Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1901-02-21


such times as these go armed, not Will!
earthly weapons, but with the sword OF
the Spirit You ought TO have four or FIVE
questions with which you could coDfound
any man who attacks Christianity. A man
ninety years old was telling me how ne
R said t. to the steptic, IBID yc:. ever read
the history of Joseph in the Bible?"
eyes" said the man. ut is a fine story
and as interesting story as ! ever read
well. now said my old friend, sup
way?' Goa" said the man. then it
would not he entertaining" We'll, now
said nv friend, eve have III this world
only half Of everything, and do you not
think that when we hear the last hall
we NAV find that God was right?
Oh, friends, better load up with few
Interrogation points. You cannot afford to
be silent when God and the Bible and tn.
things of eternity are assailed. Your 81
lence gives consent to the bombardment
to be cast on yorr mothers dying pillow.
In behalf OF the Christ, who fog you went
through the aQonies of assassination on
the rocky bluff back of Jerusalem, You
dared not face sickly joke, Better LOAD
up with few questions, SO that next time
YOU viii be ready. Say to the scoffer,
my dear sir, will you tell me what makes
the difference between the conditions OF
woman in China and the United States!
What do YOU think Of the sermon on the
mount? How do YOU. like the golden rule
laid down in the Scriptures? Are you in
favor of the Ten Commandments: In
YOUR large and extensive reading have you
come across,a lovelier character than Jesus
Christ? VIII you please to name the
triumphant deathbeds OF inhdels and athe-
lists?
But then there are occasions when this
wit haf exercised
when Re said, Il charge thee to come out
OF him" takes people by the wholesale.
In the most responsive religious audience
have you noticed how many people never
sing at all? They have book, and they
have a voice, and they know how to read.
They know many of the tunes and yet are
silent while the great raptures of music
pass bv. Among those who sing not one
out Of a hundred sings loud enough to
hear his own voice. They hum it. They
give a sort OF religious grunt. Ihey MAKE MAKE
the lips go, but it. is inaudlble: With
voice strong enough to stop street car
one bocl, away, all they can afford in the
praise Of God is about half whisper.
With enough sopranos, enough altos.
enough bassos to make a small heaven be-
tween the four walls, they let the oppor..
tunity go by unimproved. The, volume of
voice that ascends from the largest au-
dience that ever assembled ought to be
multiplied two thousandioid. But the
| minister rises and gives out the hymn, the
organ begins. the choir or preceptor leads,
| the audience are standing so that the
| lungs may have full expansion, and
mighty harmony is about to ascend Wnen
| the evil spirit spoken OF In my text-the
| dumb devl-spreads his two wings over
| the lips OF one haf the audience. and the
| oruer wing over the lips of the other half
! of the audience and the voices roll back
! into the Threats from which they started,
and only here and there anything is
| heard, and uine-tenths OF the holy power
| is DESTROYED, and the dumb devil, as he
| flies away. says, Il could not keep Isaac
| Watts from writing th7t hymn, and l
| could not keep Lowell Mason from com
posing the tune to whlcn 1T Is set, but L
| snote into silence or half silence the lips
| from which it, would have spread ABROAD
| to bless neichborhoods and cities and
| then mount the wide open heavens. GIVE
| the long meter doxology the full support
| of Chrstendom and those four lines would
| take the wnole earth for God.
This is the way l account for the fact
that the stupideest places on earth ar, are
some prayer meetings. | do not see how
a man keeps any grace if he regularly at
| tends them. They are spiritual ref11gera-
tors. Religion kept on ice. How many of
us have lost occasions Of usefulness!
| In a sculptor's studio stood figure Of
the god Opportunity. The sculptor had
made the hair fall down over the face OF
the statue so as to completely cover 1t,
and there were wings to the feet. When
asked why he so represented Opportunity
| the sculptor answered, the face Of the
| statue is thus covered up because we do
| not recognize Opportunity when 1t comes,
| and the wings OF the feet show that Up
portunity is swiftly gone.
But do not let the world deride the
church because of all this, for the dumb
| devil is just as conspicuous IN the word.
| The great political parties assemble at the
proper time TO build platforms for the
! candidates to stand on. A committee of
form. After proper elaboration the com
! mitttes come in with a ringing report:
| Whereas and Whereas" and ''whereas.'
| Pronunciamentos all shaped with the one
| idea of getting the most votes. All eX-
preston in regard to the great mora! evils
| of the country ignored; No expression IN
behalf of temperate living, for that would
lose the vote of the liquor traffic. No ex-
| pressi..n in regard to the universal attempt
| at tbs demolition OF the Lords day. No
| recognition of God in the history or ma.
! tons, for that would lose the vote OF
| atheists But Whereas and ..whereas
| and ''yhereas.' Nine cheers Will be gwen
for the platform. The dumb devil OF the
text puts one wing over the one platform
and the other wing over the other pat;
form. Those great conventions are opened
with PRAYER BY their chaplains. II they
! avoided platitudes and told the honest
truth in their prayers thsy> would say;
80 Lord, we want to be psahnasters and
consuls and foreign ministers and United
here and for that we will strive TIL the
election next November. Give US office OF
we die. Forever and ever, Amen"
The world, to say the least, Is no bet
ter than the church on this subject OF 81
lence at the wrong time, In other words