The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1896-11-19
| HLNAGE SERMON.
81 could wish that myself were ac-s
cursed from Christ for my brethren,
my kinsmen according to the fesh.''
Romans, TX, g.

could wish that myself were ac-s
cursed from Christ for my brethren,
my kinsmen according to the desh.''---
Romans, TX, 8.
tough passage, indeed. for those
who take Paul literally. When some
of the old theologians declared that
they We're willing to be damned for
the glory Of God, they said what no
one believed. Paul did not in the text
mean he was willing to die forever to
save his relatives. He used hyperbole,
and when he declared, II could wish
that myself were accused from Christ
for my brethren, my kinsmen accord
ing to the flesh" he meant in the most
vehement Of all possible ways to de-
clare his anxiety for the salvation Of
his relatives and friends 1t was q
passion for souls. Not more than one
Christian out Of thousands Of Christ
ians feel it. ALA bsorbing desire for
the betterment Of the physical and
mental condition is very common. It
would take more Of a mathematic
than / ever can be to calculate how
many are, up to an anxiety that some
times will not let them sleep nights,
planning for the efficiency Of hospitals
where the sick and wounded Of body
are treated, and for eye and ear in
firmaries, and for dispensaries and re-
treats where the poorest may have
most skilful surgery and helpful treat
ment. Oh, it is beautiful and glorious,
this widespread and ever intensifying
movement to alleviate and cure physi-
cal misfortunes. May God encourage
and help the thousands Of splendid
men and women engaged in that work.
But all that is outside Of my subject
to-day. In behalf of the Immortality
of man, the inner eye, the inner ear,
the inner capacity for gladness or dis
ress, how few feel amy thing like the
overwhelming concentration expressed
in my text? .5s
Rarer than four-leaved clovers, rarer
than century plants, rarer than prima
5donnas, have been those of whom it
may be said, They had a passion for
souls" You could count on the fin
gers and thumb of your left hand all
the names Of those you cam recall, who
in the last, the eighteenth century,
were so characterized All the names
of those you could recall in our time
as having this passion for souls you
can count on the fingers and thumbs
are many more such consecrated souls
but they are scattered so widely you
do not know them. Thoroughly Chris
tian people by the hundreds of millions
there are to-day but how few people
do you know who are utterly oblivious
to everything in this world except the
redemption Of souls? Paul had it when
he wrote my text, and the time will
come when the majority Of Christians
will have it, if this world is ever to be
lifted out Of the slough in which it has
been sinking and foundering for near
nineteen centuries. And the better
ment had better begin with myself
and yourself
When committee of the Society Of
Friends" called upon a member to rep
rimand him for breaking some small
rule of the society, the member re
piled: II had dream in which all the
Friends had assembled to plan some
way to have our meeting house clean
ed, for it was very filthy. Many prop
ositions were made, but no conclusion
was reached until one Of the members
rose and said, Friends, | think if each
one would take broom and sweep
Immediately around his own seat, the
meeting house would be clean" So
let the work of spiritual improvement
begin around our own soul. Some one
whispers up from the right-hand side
of the pulpit and says, .'Will you
please name some of the persons in
our times who have this passion for
souls?" Oh, mol That would be invid-
iOus and imprudent, and the mere
mentioning Of the names Of such per-
sons might cause in them spiritual
pride, and then the Lord would have
no more use for them. Some one whis-
pers UP from the left-hand side Of the
pulpit, evil you not then mention
among the people of the past some
who had this passion for souls?"
Oh, yes. Samuel Rutherford, the
Scotchman of 800 years ago, his i'm
prisonment at Aberdeen for his relig
ious zeal, and the public burning Of
his book, LEX Rex in Edinboro, and
his unjust arraignment for high trea-
son and other, prosecutions purifying
and sanctifying him, so-that his works
entitled s.TrialSand Triumph Of Faith"
and 'sChrist Dying and Drawing Sin
ners to Himself and above all, his
215 unparalleled letters, showed that
he had the passion for souls. Richard
Baxter, whose "Paraphrase Of the
New Testament caused him to be
dragged before Lord Jeffries, who
howled at him as "a rascal" and "sniv-
cling Presbyterian" and imprisoned
him for two years-Baxter, writing 16S
religious books, his Call to the Uncon-
verted' bringing uncounted thousands
into the pardon Of the Gospel, and his
Saints Everlasting Rest" opening
heaven to host innumerable. Rich
ard Cecil, Thomas-a -Kempis, writing
his Limitation Of Christ" for all ages.
Harlan Page, Robert McCheyne. Net
Teton, Finney, and more whom might
mention, the characteristic Of whose
lives was an overtowering passion for
souls. A. b. Earl, the Baptist dVangel-
list, had it. l. s. Inskip, the Methodist
evangelist. had it. Jacob Knapp had
it. Dr. Bacchus, president Of Hamil-
ton college, had it, and when told he
had only half an hour to live, said, is
that so? Then take me out Of my bed
ana place me upon my knees, and let
me spend that time in calling on God
for the salvation of the world. . And
so he died upon his knees.
Then there have been others whose
names have been known only in their
own family or neigh borhood. and here