The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-11-25


dew shaken from the top of grass blade by
the cows hoof on its way aheld this morn
ing, as compared with Mediterranean and
Arabian and Atlantic and Pacific watery do
minions!
A stranger desired to purchase farm, but
the owner would not sell it-woud only let
it, The stranger hired 1t by lease for only
one crop, but he sowed acor1s, and to ma
ture that crop 300 years were necessary. That
was a practiced deception, but deceive you
not when tell you that the crop OF the soul
takes hold Of unending ages.
see the author Of my text seated IN the
house OF Gaius, who entertained him at
Corinth, not far from the overhanGing for
tress of Acro-C -Corinthus, and meditatlng on
the longevity of the soul and getting more
and more agitated about its value and the
awful risk some of his kindred were running
concerning it, and he writes this letter con-
tanning the text, which Chrysostom admired
go much he had it read to him twice week,
and among other things he says those dar-
ing and startling words OF my text, ~ could
wish that myself we're accursed from Christ
for my brethren, my kinsmen, according to
the fesh."
Another way TO get something OF the
Pauline longing for redeemed immortalties
Is by examining the vast machinery ar
ranged to save this inner and spiritual ma
ture. That machinery started to revolve on
the edge OF the garden Of Eden, just after
the cyclone OF sin Frustrated its sycamores
an6 tamarisks and willows and will not cease
to revolve until the last soul OF earth shall
get rid OF its last sin and enter the heavenly
Eden. On that stupendous machinery for
soul saving the patriarch put his hand, and
prophet his hand, and evangelist his hand,
and apostle his hand, and Christ His hand,
and almost every hand that touched 1t be-
came crushed hand. 1t was the most ex-
pensive machinery ever constructed. It cost
more to start 1t and has cost and will cost
more to keep 1t running than all the wheels
That machinery turned not by ordinary
motive power, but by force OF tears and
blood. To connect its bands Of influence
made out OF human and Christly nerves with
all parts Of the earth millions Of good men
and women are now at work and will be at
work until every wilderness shall become a
garden, and every tear OF grief shall be
tear Of Joy, and the sword OF divine victory
shall give the wound to the old dragon that
shall send him bowling to the pit, the iron
gate changing against him. never again TO
open. All that and infinitely more to save
the soul! Why, 1t must be tremendous
soul-tremendous for good or tremendous
for evil, tremendous for happiness or tre-
mendous for woe.
Put on the left side OF the largest sheet Of
paper that ever came from paper mill sim
gle unit, the figure !, and how many ciphers
would you have to add to the right OF that
figureto express the souls value, each cipher
adding tenfold2 Working into that scheme
of the souls redemption, how many angels
Of God descending and ascending! How
many storms swoopInS on Lake Galllee! How
many earthquakes opening dungeons and
striking cataclysms through mountains, from
top to base! What MONDAY sun was put on
retreat! What omnipotence lifted and what
Godhead was put to torture! All that Tor
the soul. No wonder that Paul, though pos
sessing great equipoise Of temperament when
he thought what his friends and kindred
were risking concerning their souls, flung
aside all his ordinary modes of speech, argu-
ment and apt simile, and bold metaphor. and
learned alluslon, as unfit to express how he
felt. and selling upon the appalling hyper
boIism OF my text cries cut, II could wish
myself accursed"-that Is. struck OF the
thunderbolts Of the omnipotent God, sunk
to unfathomed depths, chained into servi-
tude to Abaddon and thrust into furnaces
whose fires shall never burn out-if only
those whom I love might now and forever be
saved. Mind you, Paul does not say, II do
wish" He SAYS, III could wish" Even in
| the agony he felt for others he did not lose
| his balance II could wish myself accursed." +"
| could, but do not. Only one being that
ever lived was literally willing to give up
heaven for perdition. and that was the d.
| vine peasant whom mentioned few mo-
ments ago. He was not only willing TO ex-
change dominions Of bliss for dominions OF
wretcheduess, but BE did 30, for, that He
forsook heaven. witness the STOPPING star
and all those who saw His miracles OF mercy,
| and that He actually entered the gates OF the
worlo OF perpetual conhagration the Bible
distinctly declares. He did not say, with
Paul, ~ could" but he said, II will, I do, "
and for the souls OF men He descended into
| hell
In this last half Of the last decade Of the
nineteenth century the temperature In the
churches Is very low, and most Of the piety
would spoil If It were not kept on ice. And.
taking things az they are, ordinary Chris
tians will never reach the point where the
outcry of Paul in the text will not seem like
extravaganza. The proprieties in most Of the
churches are 80 fixed that all Christian Is
expected to do on Sunday Is to get up little
| later in the morning than usual, put on that
which is next to his best attire-not the very
| best, for that has to be reserved for the levee
enter the church with stately step, bow
| his head, or at any rate shut his eyes In
prayer time. or close them enough to look
| sleepy, turn toward the pulpit with holy
dullEess while The preacher speaks, put 5
cent piece-or, if the times be hard, / cent
piece-on the collection platter, kind OF shov-
| ing Il down under the other coin 40 that It
might be, for all that the usher knows, S5
! gold piece, and then, after the benediction. 90
| quietly home to the biggest repnst OF all the
week. That Is all the majority OF Christians
are doing for the rectification Of this planet.
and they will do that until, at the close OF
| life, the pastor opens black book at the
head of their casket and reads. blessed are
the dead who die IN the Lord. They rest from
| their labors and their works do follow them. !"
| The sense Of the ludicious Is so thoroughly
developed in me that when l hear these
| Scripture words read at the obsequies Of one
OF the religious do nothings in the churches
| II is too much for my gravity. "Thelr works
do follow them" What work2 And in what
| direction do they follow them-up or down?
And do they follow on foot or on the wingP
And how long will they follow before they
catch up? More appropriate funeral text
| for all such religious dead beats would be
the words in Matthew XIV, 8: "Our lamps
are gone out" One would think that such
! Christians would show at least under whose
| banner they are enlisted. In one OF the
Napoeonic wars q woman-Jeannette by
name-took her position with the troops and
shouldered broomstick. The colonel said,
'Jeannette, why do you take such useless
weapon into the ranks2"' 'Well," she said.
II can show. at least, which side am on. -
Now, the OF ject Of this sermon Is to stir at
least one fourth Of you to an ambition for
that which my text presents In blazing
rocabulary-namely. passion for souls. To
prove that It is possible to have much OF that
spirit, bring the conservation Of 1890 foreign
missionaries. 1t is usually estimated that
there are at least 5000 missionaries. make
q liberal allowance and admit there may be
10 Lad missionaries out OF the 5000, but do
not believe there is one. All English and
American merchants leave Bombay, CAL
cutta, Annoy and Pekin rs soon as they
| -.to III. So..,,,o. JUby2 Ronouaa no