The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-06-19

Saturday night, June Sth, was devoted TO
the commencement exercises in Erskine
Theological Seminary. y large audience was
present in the A. r. P. church and was led IN
prayer by the key. d: q; Phillips; & Only y,irsG hwG
course. Mr.. Z. Z. Lindsay, of Fayetteville.
Tenn, read an excellent ESSAY on the Catho,
licty OF Christianity. Mr.. j. K. Mlllen, OF
Chester, s. c., discussed, In an interesting
way, the question, Was the Hague Confer,
epce Failure: The essays were short and
were appreciated by all who heard Them;
Tnese young gentlemen have spent several
wears In Due West and leave good name pc
hind them. DIR. w. l.. Pressly, the president
OF the Seminary, delivered the certincates 10
"The Preachers Weapon" He spoke OF the
tender ties that bound them together ana OF
the good work they had done as students. ne
referred to the struggle going on In the worlo t
"seed of the serpent the connict Is IRE
pressible. No compromise is possible Even
a truce is inadmissibe. Ihe IS struggle Ie car, can
of one or the other. Every Christlan Is a sol
dier. and expected TO do valiant service.
Failure here is disloyalty to Christ. Indiher.
of every Christian, how much more Is 1t true
Of those who fill that office in the Church TO
which you aspire. The Christian minister is
not merely soldier, he is leader. He Is, or
ought to be-he must be-a leader Of the sac.
ramental host. In modern military parlance
bis place is on the firing line. AS his position
T.,
fdelitity ought to be correspondingly con-
spicuous. 49,
things may De salo Hne rs tnaI o,scton sne ro
vided is the back. This is fitted. perhaps was
intended to suggest that II Is never expected
that the Christian soldier will turn his back
to the enemy. To do so would expose him
self to a mortal thrust. The other is, that In
all this armor there seems to De out one
weapon of offense-lhe word-the word OF
Gnd H.,
In point Of temper, OF finish and OF efflclency
no substitute has been found for II, nothing
that will compare with II.
or this weapon II may be SalQ tnaL III ls as
effective in offensive as in defensive warfare.
The Master used 1t to repel assault, but 1t is
lust as effective in cleaving its way through
the armies OF the aliens or this weapon 1t
may be said still further To at IT has lost none
OF It's heavenly temper, its divine hn1sh or us
inclsiveness. through the lapse OF time or IRE
ouept use. Besides these intrinsic excel
lepces. this inherent superiority, this IL the
weapon which God has chosen, which ne mas
and honors for the successful prosecution OF
this warfare. But much depends, 50 iar as
execution Is concerned, upon the sklli ana
energy with which weapon is welded and
this Will depend largely upon a knowledge OF
it. 1t would be impossible then TO emphasize
too strongly the importance on the part OF the
tian minister, OF an intimate acquaintance
with this word-not with its letter only, but
with It's spirit as we'll. This is the one thought
that would emphasize % and impress ,1a, upon on
should be acquainted with current literature.
but II this is TO be acquired at the expense OF
an intimate acquaintance with the Bible, IL Is
not desirable. 1t is purchased at too high a
my parting word with you Is, know your
Bible. Don't imagine that you know II al al,
ready. That Is delusion TO which we are all
exposed. Believe me, there are depths mere
which no human plumbline has ever faith
. omed, and heights upon which the eye OF man
has never yet rested, much less the foot OF
men trod. Be students always, and let the
Bible be your chief text book.
Remember that you are soldiers; gird on
me say this is no losing fight in which you
are about to enter. Whatever may be said Of
the past and present, the future is radiant
with light and hope. The Church militia t
shall vet become the Church triumphant, for
the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
Sabbath morning at eleven o'clock was the
time set for the sermon 10 to- the & graduating nn3 e
College. They occupied the front seats In the
church. The sermon was preached by the
Rev. D. n. Mclaughlin. pastor OF the Pres6y-
terian church at Chester, S. c., and he had the
pleasure OF addressing quite large congrega.
tion. Text: And these all having obtained
a good report through faith, received not the
the promise" True Success. was the subject
of his discourse. He had the close attention
OF the large congregation from the beginning
TO the close of the sermon. 1t was eminently
livered with in tense earnestness. When the
preacher was through he stopped.
No service was held in the afternoon. At s
p. M. the congregation reassemoied to hear
which was intended more especially for the
students OF the Theological Seminary. The
preacher was at his best. He chose the fol
lowing words as a text, or rather as a starting
point he said "Ye have not passed this way
heretofore" AS Sam Jones says, "he puts the
fodder down low" His sermons are plain,
and contain the very marrow of the gospel.
l. The preacher OF the gospel has divine
call. and that guarantees all the rest Whom
he calls he qualities for the work, and whom
he guides he crowns at last with success. The
preacher has definite call TO do a special
work. No man taBeth this honor to himself
but he that is called Of God, as was Aaron.
Failure TO recognize this truth brings disaster
to both the ministry and the Church. There
is room to fear that some enter the work
without waiting for distinct and definite
call from God. The preacher may not aspire
to rule. he must rejoice 10 serve.
II. He who Is called OF God to preach the
gospel has promise of divine strength. No
thoughtful man can look at the work of the
ministry without asking In his heart, "Who
man II Is trying to quarry mountains with
sun nbeams, or hoist great girders with spiders
webs, to hope to staunch the worlds sorrows
and stay its pain and right its wrongs by the
foolishness of preaching.
III. He who is called has divine exam pie
He is our exempar In toll. All his life he
o
and bis mission laboralike comes the lesson
of fruitful toll His teaching accords with his
life. He made plan for all needed recreation
Shallowness, surface skimming, padding
is the temptation Of the ministry. God does
not equip lazy men. He is our example in bis
selfdenial. The place seeking, praise loving
mammon hunting. envious preacher, might
lily mars bis usefulness. He Is an exemplar
in his zeal. Deliverance from the easy-going
way of handling the Kings business is one o.
the needs Of the hour. There are plenty tc
pour on water, but too few TO put fuel on the
fire.
~. He who is called OF God to preach the
gospel has the assurance OF a divine reward
Monday rehearSals were going on through
out the day, visitors were arriving on all tht
trains and there was considerable stir In the
town. At eight O'Clock in the evening tht
society celebrations were held. In the Philo
mathean hall Mr.. r. K. Ransom of the Senior
class presided and welcomed the guests wht
had come to attend the exercises or the even
ing. He apnounced as. the subject for tn,
debate the following: Resolved, That Cole
ridge has influenced thought more than Dar
win. The affirmative was represented by M r
w. P. Robinson of Lancaster County, and tn,
negative by Mr.. r. B. Pharr of Charlotte
They proved to be good fighters and ever,
inch Of ground was hotly contested. Mr.
Bryant of the Charlotte Observer, and Con
gressmap:F Finley sat in judgment on the de
bate and decided the debate in favor of tn
affirmative. Mr.. f. N. Orr of Corsicana
Texas, delivered the Senior Grafton and hac