The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-06-16
THINGS ASTONISH me-
REV. DIR. JoRDAN's DESCRIPTION
OF MATTERS AS THEY ARE.
IN EVERY FIELD OF LIFE
THERE ARE THINGS THAT BRING
ACCOMPLISHMENT AND GRIEF.

Tn Man Who Sells His Vote Sells His
Manhood and His Decency-The
why's That Transform Public
Onice Into a Private Snap--Why Do
Men Give So Much Time to Things
That Hurt and So Little to Things
That HeIps why Do Men Fail to
seek the Kingdom of Cod and His
Hi.shteOUsness.
Rev. DR.. John D. Jordan preached
strong sermon at the First Baptist
Church last night. His subject was
Things That Astonish Me-" There,
was a large congregation and DR.. Jor-
dan preached to an audience that hung
upon every word. He discussed mat
tiers political. moral and religious.
DR.. Jordan's text was taken from
Acts xii:16: but Peter continued
knocking and when they opened the
door and saw him they were aston
ished." He said in part:
Peter was in prison awaiting the
morrow as a day fixed for his execu-
ton. The church was in earnest and
I CCAA&ilACN ~ JCA AOA ulS ACACooS. 6SA
answered their prayers and they were
astonished. We are often astonished
| at the providence of God, at ourselves
and at other people. l wish to speak
briefly of a few things that astonish
me.
Politically, why can any man sell
his vote for a money consideration? A
| mans vote represents his manhood.
In craftsmanship the vote represents
| the man and many a man sells him
self for less than the price which Ju-
das got for bestraying his Lord. Vote
selling and buying means the death
| knell to Americas liberty and honor.
| The man who cries out against trusts
and monopolies, then sells his vote,
is opening his mouth and shutting his
eyes-straining at gnaSs and swal-
| lowing down camels.
why can some talk SO big before they
are elected to public Office and act
so little after election? Why are cor
rupt men permitted to dominate and
control politics, while the better classes
of people are Indifferent?
Socially, why do men excuse in
themselves things that they condemn
in women and why do women condone
| in men things which they condemn IN
their own sex?
why do people give so much time
| to things that hurt and so little to
| things that. help. Many people do not
seem to discern whether the social
trend of the family is toward right
eousness or ruin. Whether they are
| putting their children into a primary
| class for the church or kindergarten
for the saloon, gambling house, or
something worse.
while in Gainesville recently L was
entertained in the home of Col. Perry,
whose house stands on the dividing
| line between the waters of the Gulf
| and sea- The slightest influence on
a drop of water near the comb of his
housetop determines whether it will
| flow into the Gulf of Mexico or the
| Atlantic ocean. So the destiny of
many a life is determined by what
seems a trihe. Trifies make perfection
and perfection is no tri1e. Trifies
make ruin and ruin is no trifie.
| The cultivation of the destructive
rather than the constructive in human
nature has always astonished. me.
''As rule, more people are ready to
hurt you than to help you; to destroy
your character, fortune or reputation
rather than help you make one. Dis
| honesty, untruthfulness and unfairness
are vices to be crushed out by a noble
people.
''How can a community that claims
to be first-class support, or even
permit, prize fights to be pulled off in
i it's borders. 1 rejoice that a prize fight
was not pulled off in Savannah recently
because the attendance was so small,
May their congregations ever grow
less.
"Religiously. how any one can know
the word of God and not believe it,
astonishes me. To know the word and
not believe it is greater mystery
than to know and believe it. 1t 10
| easier to believe the Bible to be in
spired of God than to believe it pro-
duced by men. If the Bible be not
inspired of God, then the greatest won
l. der of all is as to it's origin. If not
| from God, whence is the Bible?
IF the Bible be the inspired word of
God why do not all religious people
take it as the only and all-sufIicient
guide and rule of faith? There is no
need for men-made creeds and rules of
faith They are the patchwork of
ages and the crazy quqitS of fallibility,
a rock of offense to the strong and a
stone of stumbling to the weak. A fair
specimen is the agony of recent ages
in trying to determine Gods dealings
with infants and their relation to SAL
walton, which is the father of infant
baptism, so-called.
"Why any man or set of men can
claim right. authority or ability to
change the clear, distinct and undis-
puted teaching of Gods Word upon any
question or ordinance as many have es-
sayed to do on the question of Chris
tian baptism is q marvel to me- When
the pious profess to believe it / am not
surprised that the skeptic and scoffer
are abroad in the land. When one man
can, make truth error and error truth,
may not another man make sin right
eouSneSS and righteousness sin?'
sa~@