The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-01-13

Of the Holy Ghost, bring two souls to God In
three years? As so many will bring hundreds
and thousands to God, most OF you have 10
bring only one soul to God and the Gospel
campaign for this continent will be ended.
II you cannot bring one sou. to God. or two
souls, or three souls. in three years, you are
no Christian and deserve yourself to be shut
| out of heaven. The religious pessimists OF
| this country are all the time depicting the
obstacles as 80 great and our forces as 80
small that we half of the time feel that we
are attempting an impossibility.
Take out Of your prayers and preaching
some of your stuf1ng OF groans and put In
| something of reclamation and triumph, and
the United States will be gospelized, and If
the United States be gospelized America will
| be gospelized, and, America gospelized, we
| will take Asia from the Pacific beach and Eu-
| rope from the Atlantic beach, and not far
| from now the lost star we live on will take
| its place among the consultations that never
fell. Letthe more than q, 200, 900 communi-
cants. as they lift the s:.cramental cup to
their lips take oath that they will not rest
until the other 40, 900, 900 are saved. The op-
portunities are all saddled and bridled.
Where are the men and women to guide them?
II will deliver thee 200l horses ii thou be
able to set riders upon them" What two
men can do for good or evil is impressed
upon me by the fact that. two Scotchmen
going to California, each took something
that would remind him of his native coun-
try. The one took a thistle, the National
emblem Of Scotland. The other took hive
of bees. Years went by. and tho work Of
of the Pacific Slope is the thistle, and the
blessing OF the Pacific Slope is the honey
| found everywhere In woods and fields. In
your life are you responsible for honey or
| thistles, and if one man can do 30 much
good and another 80 much evil, how much
could be done for the ransom Of this coun-
try by 81 900, 900 people all consecrated?
| Get out Of the way with your dolorous
| foreboding and change your dirges for what
we have not done for the grand march OF
what we may do and will do. The woman
at Sedan, in whose house Napoleon the last
was waiting to make surrender Of himself
and his army, said to the overthrown French
Emperor, "What can do for you3" And
the despairing ex-monarch replied. "Noth-
ing but draw down the blind so that can
not be stared at" In this Gospel campaign
we have plenty to draw down the blinds. In
Gods name. say, pull up the blinds and let
the morning sun of the coming victory shine
upon US. What we want in this campaign
for God is the self abnegation and courage
ofthe men Of Sir Colin Campbell, who, as
Lord Bishop Cowie OF New Zealand, once
| chaplain of his army, told me, said to the
troops: "Men, no retreat from this place.
Die right here" And they shouted: Eyes,
Sir Colin. We will do it." Aud they did! =
Temporary defeats ought not to disheart-
en-. What is Bunker Hill monument? Mon
ument of defeat. But from that bloody
mount American independence started for
its grandest achievement, and all the de-
feats OF the cause Of God are incipient vic
tory.
Thy saints in all this glorious war
Shall conquer, though they die.
They see the triumph from afar
And seize 1t with their eye.
And now. standing as do in this National
capital, let me say that what we want In the
Senate ana House of Representatives and
the Supreme Court is a penticostal blessing
that will shake the continent with divine
mercy. There recently came into my han ds
the records oftwo Congressional prayer meet
ings, on the rolls of which were the names
Of the most eminent Senators and Rspre-
senatives who then controlled the des-
TIMES OF this republlc-the one Congressiona!
prayer meeting in 1857 and the other in 1866.
The record is in the handwriting Of the phi
lanthropist, William E. Dodge, then mem-
ber of Congress. There are now more Chris
tian men in the National Legislature than
ever before. Why will they not band to-
gether in a religious movement which be-
fore the Inauguration Of the next President
shall enthrone Christ In the hearts Of this
Nation2 They have the brain, they have the
eloquence, they have the influence. God
grant them the grace sufficient! Who in
Congressional circles will establish the capl-
toline prayer meeting in 1892 Let the even
ing Of the last decade of this century be
irradiated with such religious splendor.
There are the opportunities for a National
and international charge, all bridled and
saddled. Where are the riders to mount
them?
The cavalry suggests speed. When once
the reins are gathered into the hands OF the
soldierly horseman, and the spurs are struck
into the flanks, you hear the rataplan OF tho
hoofs. ''Velocity" is the word that describes
the movement. acceleration, momentum, and
what We want in getting into the kingdom OF
God Is celebrity. You see the years are 80
swift, and the weeks are 30 swift, and the
days are so swift, and the hours are so
swift, and the minutes are so swift.
we need to be swift. For lack OF
this appropriate speed many do not get into
heaven at all. Here we are in the last Sab
bath Of the year. Did you ever know twelve
month quicker to be gone? The goldenrod
OF one autumn speaks to thegoldenred OF the
next autumn. and the crocus OF one spring
and the snowbanks of adjoining years almost
reach each otherin unbroken curve. We are
in too much hurry about most things. Busi-
ness men In too much hurry rush into spec
ulations that ruin them and ruin others.
People move from place to place In too great
haste, and they wear out their nerves and
weaken the hearts action. But the only
thing In which they are afraid of being too
hasty is the matter Of the souls salvation.
Yet did any one ever get damaged by too
quick repentance or too quick pardon or too
quick emancipation The Bible recon-
mends tardiness. deliberation and snail-like
movement in some things, as when it enjoins
US to be slow to speak and slow to wrath and
slow to do evil, but it tells us, "The Kings
business requireth haste" and that our days
are as the flight Of a weaver's shuttle and
calculates: Escape for thy life. Look not
behind thee. Neither stay thou In all the
plain" Otner cavalry troops may fall back,
but mounted years never retreat. They are
always going ahead, not on an easy canter,
but at full run. Other regiments hear the
command Of "Halt!" and pitch their tents
for the night. The regiments OF the years
never hear the command Of "Halt!" and
never pitch tent for the night.
The century leads on its troop of 100
years, and the year leads on its troop of 1855
days, and the day leads on its troop OF
"a hours, and the hour leads on its troop OF
go minutes, and all are dashing out Of sight.
Perhaps there are two years in which we are
most interested--our first aud our last. Held
up in our mothers arms, we watched the
flight OF the first. With wondering eyes we
all watch the coming OF the last. The name
OF that advancing year We cannot call. 1t
may be in the nineties OF this century, 1t may
be in the tens or twenties or thirties Of the
h,.k tS -, f,,n