The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1896-05-13

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struggle in which the kings of the
earth and the whole world gather
themselves to the battle of the great
day of God Almighty.
This combative element in man
needs to be sanctiied; it needs to be
consecrated to the cause Of truth and
righteousness, but without it there
is no heroic endurance; no %unconquer-
able resolution and no grand achieve
ment. What Joab said to Abishai,
his brother, on the eve of a great
pitched battle, with the combined
armies of Ammon and Syria, is not
only the fervid utterance Of a lofty
and courageous spirit, but is the key
note of all high endeavor: "Be strong
and of good courage, and let us play
the man for our people and for the
cities of our God" The words of the
martyred Apostle here are saturated
with this spirit Of conflict. It's very
terms smell of the dust and the car
mage of the battle. In full view of
the tragic end of his wonderful life, in
a calm review of all the past, he de-
clares he had fought a "good fight"
What is there that makes it a good
fight? What is there here which not
only relieves conflict of its horrors,
but which even sanctifes it
We answer it was a fight of faith,
and, therefore, recognized and insist
ed on the supremacy of the spiritual
over the material, of the unseen over
the seen, and of the eternal owe the
temporal. How much of the activity
and energy of this world has its su-
preme end in those things that perish
with the using? The things sought
may be good and desirable as means
to something better, but they are
worthless, utterly worthless, and de-
grading when they are chosen as the
chief goods.
It is cheerfully conceded thatin this
activity there may be much that is
noble and c~ommendable. There is
courage, zeal, stern business, fidelity,
fertility of resourc and a deep sagac-
ity in comprising the subject sought.
But these high qualities do not shield
from disastrous failure lives that are
bounded in their aspirations by three
score years and ten. Millions may be
accumulated and the highest earthly
dignities may be reached, but upon it
all is written, "the glory is departed"
Such human endeavor can never bring
into play the highest activity of the
soul. Conscience is stripped of it's
crown, life is robbed Of it's imperisha-
BILE glory and death is reckoned an
eternal sleep.
But let it be said and said with en-
phasis, that by the very constitution
of a nation. the moral and the spiritual
will sometimes assert their Just claims.
In spite of all efforts at suppression
and disbelief man recognizes and bows
to the unseen. Even those who stout
ly deny it's reality and parade their
doubts, the very Sadducee, who says
that there is neither angel nor spirit,
even he sometimes surrenders to the
power of that which is lost to sight.
The memory of his dead lives with
him, and all the past beckons to him
with a vanished hand. 1t only re-
quires some supreme perils, some pres
ent calamity to extort even from the
atheist the cry 20 God, if there is a
God, have mercy on my soul, if I have
a soul" This is the instant and ir-
repressible revolt of nature against
the artificial belief of ease and securi-
ty. In one dread moment all the
cobwebs of sophistry are torn away.
In the "good fight" of the Apostle
he ever yielded himself, body and
soul, to Him whom having not seen he
loved. The distinctive feature of
this faith is confidence in a person
rather than belief in doctrine or sys-
tenn of doctrines. How striking the
declarations, "Believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved
"Come unto Me, all yc that are labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest" What a wide gulf inter-
venes between a belief Of this sort
and belief of a system, however ortho-
dox?
Must it be Athanasian creeds
Or holy water, books and beads;
Must struggling souls remain content
With Synods and DEGREES of Trent"
1t is this belief in an unseen Pres
ence, an Almighty Father, a tender
and sympathizing Saviour, which
saves this world from despair. 1t
takes the canker out of our cares, the
drudgery out of our tolls and the bit
terness out of our sorrow. With one
like unto the Son of man we can
walk through the fiery furnace of ey-
cry affection. Thus sustained they Of
old subdued Kingdoms, wrought right
eousness; : waxed valiant in
the fight and turned to flight the arm
les of the aliens. How the thought,
the assurance of this abiding Presence
cheered the heart of the Apostle in
his great fight of afliction. Christ
vas to him a glorious reality. Wheth-
er at Coriuth or Ephesus, or upon the
high seas, tempest tossed IN some
fierce Euroclydon, there was always the
voice of this invisible friend, saying {:
Fear not, PAUL.
2. Then, too, 1t was a good light be-
cause the weapons used were spiritual
and not %carnal. We have said, and
we shall not withdraw the statement
or modify it, that spiritual victories
are sometimes won with shot and
shell. While ambitious men are seek
ing only conquest and revenge, God
is advancing the Kingdom Of right
eousaess. But this is not the Divine
method of building up this Kingdom.
David said to the giant of Gath:
'"Thou contest to me with a sword and
with a spear, and with a shield; but |
come to thee in the name of the Lord
of Hosts. the God of the armies of
Israel, whom thou hast defed." Moral
evil cannot be dealt with on the prin-
ciple of physical force. 1t may be
checked and restrained by pains and
penalties, but it cannot be eradicated
by such means; no more than a plague
can be stopped by a cannonadc. The
simple means which tho Apostle used
and which God has ordained for curing
the curse of sin are the word, sacra-
mcnts and prayer. These are the
revolutionary agencies Of the world.
The Church has found it so. Every
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