The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1903-08-26
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE BY THE
REV. DONALD D. MacLAURlN.

| REv. DONAIO -. MdcLhOhiN
Subject: The Greatest Thing in tho World
The Distinguished Divine Delivers a
Sermon Which Is as Scholarly and
Readable as ANY of Recent Years.
New YORK CITY.-Dr. Donald D. Mac
morning in St.. Johns NJ. E. Church to a
large audience. His sermon was the first
in a series on "The Greatest Thing in the
World" DIR. MacEaurin said:
I have most. earnestly sought to bring
you on successive Sundays the best min
istry I have yet been able to give you,
thok your lives may be broadened and
deepened and lifted up into higher realms
of spiritual achievement; and could find
that which is suggested by the chapter
which read to you, the thirteenth chap.
ter of Paul's first epistle Of the church at
Corinth And so for eight weeks, we shall
have our texts from this chapter; and this
morning you will find our text in the first
verse of the first chapter of First CORN.
thians: "lr speak with the tongues OF
men and angels, but have not love, 1 am
become sounding brass or changing
cymbal."
Nor must we not think that we shall be,
come tired of this wonderful theme. Did
you ever know any one to become weary OF
a diamond? Among the gems of the Lord
God is found this chapter. and though 1
do not profess to be skillful lapidary to
bring out its flashing facets, think. with
the aid of the divine spirit, we shall flnd
in each service something fresh and helpful
and new. :,
This chapter has heen in all ages Of the
church especially admired; would that it
IL -a,,.,,,J - o1l tho oopo 0f (,hriatlan
history that more practical and valuable
appreciation which would have been ex-
perienced by practice of its principles
and an acceptance of it's precepts. Ter
tullian said: "It is uttered with all the
force of the spirit" and the great thinker
is right. Az I have pondered it for several
years with ever growing interest, ! have
come to feel that, indeed, mortal faculty
could never have written it. 1t never
could have sprung from the brain or heart
of even so great man as Paul, unless hea-
ven had given him the inspiration. 1t is,
dear friends, an utterance of heaven,
1t is a glorious hymn or pean. in honor
! Of Christian love, sung, as we have lntl-
mated, by the Apostle Paul when soaring
up. on the wings of inspiration into the
very heights of Christian eloquence. Like
called the Psalm of Love-" and not in
frequently your speaker will 80 designate
it in these Sunday morning services. 1t
has the form of poetry; it has the insplra-
tion of poetry; it has the coloring Of the
finest poetry. And if you could read it in
the Greek you would catch the fullness OF
it's imagery, as it is impossible for you to
do in the best English version. 1t seems
proclamation to attempt its expositlon.
1t seems like analyzing rose or dlsseet-
ing a nightingale to take these principles
apart one from another for the necessary
analysis in the progress of our work. But
it Is so full of the very heart of the gospel
message that we would be cowardly were
| we not to attempt the exposition.
The position of the psalm in the book
in which it is found helghtens its effect.
You find it in the midst of lengthy argu.
ment. It reminds us very much of an
oasis OF towering palm trees and spring.
ing. flowers. and running brooks in the
midst of desert of sand. On either side
is argument, is tumult; and right in the
midst of all bursts forth his sublime song.
It is very much like the song of the sweet:
voiced school children in the midst OF
their hard work and the babel of their
games. Or, better, like. the very sound OF
the song of heavens choir in the pit OF
Wall Street on o panicky day., We can
must have fallen on the Corinthian church
as they read this chapter, and we can
imagine. too, the CONSERVATION produced
in the minds of those Christians as they
discovered one after another their favorite
gifts or favorite possessions swept away
by the great teacher. For Paul here
shows that love is the one essential OF
Christian life. Love did you say? Love!
that soft sentiment that hard:headed men
say belongs to women and children. Do
you mean to say that this is the spirit of
~, 1,~ hot 10 nronicalty what the
apostle formulated. He afirms most ex-
plicitly the absolute worthlessness of life
without love. Love at the beginning of it;
love at the end of it; love filling the whole
space between. Love at the end is not
the same as love at the beginning It is
richer, grander, nobler, diviner. But
without the first love the other could never
be. The blossom and the fruitage be-
speak the rootage, and the seed and the
flower and the tree. And unless you have
the first love-love for God-in your heart,
the love that shall engage our attention on
Sunday mornings will be stranger to your
experience "If J. speak with the tongues
of men and angels, but have not love. l
am become sounding brass or a changing
cymbal." 1t would seem as If all the
Corinthian church were eloquent speakers,
or at least were eloquent hearers; and let
me say that eloquent hearers are as essen
tial as eloquent speech. The Corinthian
Christians were distinguished for their gifts
, in this direction; and so the apostle, know
ing it, knowing them right well, for he
them capable Of speaking in every tongue
! that rose from the lips Of men or angels.
That were thev to have all and were des-
titute OF love they were nothing but sound.
ing brass or Changing cymhals. How hard
this must have been on those people who
cherished e.oquencc as more easy to i'm
agne than TO describe. for they placed
great store by their gift of tongues and
their eloqucnce of speech. And do you
know we are often placing the. emphasis
at their wrong place. We are often guilty
thians were often putting the emphasis
where the cmphais should not be. What
Paul affirms and what the Gospel affirms
over and over again is that it is not speech,
that it is not doing but being, that God re-
CARDS. Being is finer than doing; finer
than saying; finer thun any expression
which it is possible for;t to make of itself.
Now, let us consider, if you please, in
the first place, wherein love is superior to
the most eloquent speech. 'If I speak
with the tongues of men and angels. but
have not love, am become sounding brass
or changing cymbal." What is Chris
tian love: 1t is more easily described than
defined. That is precisely what the
apostle has done in this great psalm of
love. He now here defines it, He simply
describes it, giving some fifteen character.
istics of it. Indeed. do not know where
love is defined in the entire Rible, nor do
know definition for it. You have heard
the story of the teacher of psychology, W no
upon receiving new class at the begin
ming of the term. instead of giving them a
lecture, he asked one of the members Of
the class to define the human soul; and
the young mau rose and said: "The human
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