The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1900-09-15

II there he fifteen million persons adj
ded every year to the worlds popula-
ton, then there win be thirty million
added to the church, and forty million,
and fifty million. and sixty million.
How will it be done? 1t will be done
when the church will meet Christ on
the plain.
Old Dr. Stephen II. Tying, great on
earth ard in heaven, once said to me.
II am in favor of a change. do not
know what Is the best way OF doing
things in the churches, but know the
way we are doing now is not the best
way, or the world would be nearer sal
walton than it seems to be-"
So l feel so we all feel. that there
needs to be a change. The point at
which we all come short is in not pre-
senting Christ on the plain, Christ on
the level with all the worlds woes and
wants and necessities.
The full change Will have to come
from the rising ministry we now in
the field are too set in our ways. We
are numbered up with technicalities.
We have too many concordances ana
dictionaries and encyclopedias and
systems of theology on cur head to set
down on the plain. Our vocabulary Is
too frosted.
/ We are too much under the domina-
ton of customs regnant for many CEN
turtles.
Come on young men of the ministry,
Take the pulpit1 and in the language
of the street and the market place and
the family-circle preach Christ on the
plain. As soon as the church says by
Its attitude, not necessarily by its
words. MY one mission Is to help for
this life and help for the life to come
all the people" and it proves its ear
nestness in the matter, people on foot
and people on horseback, and in wag-
Ions and In carriages VIII come to the
churches in such numbers that they
will have to be met at the door by
ushers, saying: You were here last
Sunday; you cannot come In TO-DAY.
Igentlemen anu ladies', you must take
your turn"
And 1t will be, as in the Johnstown
[freshet and disaster, when govern
ment station was opened for the sup
|ply Of bread and it took officers Of the
law to keep the sufferers in line be-
cause of the great rush for food.
When this famine-struck world real
ICES that the church is a government
station, set uo by the government OF
the universe to provide the bread OF
eternal life for all the people, the rush
will be Unprecedented and unimagin-
able.
Astronomers have been busy meas
|uring worlds, and they have told us
|l,ow great is the circumference OF this
world and how great its diameter. yea
they have kept on until they have
weighed our planet and found It's
weight to be six sextiIlion tons. But
bw no science has the weight or the
worlds trouble been weighed
Now. Christ standing on TIE level OF
orr humanity stands Isl sympathy with
every trouble. There are so many
aching heads: HIS eehed under the
tborns. There are SO many weary
feet. HIS we're worn with the long
tourney up and down the land that
received Him not. There are so many
nersecuted souls: every hour of Ills life
was under human outrage. The worio
lhad no better place to receive Him
than a cattle-pen, and Its farewell was
slap On His cheek and spear IN His
side.
So intensely human was lie that
there has not been m all our race
grief. or infirmity. or eNnauseon or
pang that did not touch Him once,
land that does not touch Him now.
The lepcrs. the paralytics, the imoe-
cile. the mauiac the courtesan, the re-
nentant hligand--which one did He
turn off; which one did He not pity;
which one did Re not help7
OH ioin Him on the plain
when the life of this planet shall be
@hreshed out with the fail Of thunder
bolts nobody will ask about your opin-
TONS. Come down out Of the mountain
Of opin!onativeness and meet Christ OF
the plain, where you must meet Him
lor never meet Him at all. except as you
meet Him ON the Judgment throne.