The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-05-19
DIR. TALMA9E'S SERMON.
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE.

Helping to Fill the Ships That Are tc
Garry Food for the Starving People Of
1ndia-An Eloquent Plea for Million,
of Famine Sufferers In Distant Land
TEXT: "This is Ahasuerus which reigned
nom India even unto Ethiopia. Esther
i'll.
Among the 3,693 words which make ur
the Bible only once occurs the word
'1ndia." In this part of the Scriptures
which the rabbis call "Megillah Esther" OF
the volume Of Esther, a book sometimes
| complained against because the word
"God" Is not even once mentioned in 1t
although one rightly disposed can see God
| In 1t from the first chapter to the last, we
have it set forth that Xerxes, or Ahasuerus,
who invaded Greece with 1900, eco men,
! but returned in poor fishers boat, had
vast dominion, among other regions,
India. In my text India takes its place in
Bible geography, and the interest in that
land has continued to increase until, with
more and more enthusiasm, all around the
world Bishop Heber's hymn about "Indias
coral strand is being sung. Never will
forget the thrill Of anticipation that went
! through my body and mind and soul when
after two weeks tossing on the seas around
Ceylon and India-for the winds did not,
according 10 the old hymn, elbow soft o'er
Ceylon's isle"-our ship sailed up one Of
the mouths Of the Ganges, past James and
Mary island, so named because q royal
ship Of that name was wrecked there, and
I stepped ashore at Calcutta, amid the
shrines and the temples and sculptures of
that City of Palaces, the strange physiog-
Monies Of the living and cremations Of the
dead. had never expected to be there,
because the sea and I long ago had q seri-
Gus falling out, but, the facilities Of travel
are 80 increasing that you and your chill
dren will probably visit that land Of bound
less fascination.
Christ during His earthly stay wes never
outside of Asia. When He had Sixteen or
eighteen years to spare from His active
work, instead Of spending that time in
Europe think he goes farther toward the
heart of Asia-namely, India. The Bible
says nothing of Christ from twelve years Of
age until thirty, but there are records In
India and traditions in India which repre-
sent q strange, wonderful, most excellent
and supernatural being as staying in India
about that time. I think Christ was there
much OF the time between His twelfth and
His thirtieth year; but, however that may
be. Christ was born in Asia, suffered in
Asia, died in Asia, ascended from Asia, and
all that makes me turn my ear more atten-
cry of distress.
Besides that I remember that some Of the
! most splendid achievements for the cause
| of that Asiatic Christ have been made in
India. How the heart Of every intelligent
Christian beats with admiration at the mere
mention of the name Of Henry Me,rtynl
Having read the life Of our American David
Brainerd, who gave his nfe to evangelizing
our American savages, Henry Martyr goes
II nr,,, \ DC hn col lrroSi ~
India, dying from exhaustion Of service at
thirty-one years Of age. Lord Macaulay,
writing Of him says:
Here Martyr lies. In manhood early
bloom
The Christian hero found a pagan tomb.
Religion, sorrowing o'ec her favorite son,
Points to the glorious tropics which he won.
Immortal trophies! Not with slaughter red,
Nor stained with tears by friendlesa or
But trophies Of the cross. In that dear
name,
Through every scene OF danger, toll and
shame,
Onward he journeyed to that happy shore,
Where danger, toll and shame are known
no more.
Is there in all history, secular or raligi-
Gus, q most wondrous character than Will
lam Carey the converted shoemaker OF Eng
land, daring oil things for God in India,
translating the Bible into many dialects,
building chapels and opening mission
houses and laying foundations for the re-
demption Of the country, and although Sid
ney Smith, who sometimes laughed at
things he ought not to have satirized, had
| In the learned Edinburgh Review scofed at
the idea Of what he called "low born, low
bred mechanics" like Carey attempting to
convert the Brahmins, Carey stopped not
until he had started influences that eter-
nifty, no more than time, shall have power
| to arrest. 313, 900 Bibles going forth from
his printing presses a. Serampore. His
sublime humility showed itself in the
epitaph he ordered from the old gospel
hymn:
A wretched. poor and helpless worn,
On thy kind arms fall.
| Need tell you Of Alphonse Lacroix, the
| Swiss missionary in India, or OF William
Butler, the glorious American Methodist
missionary in India, or Of the royal family
of the Scudders Of the Reformed Church OF
America, my dear mother church, to whom
I give kiss Of love in passing, 2r OF Dr:
Alexander Duff, the Scotch missionary
whose visit to this country some OF us vii!
remember forever? When he stood in the
! old Broadway tabernacle, New York, and
pleaded for India until there was no other
depth of religious emotion for him to stir
and no loftier height of Christian eloquence
for him to scale, and closed in whfrlw1nd
Of halleluiahs, I could believe that when
was said Of him-that while pleading the
cause OF India in one OF the churches OF
Scotland he got 30 overwrought that he
fell in the pulpit In swoon and was
carried into the vestrv to be resusci-
tated, and when restored to his senses
| and preparation was being made
to carry him out to some dwelling where
he could be put to betI he compelled his
friends to take him back to the pulpit to
complete his plea for the salvation OF ln-
dia. no sooner getting on. his feet thai ne
began where he left of, but with more gl-
gantic power than before he tainted. But
lust as noble as any have mentioned are
the men and women who are there now for
Christ's sake and the redemption OF that
people. Far away from their native land,
famine on one side and black plague on the
other side, swampS breathing on them ma
laria, and jungles bowling on them with
wild beasts or kissing with cobras, the
names of those missionaries OF all denom-
nations to be written so high on the roll OF
martyrs that no names Of the last 1SO0
wears shall be written above them. You
need to see them at theiI: work in schools
and churches and lazarettos to appreciate
them. All honor upon them and their
households while I smite the dying lips OF
their slanderers.
Most interesting are the people Of India.
At Calcutta said to one Of their leaders,
who spoke English well:
Have these idols which I see any power
OF themselves to help or C.estroy2"
He said: "No; they only represent God.
There is but one God"
"When people die, where do they go to?"
"That depends upon what they have
been doing. If they have been doing good,
to heaven, and if they have been doing evil,