - my las; time for
rrra"h.ng this might be you" last time for
hearing.
Artrr my friend in Philadelphia died his
children gave his church Bible To me- aud
read u, looked over It with much interest. ]
Jaw in tine margin, written i'll lead pencil,
"Mr Talma@e said this morning that the
most useless thing in Gods universe is that
any sinner should perish" | did not ramcn-
tn 4 -
now whether said il then or Dot--thr most
useless thing in ull Gods universe is that any
sinner should perish. Twelve gates wide
open. Have you not heard how Christ bore