The Atlanta constitution., 1900-04-09

TO look around at his awful condition.
'In hell he lifted up his eyes, beng IN
torments." He closed his eyes in death
and in an instant, like an electric flash,
he lifted up his eyes in hell, and saw
Lazarus afar off in Abranam's bosom
that he may dip the tip of his finger in
water and cool my tongue, for | am tor
mented in this iiame" Abraham said.
"Son. remember that thou. in thy lifetime,
received thy good things ana Lazarus
evil things: but now he is comforted and
thou art tormented. And besides all this.
between MS and you there Is a great gull
fixed that they which would pass from
Us that would come from thence" There
were many things t. make Dives mis-
cradle. yea terribly wretched But there
are three things especially mentioned ana
suggested I'm our lesson. First, he was
thirsty: he was burning up. Second, he
must have had remorse of conscience
and terrible conviction of sin as he saw
Lazarus. and Abraham said to him re-
member. Third. there was great gulr
fixed that no one could pass. lie
wanted Lazarus sent to dip the tip or
his finger in water that he might cool
his tongue. Ii is n terrible thing even
here and the body moist and in good con-
been your experience TO have gone
for miles and miles beneath the glaring'
burning summer sun without water.
Without it only a few hours and we
for an individual like Dives to go down
to hell and do without water from one
week to another. and then from one year
to another. yea from one century riiie TO an
enough. Can't as much as get drop OF
water from the finger of an indlVlduai;
Thirst is type of the dissatisfaction anu
unhappiLesS of hell There Is not the
faintest shadow of one single moment or
dhought of satisfaction. There must
have been an indescribable conviction OF
sin when Dives saw Lazarus and rcmem-
bered their acquaintance on earth when
he Jared sumptuously every day ana
Lazarus begged for the crumbs when
fell from his table The sight of Lazarus
shouted remember" the voice of Abra-
ham shouted ''remember." the flames en-
circling and wrapping his body, shouted
remember" The fixed gulf echoed and
re-echood the voice of remember.
Everything brought Yemorse and eonvlc-
tion To his sin-stric<en conscience. and
at the sound of each voice "A thousanc
swords would lacerate and pierce through
his being. and complete panorama
looms up before his mind of his past
life. The memory is n great faculty
of the soul. We can't realize its power
ard strength. Every sinful thought and
act makes a deep and lasting impression
upon the soul. Just - you drive nails
in the tree and pun them out and leave
the dents there. 50 Will the nails of evil
thoughts driven into the soul leave an
IMPRESSION to be called mp at the day
of fl dgmcnt or in hell. unless these lm-
HrcSSlONS are burned out bN tilc Sp4tlt
of God through an application of the
blood of Christ. As II Is 10 a person
drowning, so II must be to an individual
i'm hell. only much more Nividly. 1t IS
said that when a person Is drowning
their whole past life sweeps through their
minds. | was reading just the other day
of a Young lady who came very near
drowning. Having descended within the
abyss of death. and having looked into
its secrets perhaps as far as the eye
could have penetrated, having permission
to return at n certain stage of this de-
scent n blow seemed to strike her; phos-
phuric radiance springs forth from her
eycballs. and immediately a mighty the
ater expanded in her brain. In a mo-
mcnt. in a twinklng of the eye. every
act every design of her past life lived
again" Thus IL must be terrible when
one goes down To perdtiou and lives over
again and again the mistakes ana sins
of his life. and every moment his CON
science lashcs his being. Richard III
said: Conscience Is q thousand swords.
Another. under the conviction Of sin. was
moved to say: "Everywhere I turn IS
hell-myseif am hell" Thus only more
vividly. So vivid as 10 he real. will life
be in hell BESIDES there was a great
gulf. and not only "A gulf, but a fixed
gulf. This gulf IS So wide and 50 broad
and SO deep that no bridge can span IL.
II IS as wide as eternity. as long as
!nfinty ard as deep as hcll itself. and
IS lasting as tie neVer-ending cycles Of