The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1902-07-17
our GREAT ENEMY
DR.. CHAPMAN'S SUNDAY SERMON.
Great Pre- acher.Evangelist Declares
That Most of Us Are Our oWn
Worst Enemies.


nared an interesting sermon uroa the sub,
iert a Novel Race" which Is preached
from the teEt. Proverbs Il: u, There Is
\ way which saemeth right unto man;
but the end thereon are the ways OF
death ~ D..
JOSEPH Parker. the pastor OF the llty
TemDle in Boston. was asked to take the
editors chair OF the London sun. lie was
Given full liberty to print just what ne
wished in the paper or to keep out OF the
columns what in his Judgment was not
conducive to make an ideal paper. One day
in the place OF the racing news which the
readers of the Sun had been accustomed
TO peruse he printed under the caption OF
"A Novel Race Record" description OF
the race of lie and for each point maze
emphatic in the lives OF those who fire.
nuent the race course and follow racing as
business he presented passage or Scrip
ture. This was. to say the least. startling
One of our New York papers, quoting
from his utte-ings in the London Sun,
printed the following:
\ NOVEL RACE RECORD.
Ion6on.-The Rev. Joseph Parker prints
in the Sun to-day in place OF the usual rae
ing column what he calls corrected race
record. as follows:
The Eternity Stakes.
The Start-Born in sin. etc. Psalm IL: D.
The Race-Al gone out OF the way, etc.
Romans Ill: -.
The Finish-After death the judgment,
etc. Hebrews N: -. ;,
The Weighing Room-Thou are weighed
in the balances and art found wanting.
Daniel V: -.
Settling Day-For what shall it profit
man il he shall gain tire whole world and
lose his own sotl. Mark Will: &c;
This outline for q sermon has been IN
nv mind since first my eyes lighted upon
it. and to the great London preacher |
am indebted for the suggestions OF tins
sermon. and yet an quite free to confess
that the only reason | have chosen the
outline, and indeed the only reason l
preach the sermon is that have great
desire that those OF YOU who are running
the race of life should lev hold upon eter-
nal life. 1t is a great mistake for men TO
preach without giving their hearers an op-
portunity to confess Christ. When Mr..
Moody FIRST began his public ministry IN
Chicago he went through 4 course OF SER
mons on the life OF Christ. and came at
last to the crucifHion. when the most pro-
found impression had been made. lie Icit
as If he ought to give an invitation, nut
neglected to do so. The audience was dis
missed never to come together again, Tor
that night the great coaHagratlon III Chl'
cago was upon the city. and many OF ms
hearers We're quickly ushered into eternity,
and so while present this novel race rec
ord l present it only that you may run the
race with Christ.
If I had the time in this connection l
might saw some words concerning the book
in which the text is found. 1t has been
said by some one that there is no part of
the Bible which more thoroughly proves
the inspiration OF the Scriptures, Tor TO
mere man could have written these wise
savings; another has suggested that the
thirty-one chapters in the book contain
lesson for each day OF the month. and no
man would find himself failing so frequent
" If he should imbibe the wisdom of these
savings Indeed there is not condition
OF life that is not met nv the wisdom OF the
writer OF this book I might also suggest
the different figures which are used in the
Bible which describe a human lie. 1t is
spoken of under the figure of a voyage
with its days OF calm and nights of storm.
its south winds blowing deceitfully against
us, and telling OF prosperity that never
comes and its hurricane which almost
drives us against the rocks and to death,
but one of the hest figures is that o. race
for no man walks when he races. but runs.
He must be desperately in earnest. and no
one really makes a success Of his life with
out this same thing is true OF him. There
is little place for the lagcard in human
life TODAY We must run IL we would
win. and no race is permitted without con-
testants. In this race Of human life which
we start there are three contestants which
strive earnestly to lefeat Us. The first is
self-the greatest enery that the most OF
us have is self Other men fight battles
and rest when the victory is won, but no
man has ever yet been able to rest in the
struggle with himself The Bible is true,
Greater is he that ruleth his spirit than
he that taketh a city" and many a man
has been a hero in the battlefield and
made a miserable failure with his struggle
with himself. The world is generally
against us. Woe be unto You when all
men speak we'll of you," and if no one op-
poses You it is well to stop and see where
in you may be wrong. but possibly the
greatest adversary OF all is the devil, the
third one OF this trinity of contestants, for
he hatters and deceives until at last the
strongest character is made weak and the
purest soul tainted: but am not SO much
concerned about the running of the race
lust at this time as the preparation for the
end. The text is striking one. There
is a way which seemeth right unto a man:
but the end thereof are the ways OF
death" There is a way that seemeth
right" take it that none of us hare de-
termined deliberately to he lost. Our
mothers memory is too sacred and our
fathers example too powerful to permit us
deliberately 10 choose death instead of life.
We are merely procrastinating- We have
chosen little more OF the worlds pleas
ure, falsely so-called. and determine to
have little more OF the worlds honor,
and the way scemeth right, for some day
We may be saved. and yet no one has
certain prospect 0! salvation if he neglects,
Christ to-day, for. he has made 10 provi-
sion for the morrow The end battles de-
scrption There is weeping and wailing