The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1901-07-06
NUMBER 81.

formed for this life or saved !er the
life to come by an argument, but in
humblest and gentlest way, your
voice subdued, ask him 4 few ques-
tions. Ask him if he had a Christian
parentage, and if he says yes ask
him whether the old folks died happy.
Ask him if he has ever heard Of any
one going out of this life in raptures
of infidelity and agnostcism. Ask
him if it is not a somewhat remark
able fact that the Bible, after so
many years, sticks together and that
there are more copies of it in exist
ence than ever before. Ask him il
he knows of any better civilization
than Christian civilization and
whether he thinks the teachings OF
Confucius or Christ are prefera Bile.
Ask him if he thinks it would be
fair thing in the Creator of all things
to put in this world the human race
and give them no direct communica-
ton for their guidance and, if they
did wrong, tell them of 10 way Of
recovery. / think if famous infdel
of our time, instead of being taken
away instautaneously, had died in
his bed after weeks and months Of
/ illness he would have revoked his
teachings and left for his beloved
/ family consultations which they could
not find in obsequies at which not
one word of Holy Scripture was read.
or at Fresh Pond crematory, wherS
no Christian benediction was pro-
nounced. I do not positively say that
in a prolonged illness, there would
have been a retraction, but I think
there would.
But let me confess at this crisis of
my sermon that there is not an in
junction in the Bible more difficult to
obey than the words of the text.
While it applauds a wholesome indig-
nation, it warns against sinful an
ger And there is in all the realm
of passion nothing more destructive
than indiscriminate hate. First OF
all, it frenzies the nervous ganglia.
Those people who easily fare up on
little provocation go into high dud-
geon. take umbrage without reason,
snap you up quick, have ruined their
nerves, and there is only one thing
worse TO ruin. and that is the brain,
and we say of one that is given to
frequent ebullitions of temper that
he is an unbalanced man. A business
man of our acquaintance said: Il
cannot afford to get mad. 1t hurts
me So"
A man thoroughly mad can say
enough in two minutes to damage
him for 20 years. II only took five
minutes for the earthquake 10 de-
stroy Caracas. One unfortunate sem
tence uttered in affront in a speech
in the United States senate shut for
ever the door of the white house
, against one Of the most brilliant men
of the last century.
Surprising all other characters in
the worlds biography stands Jesus
; Christ, wrathful against sin, mercitul
TO the sinner. Witness His behavior
toward the robed ruffians who de-
manded capital punishment for an
offending woman-denunciatio for
E their sinful hypocrisy, pardon for
her sweet penitence. He did not
, speak of Herod as his majesty" or
"his royal highness," but dared TO
, compare him to cunning fox, say
, ing: go We and tell that fox" But.
alert to the cry of suffering, He finds
ten lepers and to how many of the
! ten awful invalids did He give con-
valescence and health? Ten. Rebuk-
ing Pharisaism in the most COM
pressed sentence in all the vocab-
, ulary of anathema-"Ye serpents, We
, generation of vipers, how can We es-
! cape the damnation of hell?"-yet
, looking upon Peter with such tender
ness that no word was spoken-and
not a word was needed, for the look
; spoke louder than words. And he
. Lord looked upon Peter, and Peter
went out and wept bitterly" Oh, what
a look it must have been to break
. down the swarthy fisherman apostlei
: 1t was such a hurt look, such a be-
seeching look, such a loving look,
, such a forgiving look! Was there
- any other being since time began,
r such a combination of wrath against
wrong and compassion for the
wrongdoer? Lion of Judah's tribe!"
Hear that, Lamb of God who TAX
eth away the sins of the world!"
Hear thatl
a Like Him, let us hate iniquity with
n complete hatred; but, like Him. may
d we help those who are overthrown
S and be willing to suffer for their
n restoration. Then, although at the
e opening of this discourse our text
2, may have seemed to command us to
n do an impossible thing, we will at
e the close of this sermon, with a
I prayer to God for help, be more rig
: id and determined than ever before
/ against that which is wrong, while
d at the same time we shall feel so
I kindly toward all the erring and
/ work so hard for their rescue that
e we will realize that we have scaled
+ the Alpine, the Himalayau, height of
IS my text, which enjoins: BE ye angry
II and sin not"
, Another ProhIeD, SoIxed