The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1903-07-15

fact that Sir Isaac Newton could not .ap.
preciate Paradise Lost" and equally sim
euar that John Milton could see nothing
J: The Principal" Obviously this was not
to the discredit of either Paradise Lost"
or The Principal" nor was it a reflection
upon the learning of either man. 1t sim.
p!y indicates that IN order to apprehend
truth in any quarter. man must he SYM
pathetically disposed toward it. Milton
had no mind for mathematics, nor Newton
for poetry. So the wisest OF men, as ne
world holds wisdom, may come to the
Scriptures and find nothing there; us the
soldiers OF Titus, at the taking Of Jerusa-
lem threw open the ark of the covenant
and found it empty. 1t is prover6 that
none a"e so blind as these WIG will not
see; wherefore man who would hear SOD
speaking through the Scriptures must d.
vest himself OF prejudice and be Wiling to
hear Him. =,
And at this point, again, we discover why
nate word" There are multitudes who
regard Him as chefest among ten thousand
and altogether lovely, but mere are, many
Others who see in Him nothing but root
out of a dry ground, who hath no form nor
comeliness that they should receive Him.
Why this wide difference of view! II ls
due to the same difference in .receptivity.
There are, some who profoundly, feel the
need of Christ; the sense of sin lies heav'
lily upon them, and they would iain be de.
livered from it. They wait, like aged Sim
con IN the temple. for the coming Of the
mighty One, and, behoiding Him, they in.
stantly receive Him as the God-sent Word,
saying, Now lettest Thou Thy servant de-
part in peace, for mine eyes have seen Thy
salvation" They welcome the message be-
cause they were waiting for it. Others,
II
come out of NAZARETH" And prejudice
must be overcome before they can receive
Him. Thus it is written, HE came unto
His own, and His own received Him not;
but to as many as received Him to them
gave He power to become the sons of God"
Prejudice is grounded in pride of worldly
wisdom, and this is the great obstacle be.
tween the soul and Christ as the "word''
or message from God.
Thus it has come to pass that some who
have been distinguished for their attain
ments in certain provinces of knowledge
have been wholly blind on the godward
side. One cannot forget how Charles Oar.
win, after spending his life in experiment:
ing along the lines of physical science, died
lamenting that his spiritual nature had
been starved. In his childhood he had
been deeply religious, as he said, but ne
had dwelt so long amid an environment OF
purely material things that God and i'm
mortality had become empty dreams to
wasting away for want Of nourishment.
All through his life he had .fostered the
natural man, or, as Paul calls it,. psuchi.
kos, the psychical man. He could reason
indefinitely in the realm of material things,
but the supernatural was wholly ruled out.
And the principle referred to will &C.
count, also, for the fact that the Holy
Ghost is nothing to many men. And there
is more skepticism at this point, believe,
living under the dispensation of the Holy
Ghost. He is now the executive of Gods
kingdom on earth, and those who are in
the kingdom have to do officially with Him.
Yet there are many who characterize the
third person of the godhead by neuter
pronoun and regard Him merely as an affiu'
ence or eff1uence. bearing no vital or per-
sonal relation to them.
There is obviously a great difference OF
opinion here. Is the Holy Spirit the per.
sonal director of our life and service, or is
He not "He" at all, but merely ut" II
He sustains the former relation to US. it
is because our souls are in harmony with
His great purposes concerning US and ad.
iusted to receive communications from
Him. In this case we stand as Elijah did
on Horeb, his face wrapped in his mantle,
while he hardened to "the still small
Voice" And living thus we follow His
guidance, as did Abraham on his journey
from Ur of the Chaldees along the wind.
direction of the Voice, pitching his tent or
moving on as the Spirit bade him. Other.
wise we are like the multitpdes at Pente-
cost, who, despite the manifestations of di.
vine power in the sound of the rushing
mighty wind and the miracle of tongues,
looked on in doubt and bewilderment, say.
ing: "These men are full of new wine"
In a recent book on religious experience
the manifestations of pagan frenzy are col.
lated with the feelings and convictions Of
Christian believers: and all alike are cub
tifc method" Thus judged, there is moth
ing in regeneration, nothing in sanetitica.
ton, nothing but infatuation in the up
lifting and transporting influence of the
Spirit of God.
In view of such considerations is it not
apparent that the soul is blind and deaf to
heavenly visions and revelations, unless it
is attuned to them? And what solemn sig.
nifcance there is in the words of Jesus:
"He that hath ears to hear let him hear."'
There are; indeed; 80 many voices ana ana
the neople standing by say: "It thunder.
ETH" o for the hearing ear and the un:
derstanding heart! What avails it to call
commission of blind men to pass judg.,
ment on the art of Titan or Raphael?
What avails it to- bid jury of .deaf. men
sit in judgment on the oratorio Of the
"Creation." Thus when the philosophers
of Athens heard Paul preaching on, Mars
Hill Some Knocked and others said: We
will hear thee again concerning this mat.
ter" The gospel is "foolishness to, the
Greek and tn the Tews stumbling block,
but to them that are saved it is the wis.
dom and power of God" Men sit like
blind Bartimaeus in the Valley Of Palms;
and its beauty is unknown to them until
the Lord of truth, passing by, says: RE
ceive thy sight" The five physical senses
but faith is the sixth gate, at which. alone
spiritual verities can enter, Wherefore it
is written: "He that cometh to God must
believe that He is and that He is reward.
er of them that diligently seek Him..