The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1900-05-21
SOUTHERN PULPIT


days. and. ne doubt. by this time II
But in the spirit and power of him who
I Iifea" stand upon the verge Of its tomb
and cry aloud: Come FORTH" and In the
name of the same blessed master. L calI
upon you brethren to take on us s graz
clothes. loose 1t. and let II go. Areaay
too long have we deferred to the oitac-
tories of so-called orthodoxy Let US
proceed with the resurrection ana III an
odor unlike the odor of new moWn NAY
should infringe the proboscis or ortnouVAy
and she would fain discover whence tna.
odor proceeds. l would most Respectfully
suggest to her majesty that she ASK .te
question which the disciples asked o, tne
master as they were gathered AROUND tie
table on that memorable nlgDt: hoio' 40
1t I?' 10000
Keen the commandments. Let us pause
here a moment, and think. Imagine
the whole creation to be brougnt lilto aD-
solute. perfect harmony win THESE conl,
and life OF Jesus Christ. ,, Just th ~ yo o.,
the wonderful change. Where. II you
please, would the devil be? In az me
wide universe of God. there would not
be one print of his cloven foot or one
trail of his damnable slime Ills worhsTI,
sin and sorrow and death and heh-Mouii
be destroyed and Righteousness "ouiu
cover the earth as the waters cover a,e
channels OF the great sea. Iheh thIl
would be no need for God TO send MS
angels ITO bear us away on '. ,sa anpe,.s
wing and more glorious than seraph's
thought would be within US.
The kingdom of God Is not above y ,ors
nor Is it without you in meat ana drink
but the kingdom of God Is WITHIN you.
in truth. obedience. in love TO Coo anu
me be as pure (and shall be, some day)
teaching this moral law as Jesus was,
and President Mckinley would belt the
earth to shake my hand: kings ana
would down
me to walk upon. and the angels would
salute, uncover their heads and stand
aside! Obedience. obedience to the moran
law-that IS the work to be done. and love
Is the motive power behind the Work
whatsoever heareth these sayings OF
Mine. and doeth them" saith christ
Why the sayings of the sermon He had
Just preached And what are the say
ings of that sermon? Read 1t, friends,
and see for yourselves FROM the nTst
sentence to the last. the sermon on the
mount sets forth obedience and nothing
but obedience to the moral law. ana IL
closes with this grand peroration: Wv no
soever heareth these sayings or mlne'
and doeth them, / will liken him to
wise man. which built his house upon
rock, and the rain descended, and the
flood came. and the wind blew. and beat
upon that house. and II fell not: for IL
was founded upon a rock" i plead for
the religion which pays its debts and
speaks the truth. and drink water from
its own cisterns: the old-time religion
which visits the fatherless and widow in
their afflictioR. and keeps unspotted from
the world.
And so we plow along. as the fly said
to the OK half the time on foot and the
other half walking; and always as merry
as thunder storm in the night. VINO
knows what may happen2 Patience, and
shuttle the cards. / am not yet so bald
that you can my brains. and perhaps,
after all. shall some day 20 TO Rome
and come back Saint Peter. j mean,
brethren that to this doctrine, though
It be through much pain and travail OF
soul. TO this doctrine which preach unto
YOU the world must come at last Ana
whenever the pulpitS of the land rise
above self and sect. and preach right
eousness in the great congregation. then.
and not till then. will the 'ransomed OF
the Lord return, and come to Zion with
songs and everlasting joy upon their
heads. and sorrow and signing shall flee
away
1t is worthy of note that in His answer
to the young man Jesus omitted those
commandments which entoin us TO love
God. and we must consider the reason for
this omission.
No man hath seen God al any time; no
man hath heard Ills voice or touched the
hem of His garment God is spirit. IN
visible intangible and removed to an
infinite distance from every one OF us;
clouds and darkness. thunder and light
ming are round about His t<'one. Now.
may understand how to fear such
Being, but not how to love Him. But
when the Master says. Love your neigh
Dor" He speaks In words easy to be un-
hear his voice and touch his hand and
feel his presence. We understand what
love to neighbOr means and we know
how TO love our neighbOr but there IS n
mystery about loving God. The Israelites
felt all this when, at the foot of Sinai.
they said TO Moses, Speak thou with us
and will hear. but let not God speak
to us lest We die" God felt this there
fore He sent forth His Son born OF a
woman The word was made flesh and
dwelt among us
Furthermore love to man means love
to God. Write me-" said Abou Ben
Ahdem to the angel. las one who loves his
followers" and when the names of those
who loved God Were called the name of
AbOu Ben Alden was the first on the
roll. He who has love TO man has love to
God: and love Is the fulfilling of the
question will be: Were you kind TO Nv
children? Did you feed the hungry and
clothe the naked. and minister unto those
who were sick" BY this test-and this
alone-yOu and must stand or fall. In
much as We have done il unto one OF
the least of these. Ny disciples. ye have
done il unto Me"
one thought more: There is no substi-
tute in this warfare. Every man must
stand in his own lot and fight his own
battles. | must keep the law for myself
end not another for me. Though the heart
of my sweet mother be as pure as the
driven snow: though the heart of Jesus
be pure as God who made the snow,
all this availeth me nothing so long as
My own heart IS impure.
If thou wouldst enter into life thou
must keep the commandment. No man
pgn md I'd htrr