The Savannah morning news., 1902-04-22
REVIVAL SERVICES
BEGUN AT FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
BIZ REV. DIR. DAVID NJ. RAMSAY.
THINKING AND ACTING.
THE SUBJECT or THE SERMON DE-
LIVERED LAST NIGHT.


Present Visit of DIR. Ramsay's First
to Savannah.
The first of the series of revival
sermons, which will continue at the
First Baptist Church this week and at
least a part, if not the whole of next,
was delivered last night by Rev. DR..
David NJ Ramsay of Charleston, who
will conduct the entire series, reached
Savannah yesterday morning and is
registered al the De Soto.
His sermon last night was on Think
ing and Acting" The text was:
Il thought on my ways and 1 turn
ed my feet unto thy testimonies"
Psalms cxix: 50.
There is properly an inseperable con-
nection' the speaker said, between
thought and action. 1t is one of the
Droudest distinctions of the human
race that we are capable of forming
an intelligent concept. The brute has
not this power and hence cannot ana
lyze, compare and generalize. For this
reason he cannot talk. The parrot,
liidi NH dNAC VI OiAAJ SNCAAO ~
talk by making sounds in imitation of
words. In this high sense man alone
can think and herein lies his RESPONSE
bility to God.
"Our text. in the first place presses
upon us the duty of right thinking.
The relation logically of thought and
action. when normal and healthy, is
that of parent and child. 1t is like the
two poles in electrical science. for or
der safety and efficiency the circuit of
thought and action must be complete.
Thought. like that hidden giant steam
in the locomotive whose invisible arm
thrusts forth that mass of iron, is the
great force that moves the world.
But while thought is invisible it.
self 1t has many manifestations in
visible, tangible form. All nature
about us is at last manifest deity. All
the products of civilization in their
myried forms are but mans thoughts
materialized. You ask what l am.
The answer gives me pause, extends
hope in the midst of despair-howeve
insignificant / may seem to be l am
a thought of God. God thought, God
sat thinking and / came into existence.
How important then that we should
nave proper objects for our thinking.
All of us If honest must say; much of
my life has run to waste; we are now
daily, not merely at yonder judg-
ment bar, brought into Judgment for
every idle thought and word.
THE proper study of mankind Ia
man, hence begin with the ways OF the
man for whom you are most re-
sponsibl=-yourself The time viii
come when you will be forced to think
Of your ways. Poor Judas thought too
late. Too late the Frenchman Rous-
ssau thought on his evil ways and
wrote his uncanny confessions that
read ike q page from the judgment
bs1E q Z last soul. How much more
pleasant Has Il for Job TO take back
Ezr1 glance al his life and then look
1ermzr1 ard exciaim in triumph. /
E1ow 1alt my Redesrner liveth and at
rka latter dap shan stand upon the
ezEa-
Note. in the second place, the re-
suit C thinking upon your ways. Men
an women may be classified with
reference 70 the subject Of thinking
and acting There are some who act
without thinking. There are many
who do as the boy who jumped the
see where he had landed. Like impul-
siye Simon Peter, they simply detach
their thinking apparatus and go on
acting. How many of US reply to our
selves when conscience chastises as we
replied to our mothers in childhood
why, mother, /, didn't think?' The
very best thing we grown-up children
can do of these is to say, %, God, for
give me; 1 did not think l suspect
that is what Peter Said when his Lord
met him.
There are other people who think
and then do not act. Many of you, like
trembling Felix under the blood-curd-
ling eloquence of Paul, you have
thought and thought and made VOWS
perhaps, but never acted.
'"Then there are others who neither
think nor act. Like ancient Gallo, you
care for none of these things. Sad and
awful words,
Another class there is, one to be
commended. They think and act. This
ancient Psalmist belongs to this class.
He says: I thought upon my ways
and turned my feet ! know not what
particular experience set him to think
ing of his ways. No matter, this in
trospection was for his salvation. With
a spirit of fine generosity this ancient
writer performed a sort of vivisection
upon his own bosom and showed us his
heart. Looking down at his feet he
saw they were pointed in the wrong
direction. He turned them heroically
the OtneI way so ne tells US. Inc pes
of it all is, he never stopped until he
got into a place of safety-under God S
loving protection.
"A very important and significant
matter is that this man did the only
safe thing: he made haste to make the
turn. AS report follows the lightning $
flash, he suited the action to the thought
and instantly turned. Be not deceived,
but few ever change after a long life
of sin. Rest assured that there is but
faint and uncertain hope based upon
ceathbed conversions Usually as a
man lives so he dies. Your mere plans
are of but little avail. God must help.
so come to God in his time-in his good
time which is now. Can the Ethiopian
change his skin or the leopard his
spots?"
The service was attended by an ex-
ceptionally large congregation for a
Monday night. The feature of the mu-
steal part Of the service was a solo by
MIR. c. d. McCardle. The full choir will
be present tonight. Beginning to-day
a service will be held in the lecture
room each afternoon at 4 o'clock and
in the church each night at Sis o'clock
The present visit is DIR. Ramsays first
to Savannah. He is very much pleased
with the city.