The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1903-09-16

| Every man possesses conscience, dno
you will hear many declare that they can
be just as good, quite as moral as ChriS
tian through the power Of that conscience;
But what IS conscience apart from religion!
In many cases it is a slave j. teld OF a
master. The power Of passion browns its
voice and weakens it by every deliberate
sin. A man believing in the existence et
no higher authority will drift upon the
current of his animal nature. for those len
dencies which IRE strongest Will eventusiiy
ensave him. No, without living faith IN
God or personal union with Him the con-
science loses its power to govern and guIde,
| but religion clothes it with exceeding
strength by revealing to man the source OF
those magnificent moral attr, butes with
which he is endowed. thus giving to that
"stil small voice" within the soul an inh'
mite worth.
There is not heart but has some con
ception OF q higher life than IL low feels
Every young man and woman at the gate
wav of responsbilit,. is fired with entlusi-
asm and ambitious with a great purpose
which they long to accomplish; going ca
into the world they have to stem mighty
currents. within and without. the tenden'
cies OF their lower nature and temptations
to sin clothed with beguiing tinery. Crises
will arrive when the future will b.. deter
mined. Moments of dire peril trauGhtt
with tremendous responsibility. They Will
| then feel the need Of higher power
the enemy Of rectitude. The ideal OF pure
manhood and womanhooi shining before
them will appear unattainably heyond
their reach, lost forever. How, then, can
| they safeguard against this dread exper-
ience which has blighted many promising
young lives, which, unable to stand against
the waves of adversely have sunk helpless
and despairing? I answer, BY being relig,
ious. Religion alone can give them that
victory which crowns a life complete in
| Christ. 1t places them into direct commu-
nication with God, whose delight is that
they should become worthy to share HIS
glory. Temptations will surely come, but
| religion gives them a new meaning; they
are but reminders of the existence OF
Father who ever waits to aid and sustain,
and. as blessings in disguise they carry
messages of an infinite love for every lnal-
vidnal soul, proeiaiming that virtue is the
beginning and the end of holiness, the mar
row road to perfection.
Another wonderful revelation of religion
asserts that you and l sprang. from the
bosom of the eternal Father. That as He
is eternal we too shall live through endless
ages, created in His image. sustained by
His snirit, our life shall ther unto. itself
magnificent growth. Religion sets before
us destiny whose divine splendor start:es
and overnowers our weak conception OF IT'S
glory. The Word of God calls into being
an amazing sense Of power. 10 think, my
brother and sister. that through aeons OF
time we shall be adding purity to purity.
love to love. knowledge to knowledge.
glory to glory. living forever in the pres
ence of the immortal and infinite God. rls'
| ing to spiritual planes Of inconcelrab!e
grandeur and beauty: scaling heights, OF
happiness beyond the dream of angels. lhe
incomprehensible destiny OF living soul
loyal to God and duty beings our faces to
the dust when we consider that this Is our
heritage; You and l, with all our weakness;
corouering death and the power OF moral
evil.
In the midst of the trihiug follies of the
world. the conceit of fashion, the DEGREES
of thoughtless society. and, the whirl or
vapid pleasures, let us keep this thought
like a burning fire within the brain-the
thought of God, holiness and heaven:
Brethren. allow the character OF your
heavenly Father as revealed by Jesus
Christ to stand before yon as the goai OF
all attainment. Religion gives is an ldeal
and an incentive to reach it. BY contem.
plating and really loving this excellence is
to be inspired by it. The Christian man Is
always conscious OF a divine presence. In
every phase of his life he marks the guild
ance of God. He beholds His handiwork
in every flower of the field. The hosts OF
shining stars as they whirl through space
declare His majesty, and in the phenomena
of nature he discerns living expression OF
His glory. Thus by contemplating and
adoring His handiwork in the natural
| world without and the spiritual world
within, Christian is given grace to suodue
all things unto the one great end OF moral
growth. True religion is not belief in
set of dogmas. or the recitation OF creed,
| or profession of faith: these are but the
accessories of particular attitude toward
truth. but it is infinitely more than thisE
| it is the life giving breath OF the spirit OF
| God which rules, not certain relations, but
ali correspondence of the heart. soul and
| body with the Creator and with fellow
men. ,,:
Religion is something nDre tlan Worsmp
and exalted states of mental happiness.
| We cannot in the stress OF competltiVe
| life ignore the demands of imperative du-
| ties. or sacrifice the claims OF others on
our consideration for morbid ascetclsm::
| Religion teaches the true performance OF
| little duties. as well as the cultivation OF
| the souls highest properties. 1t was never
| intended that we should 60 into desert
Mace and foster our immortal spirits BY
meditation and seciusion. The lesson OF
| the Christ is one Of practical goodness.
| performing all things, even to the giving
| of a glass of cod water to the glory OF Goa.
| Under these conditions alone can we grow
to perfect manhood and wsmanhood..
| There is no limitation to the exercise OF
| the intellect. yet without mora! Pr'IelpIe
to guide aid en!ighten its research mere
can be no advance in the path or tn:
Many of the greatest thinkers naI: aii!.. -,
atheists. Religion gives to lntellect an
added power Of ANALYSIS and dscrlmlna'
| tion. a medium whereby We discern truth.
| 1t places the mentality of man in commu,
MON with infinite knowledge. Gifted
with the eye of the spirit" tae glory OF
| God streams upon the page OF history ana
every department Of SCIENTIFIC research tes'
| titles to His perfection and wondrons love;
The mind of the most brilliant e:hoiar VIII
onlv see in phenomena natural results.
| RELIGION alone has power to permeate ms
work with magnificent me. ming. Ihere Is
a hidden wisdom only revealed to the child
Of a "new birth" who has had a special
and individual revelation of the Father.
Religion crowns intellect with a deep m
sight into the mysteries of life. The eartn,
sea and sky. the complex organism Oh SO,
cietv, the depths OF human nature, :ne
history of nations. all these Things snine
with new luster, and iiood the nilna WI
| profound meaning. A blade OF grass ne'
comes worthy of study, for the Supreme
| Intellect has imprinted on ITS fragile Stsn
divine thought and action. In everything
We Gee Cod Under the benefcenS inti'l'
ence of His Spirit our faculty OF compre'
hension is robed with sacredness and gran
dear. for lie calls it forth to a glorious
communion and expansion, until oae Gn
It shall fully understand the love wh'en
now passeth knowledge, s .
True religion above all things forms an
upright mind; it e.evates the Judgment
above prejudice, and creates, noble PG9'
| nose to receive knowledge through az re-
climate channels. 1t .endows a man WIN