The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1896-03-04

hear 1t! The story OF christ is 10
]regenerate the nations; it is TO eradi-
cate all wrong; it is to turn the earth
into a paradise. An old artist painted
the Lords Supper" and he wanted
the chief attention directed to the face
of Christ. When heinvited hisfriends
in to criticise the picture, they admir-
ed the chalices more than they did the
face, and the old artist said, "This
picture is a failure" and he dashed
out the picture of the cups and said:
" shall have nothing to detract from
the face of the Lord. Christ is the
all of this picture"
Another powerful sickle for the
reaping of this harvest is Christian
song. I know in many churches the
whole work is delegated to a few peo-
pie standing in the organ loft. But,
my friends, as others cannot repent
for us and others cannot die for us we
| cannot delegate to others the work of
singing for US. While a few drilled
artists shall take the chants and exc
cute the more skillful music, when
the hymn is given out let there be
hundreds and thousands of voices
uniting in the reclamation. On the
way to grandeurs that never cease and
glories that never die let us sing. At
the battle of Lutzen a general am
to the king and said: "Those SOL
diers are singing as they are going
into battle. Shall I stop them?'
"No," said the king. "Men that
can sing like hal can fight Oh,
the power of Christian song! When
I argue here, you may argue back.
The argument you make against relig-
ion may be more skillful than the
argument I make in behalf of religion.
But who can stand before the pathos
of some uplifted song like that which
we sometimes sing:
Show pity, Lord; o Lord, forgive!
Let q repanting rebel live!
Are not thy mercies large and free?
May not q sinner trust in thee?
AN EFFECTIVE SICKLE.
Another mighty sickle for the reap
ing of the gospel harvest is prayer.
What does God do with our prayers Z?
Does he go on the battlements Of
heaven and throw them off? No.
What do you do with gifts given you
by those who love you very much?
You keep them with great s%acredness.
And do you suppose God will take our
prayers, offered in the sincerity and
love of our hearts, and scatter them to
the winds? Oh, no! He will answer
them all in some way Oh, what a
mighty thing prayer is! 1t is not a
long rigmarole of ''ohs' and Cabs
and ''for ever and ever, amens." It
is a breathing of the heart into the
heart of God. Oh, what a mighty
thing prayer is! Elijah with it reach
ed up to the clouds and shook down
the showers. With it John Knox
shook Scotland. With it Martin Luther
shook the earth. And when Phillip
Melanchthon lay sick unto death, as
many supposed, Martin Luther came
in and said, "Phillip, we cant spare
you" "Oh," said he, "Martin, you
must let lie go! I am tired of perse-
cution and tired of life. I want to go
to be with my Cod "No," said
Martin Luther, ''you shall not 60.
You must take this food, and then /
will pray for you" "No, Martini"
said Melanchthon, you must let me
CO." Martin Luther said, "You take
this food, or I will excommunicate
you" He took the food, and Martin
Luther knelt down and prayed as only
he could pray, and convalescence
came, and Martin Luther went back
and said to his friends, "God has
saved the life of Philip Melanchthon
in direct answer to my prayer" Oh,
the power of prayer! Have you tested
it?
DR.. Prime, of New York, in his
beautiful book entitled "Around the
World" described a mausoleum in
India which it took 2 10000 men 20
>ars to build-that and the buildings
surrounding--and he says, standing
in that mausoleum and utteringa word,
it is echoed back from a height Of $50
feet-not an ordinary echo, but a pro-
longed music, as though there were
angels lowering in the air. And
every word of earnest prayer we utter
has an echo not from the marble
cupola of an earthly mausoleum, but
from the heart of God and from the
wings of angels as they hover, crying,
"Behold, he prays!' Oh, test it!
Mighty sickle for %reaping this gospel
harvest, the sickle of prayer!
FORMS OF LITTLE CONSEQUENCE.
1t does not make so much difference
about the posture you take, whether
you sit, stand Or kneel or lie on your
face or in your physical agonies lie on
your back. 1t does not make any Diff
ference about the physical posture,
as was shown in a hospital, when the
chaplain said as he looked over the
beds of the suffering: "Let all those
wounded men here who would like to
be prayed for lift the hand" Some
lifted two hands; others lifted n
hand; some with hands amputated
could only lift the stump of the arm.
One man, both his arms amputated,
could give no signal except to say:
"Me! Mel Oh, it does not make
any difference about the rhetoric of
your prayers. 1t does not make any
difference about the posture. 1t does
not make any difference whether you
can lift a hand or have no hand to lift.
God is ready to hear you. Prayer is
answered. God is waiting to respond.
cliff up your eyes upon the fields,
for they are white already to harvest
How many have you reaped for God?
Do you ask me how many | have
reaped for God? [ cannot say. Now,
can you say how many you have
reaped? I hope there are some who
have been brought into the kingdom
of God through your fundamentally.
Have there not been? Not one? You,
a man 80, 40, so years Of age and NOS
one? I see souls coming up to glory.
Here is a Sunday school teacher bring
ing 10 or Is souls. Here is a tract
distributor bringing in 40 or 50 souls.
Here is a man you never heard of who
: .--1,