The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1897-09-23
REV. 1ALhAGE'S SERMON.
NOTED WASHINGTON DIVINE'S
SUNDAY DISCOURSE.
Strong Words OF Hope and Promise For
Discouraged ToiIers in the Lords Vine
yard - Christian Workers, Like the
Stars, Shine in Magnitude Forever.


thousand branches. His roots reach down
through all the earth. His branches
spread through all the heavens. He speaks
with voice, with eye. with hand, with foot
His silence often is loud as thunder and his
life is dirge or doxology. There Is no
such thing as negative influence. We are
all positive in the place we occupy, making
the world better or making it worse. on the
Lords side or on the devils, making up
reasons for our blessedness or Punishment,
and We have already done work in peopling
heaven or hell. hear people tell OF what
they are going to do. A man who has
some evil that he expects to do, or man
who has saved an empire might as we'll talk
Of some good that he expects to do. By
the force OF your evil influence you have
already consumed infinite values, or you
have by the power Of a right influence won
whole kingdoms for God.
It would be absurd for me, by elaborate
argument, to prove that the world Is of the
track. You might as well stand at the foot
OF an embsnkment, amid the wreck OF q
capsized rail train, proving by elaborate
argument that something is out Of order.
Adam tumbled over the embankment sixty
centuries ago, and the whole race, In one
long train, has gone on tumbllng In the
question now Is, By what leverage can the
crushed thing BIZ lifted? By what hammer
may the fragments be reconstructed?
want to show you how we may turn many
to righteousness and what will be our
future pay fors doing.
First, we may turn them by the charm OF
q right example. A. child coming from q
filthy home was taught at school to- wash
its face. It went home so much improved
in appearance that its mother washed hex
face, and when the father Of the household
CAME home and saw the improvement In
domestic appearance he washed his face.
The neighbors, happening in, saw the
change and tried the same experiment, un-
til all that street was purified, and the next
street copied its example, and the whole
city felt the result Of one schoolboy wash
ing his face. That is fable by which we
set forth that the best way to- get the world
washed of its sins and pollution Is to have
our own heart and life cleansed and puri-
fed. 4 man with grace in his heart and
Christian cheerfuiness In his face and holy
consistency In his behavior Is perpetual
sermon, and the sermon differs from others
in that 1t has but one head and the longer
# runs the better
There are honest men who walk down
Wall street making the teeth Of iniquity
chatter. There are happy men who so tn-
to q sickroom and by q look help the broken
bone to knit and the excited nerves drop
to q calm beating There are pure men
whose presence sflences the tongue Of un-
eleanness The mightiest agent Of good on
earth Is q consistent Christian. like the
Bible folded between lids Of cloth or calf
skin or morocco, but like It better when,
IN the shape of aman, 1t goes out into the
world q Bible illustrated. Courage Is beau
tiful to read about, but rather would see
q man with all the world against htmconfl-
dent as though all the world were for him.
Patience Is beautiful to. read about, but
rather would see q; buffeted soul calmly
waiting for the time Of deliverance: Faith
Is beautiful to read about, but rather would
I find a man In the midnight walking
straight on as though he saw everything.
Oh, how many souls have been turned to
God by the charm Of bright example,!
When, in the Mexican War, the. troops
were wavering, a general rose in his stir
rups and dashed into the enemy's lines,
shouting, aMen, follow mel" They, seeing
his courage and disposition, dashed on az
ter him and gained the victory. What men
want to rally them for God Is an example
to lead them. All your commands to others
to advance amount 10 nothing as long as
you stay behind. To affect them Alright
you need to start for heaven yourself, look
ing back only to. give the stirring cry OF
"Meu. follow"
Again, we may turn many to righteous
ness by prayer There Is no such detective
as prayer, for no one can hide away from
1t. 1t puts its hand on the shoulder OF
man 10000 miles off,. It alights ON a ship
stand the law OF electricity, or how the
telegraph operator; by touching the instru-
ment here, may dart q. message under the
sea to another continent, nor cen we, with
our small intellect, understand how the
touch OF a Christians prayer shall instantly
strike soul on the other side ofthe earth.
You take ship and 60 to some other coun-
try and get there at II o'clock in the morn
ing. You telegraph to America and the
message gets here at 6 o'clock the same
morning. In other. words, 1t seems to ar
rive here five hours before 1t started. Like
that Is prayer. God says, Before they
call I will hear To overtake,asloved one
on the road you may spur up a, lathered
brought the news to Ghent, but q prayer
shall catch 1t at one gallop.. boy
running away from home may take
the midnight train from the country
village and reach the seaport In time to
gain the ship that sails on the morrow, but
q mothers prayer will be on, the deck to
meet him, and In the hammock before he
swings into It, and at the oapstan before
he winds the rope around, and On the sea,
against the sky, as the vessel plows on
toward It. There Is mightiness In prayer.
George Muller prayed a company OF poor
BOYS together, and then he prayed up an
asylum In which they might be sheltered.
He turned his face toward Edinburgh and
prayed, and there came E1G00. He turned
his face toward London. and prayed and
there came f1G00. He TUNED his face-to-
ward Dublin and prayed and there came
E1e00. The breath Of Eliiah's prayer blew
all the clouds OF the sky, and 1t was dry
weather. The breath OF Elijah's prayer
blew all the clouds together, and It was
wet weather. Prayer, in Daniels, time
walked the cave as q Hon tanner. 1t reached
up and took the sun by its golden bit and
stopped 1t and the moon by its silver bit
and stopped it.
We have all yet to try the full power ol
prayer. The time wilfcome when the Amer.
lean church will pray with its face toward
the vest, and all the prairies and inland
cities will surrender to God and will prey
With face toward the sea. and all the islands
and ships will become Christian. Parents
who have wayward sons will get down Oh
their knees and say, Lord, send my boy
home" and the boy In Canton Viu get righ
MP from the gaming table and so down tf
find out which ship starts first for America
Not one Of Us yet knows how to pray. Al