St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1896-12-12
Remarkable Discourse on the Pcs
sion for Saving 9oulA



hyperbole. and when he declared, Il
could wish that myself were accursed
from Christ for my brethren, my kins-
men according to the flesh, he meant
In the most vehement Of al possible
ways 20 declare his anxiety for the
salvation OF his relatives and friends.
1t was passion for souls. Not moro
than one Christian out Of thousands
of Christians feels it. All-absorbing
desire for the betterment Of the phys
ical and mental condition is very COM
mon. 1t would take more of . mathe-
matician than ever can be to calcu-
late how many are, up to an anxiety
that sometimes will not let them sleep
nights, planning for the efficiency of
hospitals where the sick and wounded
of body are treated, and for eye and
ear infirmaries, and for dispensaries
and retreats where the poorest may
have most skillful surgery and helpful
treatment Oh! il il beautiful and
glorious, this widespread and ever in.
tensifying movement to alleviate and
cure physical misfortunes. May God
encourage and help the thousands Of
splendid men and women engaged in
that work.
But all that is outside of my subject
to-day. In behalf of the immortality
Of = man, the inner eye. the inner ear,
the inner capacity for gladness or dis
tress, how few feel anything like the
overwhelming concentration expressed
in my text. Rxrer than four-leaved
clovers, rarer than century plants,
rarer than prima donnas, have been
those Of whom it may be said: "They
had passion for souls" You could
count on the fingers and thumb of
your left hand all the names of those
you can recall who in the last, the
eighteenth. century were SO charac-
terized. All the names CT those you
could recall in our time ~ having this
passion for souls you can count on the
fingers and thumbs of your right
aud left hands There are many
moro such consecratcd souls, but
they are scattered SO widely
you do not know them. Thor
oughly Christian people by the hum
dreds of millions there are to-day, but
how few people do You know who are
utterly oblivious to everything in this
world except the redemption of souls?
Paul had it when he wrote my text.
and the time will come when the ma
jority of Christians will have it, if this
world is ever to be lifted ont of the
slough in which it has been sinking
and laundering for nearly nineteen
centuries. And the betterment had
better begin with myself and your
self. When 4 committee of the ''So-
ciety of Friends" called upon a men,
Der to reprimand him for breaking
some small rule of the society. the
member replied: II had a dream in
which all the Friends had assembled
to plan some way to have our
meeting house cleaned for it
was very filthy. Many propositions
were made. bnt, no .cp4clnsion was
reached until onk of FL S4bers rose
ard said: Friends, l think If each
one would take y broom and sweep
immediately around his own seat. the
meeting house would be Clean" So
let the work d spiritual Improvement
begin around OUR own Soul. Someone
whispers up" from therikht hand side
Of the. pulpit and says: Twill you
please name some Of the: persons in
our tunes who have this passion for
souls?" Oh, no! That would be invid-
ions and imprudent, and the mere
mentioning of tAeAanicss of such per
sons might cauSe in them spiritual
pride, and then the Lord would have
no more use for them.
Some one whispers up from the left
hand side of the pulpit: Twill you
not, then. mention among the people
of the past some who had this passion
for souls?" Oh, yes! Samuel Ruther-
ford, the Scotchman of 3OO years ago,
his imprisonment 1t Aberdeen for his
religious zeal. and the public burning
of his book, LEX Rex" in Edinburgh,
and his unjust arraignment for high
treason, and other prosecutions puri.
flying and sanctifying him, 50 that his
works. entitled: Trial and Triumph
Of Faith. and ''Christ Dying and
Drawing Sinners to HIMSELF" and
above all. his 2l5 unparalleled letters,
showed that he had tina passion
for souls. Richard Baxter, whose
'Paraphrase of the New Testament
caused him to DO dragged before
Lord Jenries, who howled 1t him a u
rascal" and ''sniveling Presbyterian
aud imprisoned him for two years
Baxter writing l6s relisious books, his
''Call to the Unconverted" bringing
uncounted Thousands into the pardon
of the Gospel, and his ''Saints' Ever
lasting rest" opening Heaven to = hos,
innumsrable. Richard Cecil. Thoma.
. Kempis, writing his Humiliation Of
Christ" for all ages; Harlan Page
Robert McCheyne. Nettleton Finney
And more whom ! might mention, ths
characteristic Of whose lives. was ~
overtowering passion for sould. A. b
Earl, the Baptist.evangelist had it.. l
s. Inskip. the Methonist evangelist
had. IT, jacob Knapp had it 9 DR.
Bachus. president Of Hamilton college
had it, and when told he had only hal
an honr 70 live, said: '.ls that so
Then take me ont Of my bed and place
me upon my knees, and let mo spent
that time in calling upon God for tn,
salvation of the world" And so b,
died upon his knees. Then there hav,
been others whose names have beey
known only in their own family o.
neighborhood. and here and there 20,
| mink Of one. What junction they has
in prayer? What power they had il
exhortation! If they walked into ,
home every member Of it felt hol,
thrill, and II they walked into I
prayer meeting the dullaess and stol
idity instantly vanished. One Of then
would wake up = whole church. On,
Of them would sometimes electrify
whole city.
But the most wonderful one of tina
Characterization the world ever saw: o.
heard Or felt was peasant in the IL
east. wearing plain blouse like min
verte& wheat sack, with three open
logs, one for the neck. and the othel
1.-TWO for the arms. His father, . wheel
wright and louse:ouilder, and givez
II ~ ~arxrnaa S,apmnmkpv NE -oAh~r -,