The Delta independent., 1901-05-10

maKing of the world. We are very
anxious on this day to have the print
ing press and the platform on the side
of Christianity. but we overlook the
engraver's knife and the painters
pencil. The antiquarian goes and
looks at pictured ruins or examines
the chiseled pillars of Thebes and
| Nineveh and Pompeii and then comes
back to tell us of the beastliness of
ancient art, and it is a fact now that
many of the finest specimens-merely
artistically considered-of sculpture
and painting that are to be found amid
those ruins are not fit to be looked
at, and they are locked up. How Paul
must have felt when, standing amid
those impurities that stared on him
from the walls and pavements and ba-
| zaars Of Corinth, he preached of the
pure and holy Jesus. The art of the
| world on the side of obscenity and
| crime and death.
Much Of the art of the world has
been in the possession of the vicious
What to unclean Henry VIII was a
| beautiful picture of the Madonna?
| What to Lord Jeffreys, the unjust
| judge, the picture of the Last Judg-
| ment?" What to Nero, the unwashed,
a picture of the baptism in the Jor-
| dan? The art OF the world On the
| wrong side. But that is being changed
now. The Christian artist goes over
| to Rome, looks at the pictures and
| brings back to his American studio
| much of the power of these old mas
tiers. The Christian minister goes over
| to Venice, looks at the "Crucifixion of
| Christ and comes back to the Ameri-
can pulpit to talk as never before of
| the sufferings of the Savior The pri-
vate tourist goes to Rome and looks
at Raphaels picture of the Last Judg-
ment." The tears start. and he goes
back to his room in the hotel and
| prays God for preparation for that day
| when ,#a ~aff
| Shriveling like parched scroll.
The flaming heavens together roll.
Christs Social Position.
So I remark it is with business
| acumen and tact When Christ was
| upon earth. the people that followed
| him for the most part had no social
| position. There was but one man
naturally brilliant in all the apostle
ship. Joseph of Arimathea, the rich
man, -isked nothing when he offered
| hole in the rock for the dead Christ.
| How many Of the merchants in Asia
! Minor befriended Jesus? | think of
only one-Lydia. How many of the
| castles on the beach at Galilee enter
/ OF
came to Joppa. he stopped with one
| Simon. tanner. What power had
| Christs name on the Roman exchange
or in the bazaars of Corinth? None.
| The prominent men of the day did not
want TO risk their reputation for sanity
by pretending to be one OF his follow
ers. Now that is all changed. Among
the mightiest men in our great citiss
today are the Christian merchants and
the Christian bankers, and II tomor-
| row at the board of trade any man
should get up and malign the name OF
Jesus he would be quickly silenced OF
put out. In the front rank of all our
Christian workers today are the Chris
tian merchants. and the enterprises OF
the world are coming on the right side
There was a farm willed away some
years ago. all the proceeds of that farm
to go for spreading inidel books
Somehow matters have changed, and
now all the proceeds of that farm 20
toward the missionary cause. One o!
the finest printing presses ever built
was built for the express purpose O,
publishing infidel tracts and books
Now it does nothing but print Holy
Bibles. / believe that the time will
come when in commercial circles the
voice Of Christ will be the mighties,
OF all voices and the ships of Tarshish
will bring presents and the queen OF
Sheba her glory and the wise men OF
the east their myrrh and .frankincense
| look on upon the business men of
this land and rejoice at the pros
pect that their tact and ingenuity and
talent are being brought into the serv-
ice Of Christ. 1t is one of the mishtiest
OF weapons. There is none like that:
give It me-"