The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1902-06-20
HARP OLA THOUSAND STRINGS


i
River was the only highway of com
merce between the great lakes and
the south 1t was not uncommon for
amateur preachers to perform mp
ana down the river, thus advertis-
ing their business, principally fat
boating and peddling their produce.
These fellows always carried lib
eral supply of good whiskey and
dispensed the spirits of the corn
along. with their gospel. When
Sunday came they tied their fiat
boats to the baks and spent the day
preaching. The sermon which fol-
tows was written by Rev. j. IT.
Lewis, OF Louisiana, one OF the able
ministers Of his day:
/ may say to you, my brethering.
that / am not an edicated man, an
| | arm not one of them as believes
that edication is necessary for a
| Gospel minister, for l believe the
Lord edicates his preachers jest as
he wants 'em to be eoicated; an al
though / say 1t that oughn't to say
It. yet in the state of Indianny,
where / live, thar's no man as gifts
bigger congregations nor what /
gifts.
Thar may be some here today, my
brethering, as don't know what per-
suasion 1 am NV. Well / must say
TO you, my brethering, that / I'm
Hard Shell Baptist. Thar's some
felix's as don't like the Hard Shell
Baptists, but had rather have a
hard shell as no shell at all. You
see me here today, my brethering,
dressed up In good clothes; you
mout think 1 was proud, but / am
not proud, my bretbering, and al
though have heen n preacher of
the gospel for twenty years, an al
though I'm Captin of the fatboat
that lies at your landing, I'm not
proud my hrethering, ah.
| am not gwine7 to tell edzactly
whar my text may he found; suffice
| 1t to say 1t Is in the leds of the
Bible, and you II find it somewhere
between the First chapter Of the
Book of Generations, and the last
chapter of the Book of Revolutions,
and ri you will go and search the
Scriptures you n not only find my
text thar, hut great MANY other
4 40 ~
and my tex, when you shall find it,
you shall fnd 1t to read thus, ah:
"And he played on harp of a
thousand strings sperits of jest
men made perfeck."
My tex, my brethering, leads me
to speak of sperits. Now, thar's a
great many kinds of sperits in the
world--in the fuss place, thar's the
sperita some folks call ghosts, and
thar's the sperits ofaturpentine, and
thar's the sperits as some folks call
liquor, and I've got as good an ar
tikel of them kind of sperits on my
lfiatboat as ever was foch down the
Mississippi river, but thar's a great
many other kinds OF sperits, for the
tex says, He played on harp of 3
t-h-o-u-s-and strings, sperits of jest
men made perfeck." And thar's a
great many kinds of fire In the
world. In the fuss place, thar's the
common sort of fire, and then thar's
foxfire, and campfire, fire before
you are ready, and fire and fall back,
and many other kinds. of fire, for
the tex says, "He played on harp
of a thousand strings, sperits of
jest men made perfeck."
But I'll tell you the kind of fire
as 10 spoken of In the Bible, my
brethering, is he'll firel and that's
the kind of fire as a great many of
you'n come to, ef you don't do bet
ter nor what you have been doin'--
for "He played on . harp of q
Thousand strings, sperits Nv Jest
men made perfeck." And that's