The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1897-09-23


tian admonition. Do not wait until you
can make a formal speech. Address the
one next to you. You will not go homo
alone to-day. Between this and your place
of stopping you may decide the eternal des-
tiny OF an immortal spirit. Just one sem
tence may do the work, just one question,
Just one look. The formal talk that begins
with q sigh and ends with canting shuttle
is not what is wanted, but the heart throb
OF man in dead earnest. There Is not a
soul on earth that you may not bring to
God il you rightly 80 at It. They said Glib
ralter could not be taken. 1t Is a rock 1900
feet high and three miles long, but the Eng
lish and Dutch did take it. Artillery and
sappers and miners and fleets pouring out
volleys OF death and thousands OF men reck-
less OF danger can do anything. The stoutest
heart of sin, though it be rock and sur
rounded by an ocean OF transgression, un-
der Christian bombardment may hoist the
flag Of redemption.
But Is all this admonition and prayer
and Christian work for nothing? My text
promises to all the faithful eternal luster.
'"They that turn many to righteousness
the redeemed have borrowed light.
What makes Mars and Venus and Jupiter
80 luminous2 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 adj
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 Id their
songs, Jesus in their triumph.
Again, Christian workers shall be like
the stars In the fact that they have Q light
Independent Of each other. Look up at
the night and see each world show its dis
tinct glory. It is not like the conhagrs-
tion, In which you cannot tell where ono
flame stops and another begins. Neptune,
Herschel and Mercury are as distinct as IL
each one OF them were the only star. So
our individualism will not be- lost I'm
heaven. A great multitude-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
were the only inhabitant-no mixing up, no
mob, no indiscriminate rush, each Chris
tian worker standing out illustrious, all J
the story Of earthly achievment adhering
to each one, his seh-denials and pains and
services and victories published. ~ u
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 concentrated in poetry and In song. !
But go to the graveyard in Richmond, and
you will find there 5000 graves, over each !
Of which Is the inscription, "Unknown."
The world does not remember its heroes,
but there will be no unrecognized Christian
worker In heaven. Each one known BY AL
-grandly known, known by. acclamatfon,
all the past story Of work for God cleaning
in cheek and brow and foot and palm. They
shall shine with distinct light as the stars
forever and ever. II
Again, Christian workers shall shine Ike
the stars In clusters. In looking up you
find the worlds in family circles. Brothers
and sisters, they take hold Of each other,s /
hands and dance In groups. Orion In =
system Is only company Of children with \
bright faces, gathered around one great
fireplace. The worlds do not stfaggie on,
They go in squadrons and deets, sailing
through immensity. SO Christian workers
In heaven will dwell in neighborhoods ana
clusters. 81
lam sure that some people Twill IKE ~
heaven q great deal better than 0thefS.
Yonderis constellation Of stately Chris
tians.. They lived on earth by rigid rule.
They never laughed. They walked eyqryi
hour, anxious lest they shouldi lose their
dignity. But they loved God, and yonde
they shine In brilliant constellation. Yet I Z
shall not long to get into that particulari
hearted Christians-asteroids in che etern9f /
astronomy. While some souls go up from
Christian battle and blaze like Mars these
asteroids dart feeble ray Ike Yeste. Yon-
der Is a constellation ofmartyrs; Of apostles,
of patriarchs. Our souls as they 60 up 70
heaven will seek out the most congeniAl so>
ciety. ~ tss =, -
Again, Christian workers, like. the stars,
shine In magnitude. The most flliteEate
man knows that these things In the sky,
looking like gilt buttons, areigreat MASSES
OF matters. To weigh them, one would
think that II would require scales vita q
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 0mnipoteuoe
alone. could put the mountains into, the
scales and. the hills into the sbalance. but
puny man has been equal to the under
taking and has set q little balance ON hisl
geometry and. weighed world eGstnAe
world. Yea, he has pulled out hisneasnr-;
ing line and announced that H6nchef III
So 900 miles in diameter, Saturn 79, ,o00mlee !
in n-diameter-and Jupiter 81, 900 miles n. dtaef
meter and that the smallest pearl onthei
beach of heaven Is immense. beyonG All
imagination. So all they whe .haye4 4ptled,
1Or OQIlSt Oh cdIbu budl2 Il5O 0p ~ n4o8.
nitude of privilege, and a. magnitude ~
strength, and a magnitude Of holiness; and
a magnitude Of Joy, and the weakesk satne3
in, glory become greater than ALI thnx NO
can imagine of!an archangel. = = ~
Lastiy-and coming to, thfs, p0fn4 my.
mind almost breaks down under. the. con- ..
templation-like the stars, all. Christian
workers shall shine In duration. mesamei /
stars that look down upon Us looked down,
upon the 0haldean shepherds. The meteor
that saw. flashing across the SkythD othorf
night I wonder II It was not the, same ono
that pointed. down to where Jesus lay m
the manger; and II, having pointed cat His
birthplace; ithas even since BEEN wandefLi
ing through. the heavens, Watching to. 500.
how. the, world would treat Hint When
Adam aWoke In the garden. In, the cool e.
the. day, he,saw coming out. through the,
dusk OF the evening the-same, womds thak
greeted US last night. :,
InIndapsndence Halls an, ofd cracked
bell that sounded the signature oSthe Decr
laration OF Independence. You cannot ring
It now, but this great chime OF silver beiD'
that strike In the dome of night ring ont
as sweet tone ss when, God swung thez1
at the. creation. Look up at night nnd
know that the white lilies that bloom In ah
the hanging gardens OF QUE King ara cen-
tury piants-not tblosming onceih 100 years,
but Though all the centuries. The star ~
which the marinexlooks. tonight was tha'
LIGHT by which the shipssot TarShfSh yoE0.