The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1896-12-26

the eternity following them-time, as COM
pared to eternity, like the drop OF the night
dew shaken from the top of grass blade by
| the cows hoof on its way afsld this morn
ing, as compared with Mediterranean and
Arabian and Atlantic and Paciac watery do
minions!
A stranger desired to purchase farm, but
| the owner would not sell it-would only let
It. The stranger hired ii by lease for only
one crop, but he sowed acorns, and to ma
| ture that crop 800 years were necessary. That
was practiced deception, but deceive you
not when l tell you that the crop OF the soul
takes hold of unending ages.
see the author Of my text seated In the
house of Gatus, who entertained him at
Corinth, not far from the overhauginS for
tress of Acro-Corinthus, and meditating on
the longevity OF the soul and getting more
and more agita:ed 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 Ohrysostom admired
so much he had it read to him twice u week,
| and among other things he says those dar-
ing aud startling words OF my text, ~ could
wish that myself were aecursed from Christ
for my brethren, my Ensmen, according TO
the flesh"
Another way TO get something OF the
Pauline longing for redeemed immortalities
Is by examining the vast machinery az
ranged to save this inner and spiritual IA
ture. That machinery started to revolve on
the edge OF the garden OF Eden, just after
tine cyclone of sin Frustrated its sycamores
anG tamarlsks and willows and will not CEASE
to reyolye until the last soul of earth shall
get rid OF its last sin and enter the heavenly
Eden. On that stupsndous machinery for
soul saving the patriarch put his hand, ami
prophet his hand, and evangelist his hanl,
nd In stat l,ap
and almost every hand that touche it be-
came a crushed haud 1t was the most ex-
pensive machinery ever constructed. 1t cost
more to start 1t aud has cost aud will cost
more to keep it running than all the wheels
that ever made revolution on this planet.
That machinery turned not by ordinary
motive power, but by force OF tears and
blood. TO connect lis bands of influence
made out OF human and Ohristly nerves with
NIL parts Of the earth millions OF good men
and women are nov at work and will be at
work until every wilderness shall become
garden, and every tear of grief shall be a
tear Of JOY, and the sword OF divine victory
shall give the wound to ths 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, II 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 mills SIN
gle unit, the figure ], and how many ciphers
would you have to add to thu right of that
fgureto express the souls value, each cipher
adding tenfoId? Working into that scheme
OF the souls redemption, how many angels
OF God descending and ascending! How
many storms swooping on Lake Galiiee! How
many earthquakes opening dungeons and
striking cataclysms through mountains, from
top to base! What MONDAY SUI was put on
retreat What omnipotence lifted and what
Godhead was put to torture! All that for
the soul. No wonder that Paul, though pos
ses5ing 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, arga-
ment and apt smile, and bold metaphor. and
learned ailusion, as unit to express how he
felt. and seizing upon the appalling hyper
bolism OF my text cries cut, 81 could wish
myself accursed"-that Is. struck OF the
thunderbolts Of the omnipotent God, sunk
to unfathomed depths, chained iuto servi-
tud de to Abaddon and thrust into furnaces
whose fires shall never burn outfit only
those whom love might now and forever be
saved. Mind you, Paul does not say, 81 do
WISH" He says. 'I could WISH" Eyea in
the agony he felt for others he did not lose
his balance. II could wish myself accurssd."
could, but do not. Only one being that
ever lived was literally willing to give up
heaven for perdition, and that was the di-
vine peasant whom mentioned few mo-
ments ago. He was not only willing TO ex-
change dominions OF bliss for dominions OF
wretcheduess, but He did so, 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
world OF perpetual confederation the Bible.
distinctly declares. He did not say, with
Paul, II could" but He said, III will, do"
and for the souls of men He descended into
hell"
In this last hall OF the last decade OF thu
nineteenth century the temperature in the
churches is very low, and most OF the pieiy
would spoil IL it were not kept on ice. And.
taking things as they are, ordinary CHRIS
tians viii 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 SO fixed that all Christian il
expected 10 AS-el Sunday IS to cet>up little
later in the morning than usual, put on thai
which is next to his best attire-not the very
best, for that has to be reserved for the lsvee
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
dullness while the preacher speaks, put
cent plGcS-OI, III Inc TIMES % QarQ, u cent
PIGEON the collection platter, kind of shov-
ing 1t down under the other coin SO that it
might be, for all that the usher knows, q SIS
gold piece, and then, after the benedictiop. go
quietly home TO the biggest repast of all the
week. That is all tbs majority OF Christians
are doing for the rectiicalion 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 Lori. They rest from
their iabors 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 obseques of one
OF the religious do nothings In the churches
1t is too much for my gravity. "TheIr works
do follow them" What work? Aud in what
direction do they follow them-up or down?
And do they follow on foot or on the wing?
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, s: "Our lamps
are gone out" Ono woud think that such
Christians would show at least under whose
banner they are enlisted. In one OF the
Napoleonic wars womaa-Jeanne.te by
name-took her position with the troops and
shouldered broomstick. The colonel said
'.Jeannette, why do you take such a uselss.
weapon into the ranks?" 'fWeli," she said
II can show. Mt least, which side am on. Is
Now, the OK ject of this sermon is to stir at
least one fourth OF you TO an ambition for
that which my text presents In blazing
vocabulary-namely. passion for souls. TO
prove that it IS possible to have much OF that
IL. ~. n ~