Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1896-02-08

20 49,
or going to pieces il the ofiny, the wreckers
shoot II -ore our to the suffering men 1ney
grasp 4. an the wrrcaars turn the cynnaer.
and the rope winds around The cEiinief. ana
! those who ar -Iiipyrecked are saved. 80 at
/ Your feet. today. there Is ali influence win
q tremendous leverage. The rope attdcEeu
70 1t swings far ont into the billovy future:
Your children. Your children children anl
all ihe generations that are to follow VIII
grip that Influence and feel the long reacl-
ing pull long after the figures On your toinu-
--3ne ara 50 near worn out that the VISITOR
cannot tell whether il was 1886 OK 1t9o or
1886 that you died.
Still further | learn from this subject the
advantage Of concerted action. II Alb me-
i. h had merely gone out with a tree brahcn,
the work would not have been a,eonpttsnei,
Or If ten, twenty or thirty men hal gone,
bat when all the axes are lifted aad all the
sharp edges fail, ami all these men carry
each his tree branch down aud threw II
about the temple. the victory Is Sa1ned-,he
temple falls. Ny friends. where there is one
man in the church Of God at this day shout
aerine his whole duty there are a great
rl..ny who never lift al Ak or swing a bough.
1t seems to Ine as If t1rre were ten drones IN
every hive TO one busy bee: az though there
were twenty sa.lorS sounf asleep III the
ship hamnocks 10 four men on the stormy
deck. 1t seems as if there were 5O.00t men
belonging to the reserve corps. and Oily Iooo
active conbatants. On. we all want our
beats To get over to the golden sands,
bat the most Of Us are seated either IN
the Prov or in tina stern, wrapped IN
our striped shawl, holding Ii big handled
suashaie, while othora are b~iistered ID the
heat AMI all until the c;srlocks groan and
the blades bend till they snap. Oh. you re-
ligiol5 s!e~cpyhca1-, wake up: You have
lain 50 long in one place that the ants and
"aterpillar5 have begun t. crawl. over you!
What do you know. my brothers about n liv-
/ lno cHSraI made TO storm the WOTY0( NOW.
my idea of Il Christian Is a man on fire with
Za;.i f9r God, and if your pul1a&-dinariiy
beats sixty times q minute when you think
of other themes and talk about 0tket themes,
II Your Pulse does NOT so up t. -seventy-iVe
or eighty when You come to talk about
Christ and heaven, i is because you do not
know the one. and have a poor chance CT
getting to the other.
In a former charge one Sabbath l took
into tho pulpit the church records. and |
laid them III the pulpit and opened them
and said: ''BrethreR here are the church
records. iud a great many OF YOU whose
ra,nts aro down here are of duty" Soma
were afraid | would read the names, for at
tHat time some Of them were deep in the
worst kind OF Gil stocks and were Idle rs to
Christian work. But ii ministers Of Christ
to-day should bring the church records into
the pulpit and read, oh. what Il flutter there
would be. There would not be fans enough
i'll church TO keep the cheeks cool. [ do not
know but it would be a good thing il the
minister once i'll awhile should bring the
church records iii the pulpit and call the
roll, 70; that is what [ consider every church
record to be-merety n muster roll Of tho
Lord. army-and the reading OF it should
reveal where every soldier is and what he is
tiuihg.
Suppose n military circles on the morning
q battle the roll was called, and out Of 1909
lsn only 100 men in the regiment answered.
What excitement there would be in the
camp. What would the colonel say? What
high talking there would be among the
captains aai majors anI the al lutants.
Suppose word came to headquarters that
these ~d"iinauents excused themselves on the
ground that they hal oversight themselves,
or the morning WIS damp and they We're
afraid 0! getting their feet wet, o: that they
were busy cooking rations. Ny friends. this
is the morning OF the day OF Goi A'ni.htys
battle. Do you not SEQ tho troops? Hear
We not all the trumpets Of heaven and all
the drums Of hell? Which side are you on?
1t you are on the right side. to what
cavalry troop. to what artillery service.
to what garrison duty do you belong?
ln other words, in what Sabbath school
DO you teach2 In what prayer meeting
do you extort? To what p%enitentiary do you
declare eternal libert:? To what falmshous1
!, do You announce the riches Of heaven!
What broken bone of sorrow have you ever
set? Are You doing nothing? Is it possible
lttdC It man OF WOUlt1 sworn 10 bC Il ICliOWcE
Of jesus Christ is doing nothing? Then hide
the horrible secret from tho angels. Keep it
away from the book Of judgment. If you
: ara doing nothing. do not let the world fine
it out, lest they charge your religion with
being a false face. Do not let your cowardice
; an! treason be hear1 among the martyr.
about the throne. lest they forget the sane.
!. titv Of the place anl denounce your betraya
o that cause for which they aSonized and
died.
The temple Of Berth is very broad. and il
f is very high. 1t has been going up by th'
hands Of men and devils. and no human en-
gincoring can demOlish it. but if the 20, 00l
ministers OF Christ liz this country should
each take Il brancl of the tree of life. and al
their congregations should do the same, ant
!. we should march on and throw thest
branches around the great temples of sin ant
; worldliness and folly. it would need m
. match or coa! or torch Of our to touch of
I the pile. for. as in the days Of Elijah. fir,
: would fall from heaven AMI kindle the bon
t fire Of Christian victory over demolished sin
i Still further. learn from tnis subject tn
{ Danger OF false refugees. As soon as thes
Sc?ecnemitoS gOt into the temple the
thought they We're safe. They said: 'Baritl
will take care Of us. Abimelech.may bate
down everything else. He cannot bate
, down this temple where We arc now hid.
= Bat very soon hey heard thc timhers crack
! llH-. aud they were smnthered with smoke
4 ttAd tiIEs iiilSNItttS tith. L SupDoSb ctpE
: person in this ausiienca this moment is step
ping into some kind OF refuge. Here NO
h step in the tower Of good works. You say
Il bali be safe in this refuge The battle
n ments are adorned; the steps are vanished
on the wall are pictures o. all the ~suffcrin
: vou have a!ieviated. and all the schools vo1
! have established. an3 all the fine things yor
. have ever done. Up III that tower you fee
: rol are safe. But hear You not thetramp q
Your unpardonei sins all AROUND the tower
they ach have a match. You arr kind!in
s the comhus:ible material. You feel the hea
i AMI the sufTocation. Oh. may YOU lean i
ticle, the gospel declaring. by the deeds Z
the lay snail no flesh living be Justified"
/ Well you say. Il have been driven OF
of that tower. Where shall | go:" Ste
int" this tower Of Indifference. You say. u
h this tower i attacked. it will be a srea
) waiA h"fera Il i taaeu.' You feel al eas,
int there i an Abinalech with ruthless a,
-anEt coming en-. Death and his forces ar
gathering around. aud they demand that yo
i eurren Ter everything. aud they clafnor fc
l. Eolr overthrow, and they throw their ske.t
Ion arms in he window. AMI with their iro
I is they beat against the door. and viii
= <sf are Z Eju,f tpHr tita1 c;1- .-,-r "a. 4 +