The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-10-06

der Christian bombardment may hoist the
flag Of redemption.
But Is all this admonition and prayer
and Christian work for nothing? Ny text
promises to all the faithful eternal luster.
"They that turn many to righteousness
shall shine as the stars forever" As stars
the redeemed have a borrowed light.
What makes Mars and Venus and jupiter
so luminous? When the sun throws down
his torch in the heavens, the stars pick up
the scattered brands and hold them IN
procession as the queen Of the night ad-
vances. So all Christian workers, stand
ing around the throne, will shine In the
light borrowed from the Sun Of Righteous
ness-Jesus in their faces. Jesus IN their
songs, Jesus in their triumph.
Again, Christian workers shall be like
the stars In the fact that they have light
Independent OF each other. Look up at
the night and see each world show its dis
tlnct glory. It is not like the confagra-
ton, In which you cannot tell where one
flame stops and another begins. Neptune,
Herschel and Mercury are as distinct as II
each one OF them were the only star. SO
our individualism will not be lost In
heaven. A great multitnde-yet each one
as observable, as distinctly recognized, as
greatly celebrated, as II In all the space, .
from gate to gate and from hill to hill, he
mob, no lndisoSipinate rush. each Chris
ttan worker standing out illustrious, all
the story Of earthly achievment adhering
to each one. his self-denials and pains and
services and victories published.
Before men went out to the last war the
orators told them that they would all be re-
membered by their country and their names
be commemorated In poetry and In song.
But 60 to the graveyard In Richmond, and
you will find there 6000 graves, over each
OF which Is the inscription, unknown"
The world does not remember Its heroes,
but there will be no uurecognized Christian
worker in heaven. Each one known by all
-grandly known, known by acclamation,
all the past story Of work for God cleaning
In cheek and brow aud foot and palm. They
shall, shine with distinct light as the stars
forever and ever.
Again, Christian workers shall shine like
the stars In clusters. In looking up you
find the worlds in family circles. Brothers
hands and dance In groups. Orion In
group. The Pleiades In group. The
system Is only company Of children with
bright faces. gathered around one great
fireplace. The worlds do not straggle OF.
They 20 in squadrons and fleets, sailing
through immensity. SO Christian workers
In heaven will dwell in neighborhoods and
clusters. .&
I am sure that some people I will Ike In
heavena great deal better than others.
Yonder Is constellation OF stately Chris
tians. They lived on earth by rigid rule.
They never laughed. They walked every
honr, anxious lest they should lose their
dignity. But they loved God. and yonder
they shine in brilliant constellation. Yeti
shall not long to get into that particular
group. Yonder Is constellation Of small
hearted Christians-asteroids In the eternal
astronomy. While some souls go up from
Christian battle and blaze like Mars these
asteroids dart feeble ray like Vesta. Yon-
der Is constellation Of martyrs, Of apostles,
OF patriarchs. Our souls as they go up to
heaven will seek out the most congenial So
ciety. '.'
Again, Christian workers will shine like
the stars In swiftness OF motion. The
worlds do not stop to shine. There are no
fixed stars, save as to relative position.
The star apparently most thoroughly fixed
flies thousands OF miles minute. The as
tronomer, using bis telescope for an alpen-
stock, leaps from world crag to world crag
and finds no star standing still. The
chamois hunter has to fyto catch his prey,
but not 80 swift Is his game as that which
the scientist tries to shoot through the
tower Of observatory. Like petrels mfdat-
lantic, that seem to come from no shore,
and be bound to no landing place, flying,
fying, so these great focks OF worlds rest
not as they go, wing and wing, age after
age, forever and forever. The eagle hastens
to its prey, but we shall in speed beat the
eagles. You have noticed the velocity OF
the swift horse under whose feet the miles
slip like smooth ribbon, and as he passes
the four hoofs strike the earth in such
quick beat your pulses take the same vibra-
ton, but all these things are not swift In
comparison with the motion OF which
speak. The moon moves 81. 600 miles In q
day. Yonder Neptune flashes on 11,000
miles In an hour. Yonder Mercury goes
109, 600 miles In an hour. SO like the stars
the Christian shall shine in swiftness OF
motion.
You hear now of father or mother or
child sick 1000 miles away, and It takes
you two days to get to them. You hear OF
some case OF suffering that demands your
immediate attention, but 1t takes you an
hour to get there. Oh, the Joy when you
shall In fullllment Of the text, take starry
speed and be equal to 100 900 miles an hourt
Having on earth got used to Christian
work, you will not quit when death strikes
you. You will only take on more velocity.
There Is a dying child in London, and Its
spirit must be taken up to God. You are
there in an instant to do It. There is
going into that gate Of sin. You are there
In an instant to arrest him. Whether with
spring of foot or stroke OF wing, or by
the force OF some new law that shall hurl
you to the spot where you would go, l
know not, but my text suggests velocity.
All space open before You with nothing TO
hinder you in mission OF light and love and
joy, YOU shall shine in swiftness OF motion
as the stars forever and ever.
Again, Christian workers, like the stars,
shine In magnitude. The most illlterate
man knows that these things IN the SKY,
looking like gilt buttons, are great masses
OF matters. To weigh them one would
think that 1t would require scales with
pillar hundreds Of thousands OF miles high
and chains hundreds Of thousands OF miles
long, and at the bottom OF the chains
basins on either side hundreds OF thousands
of miles wide, and that then Omnipotence
alone could put the mountains into the
scales and the hills into the balance, but
puny man has been equal to the under
taking and has set little balance on his
geometry and weighed world against
world. Yea, he has pulled out his measur-
ing line and announced that Herschel Is
36 600 miles in diameter, Saturn $1,000 miles
in diameter and Jupiter SO, 900 miles In dia-
meter and that the smallest pearl on the
beach of heaven Is immense beyond all
Imagination. So oil they who have toiled
for Christ on earth shall rise up to mag
nitude OF privilege, and a magnitude OF
strength, ana magnitude of holiness, and
a magnitude Of joy, and the weakest saint
in glory become greater than all that we
can imagine Of an archapgel.
.Lastly-and coming to this point my
mind almost breaks down under the con-
emplation-like the stars, all Christian
workers shall shine in duration. The same
stars that look down upon US looked down
upon the Chaldean shepherds. The meteor
that saw flashing across the sky the other
night wonder If 1t was not the same one
that pointed down to where Jesus lay In