Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1896-12-11

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years, without the omission OF single
week. I have been permitted to preaen
one entlrs gospel sermon through the news
paper press. I thank God for this great
opportunity. Glorious old century! You
Shall not be entombed until we have, lace 10
face, exto.led ycu You were rocked III u
rough cradle. and the inheritance you re-
oeived was, for the most part, poverty ana
struggle and hardship, and poorly covered
graves OF heroes aud heroines OF Wnom lhe
world had not been worthy, an atheism an !
military despotsm, and the wreck OF Ine
French revolution. You inherited the in1u-
ences that resulted in Aaron Burr's tres5oni
and another war with England, anil battle
of Lake Erie, and Iniian savagery, and
Lundy's Lane, and Dartmoor massacre. and
dissention, bitter al wild beyond measure
ment, and African slavery, which was YET TO
cost Il National hemorrhage OF four aWIul
years aud a million precious lives.
Yes. dear old century, you had IN awful
start, and you have done mora than well 4,
| considering your parentaga al your early
environment. 1t is q wonder you dill not
turn out 10 be the vagabond century OF all
time. You had a bad mother ar1 bad
grandmother. Some OF the preceding can
turtles vera not A. TO live in--their morals
were so bad, their fashions were so outrage
OuS, luclt lbuOrduC6 Was 80 ub1oF, luclI III
humanityso terrific. Oh, dying nineteenth
tunity Of telling you that you are the best
and the mightiest OF ali tho centuries OF tho
Christian ora except the first, which gave us
the Christ, aud you rival that century in the
fact that you more thaa all the other centur-
les pct together are giving the Christ to all
the world. One hundred end twelve thousand
dollars, at one meeting few days ago con-
tributed for tho worlds evangelzatioD.
Look at what you have done, thou
abused AMI deprecated century. All
the Pacific isles, barred and bolted
against the gospel when you began
to reign, now all open, and some OF them
more Christianized than America. No more,
as once written over the church doors in
Cape Colony. "Dogs and Hottentots not adj
.mitted." The late Mr.. Darwin contributing
1925 TO the Southern MissionarySociety. Cam
inibalism driven off the face OF the earth. The
gates OF all Nations wide open for the gospel
entrance when the church shall give up its
intellectual dandyism. and quit fooling with
higher criticism. and plunge into the WORK,
Jas at Il life saving station the crew pull out
with the lifeboat to tako the sailors of o
ship going to pieces in the Skerries. / thank
you. old and dying century. All heaven
THANKS you and surely all tAe Nations OF the
eyes, soon to be dim for the last sleep, the
facts tremendous. take your wrinkled old
hand and shake it in cOngratulation. l bathe
your fevered brow AMI freshen your parched
Ups from the fountains of eternal victory.
But my text suggests that there are soma
things that this century ought to do before
he leaves u.s. "Thus saith the Lord, "Set
thine house in order. for thou shalt die ami
not live" We ought not to let this century
80 before two or three things are set in order
For one thing this quarrel between laHor and
capital. The nineteenth century inherited
it from the eight eenth century, but do not
lei this nineteenth century bequeath it TO
the 1entieih. "What Wa want" says labor,
"to set us right is more strikes and more Wig
orous work with torch and dynamite"
"What we want" says capital, "is Il tighter
grip on the working classes and compulsion
to take what Wagee we choose to pay, With
out reference 10 their nosds." Both wrong
as sin. Both defiant. Until the day of judg-
ment no settlement Of the qnarrelifyou leave
it to British, Russian or American politics.
The religion of Jesus Christ ought to come
In within the next four years and take the
baud of capital and employee and say: "You
have tried everything else and failed. Now
try tho gospel of Kindness" No more OPP
preston and no more strikes. The gospel OF
Jesus Christ will sweeten this accr-
the the end of time, and the fires that
burn the world up will crackle in the ears OF
wrathful prosperity and indignant toll while
their hands are still clutching at each others
throats, Before this century signs its last
breath would THAI swarshy labor and easy
opulence would come UP and let the Carpen-
ter Of Nazareth Join their hands In pledge Of
everlasting kind less and peace. When men
4 \ 4l,oxv - 20 1o
among their children mementos, and one Is
given watch, and another O vase, and
another picture. and another rope. Let
this veteran century before it dies hand over
to the human race, with an impresslveness
that shall last forever, TINT old family keep
sake, the golden keepsake which nearly 1890
year. ago Was handed down from tho black
rock Of the mount OF beatitudes, "Therefors
all things whatsoever we woulI that men
should DO to you. do ye even 50 10 them, for
for this is the law ana the prophets"
Anorher thing that needs to be set in
order before the veteran century quits US
is more thorough and all embracing plan
for the worlds garlenization. We have
been trying to save the world from the
top. and it cannot be done that way. 1t |
has got to be saved from tho bottom. The
church ought to BIZ only a West Poirt to
drill soldiers for outside battle. What il
military academy should keep its students
from age 10 age in the messroom and tho |
barracks? No. no. They are wanted at |
Montezuma and Chapullepec AMI South |
Mountain and Missionary Ride, and the
church is no place for a Christian to stay |
very long. He is wanted at the front. He
is needed in tae desperate charge OF taking
the parapets. The last great battle for
Col is not to be fought on the campus OF
a college or the lawn Of church. 1t is 10
be- fought at Missionary Ridge. Before
this century quits us let us establish the
habit Of giving the forenoon OF the Sab
bath to the churches AMI the afternoon and
he evening OF the Sabbath to gospel work
in tho halls and theaters and streets and
fields and Sums, and wildernesses OF sin
aud sorrow. Why do Christians who have
stuffed themselves with "the strong meat of
he word" aud all gospel viands on Sabbath
'oreuoons want to come up 10 second SER
vice and stuff themselves again2 These Old
at the gospel feast need to get
INTO outdoor work with the outdoor gospel
hat was preached on the banks OF tho JOr-
IAN and on the fishing smacks OF Lake Cali
ee, and in the bleak mir OF Assyrian noun
aims. I an told that throughout all our
Am 9rican cities the second Sabbath services
n the majority Of churches is spIrsely, yea,
attended. and is the distress OF
he consecratel and eloquent pastors who
,ring heir learning aud piety before pews
chastity for their inoccupancy. What is the
1royidential meanng2 The greatest of all
,vLngellsts since Bible times recently sug-
,ese that the evening services in all the
churches b. turned into the most popular
tyle OF evangelistic meetings for outsiders.
surely that is an experiment worth making.
+ that does not succeed, then it does seem
o me all the churches which cannot secure