The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1903-11-11

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Whatever may befall;
Accepting good or Ill as He shall send,
And. wait until the end.
Witnesses For Christ. @
The apostles had been put in prison to
keep them from testifying, for Christ. Al;
ways the enemy gets ready a prison ana
seeks to Law hands on Christ's witnesses
and bind them in prison. The prison ls
not always built of stone or iron, nor
guarded by soldiers. Oftenest nowadays
we find that its walls are formed merely
Of nicely fitted rules Of etiquette, tosms
and ceremonies, and held together by cue
mixed, though sometimes the building ls
but made of laugh, or little trembling
fear of what people will say or think.
These all form Just as effectual walls as
any ever built of solid masonry. Shut
within so close prison, what are we TO
do? How witness for our Redeemer! how
gain freedom to do SO?
The world is the keeper of this prison.
1t says: "You are not to speak Of religious
things. We want no solemn thoughts$to
dampen our gayety. 1t is not good :iornli
to bring your individual beliefs before 9th,
ers. It makes them feel uncomfortable
Neither must you for conscience sake re.
others wish, because by SO doing You are
casting silent rebuke at them"
Witnessing is done by acts as well az
words. Sometimes q mere passive smile
for forms sake at an irreverent Jest wit.
nesses against our Saviour as truly as it We
had originated it. And words cannot undo
an act that places us with those who do
not love Christ. 49,
To those who thus submit to imprison
ment the angel of the Lord opens not the
doors of the prison. But speak from the
prison room and the walls fan! You are
have broken through the prison by, DOING
BY the very fact that you are free are yon
commanded by the angel who opens the
prison door, "Go, stand, and speak to the
people!"
And Christ's witnesses will be arraigncd
to-day just as of old. They viii be called
fanatics and sneeredsat, perhaps. but all
honor to those serv&hts of the Most Hieh
who have the courage to make reply. e
ought to obey God rather than men.
The great reason for our witnessing TOR
Christ is that we owe Him all. He gave
Himself for u.s.. shall we deny 50 great
love? Would the loving child refuse TO
witness by every word and act that it's
father is great and true? Yet we do. often
| witness against Him. And great IS the
rejoicing among the enemy when a witness
can be won over from the very household
of God. Oh. the shame of it when mem-
| bers of Christ's blood-bought church sIt
with silent lips when Jesus is on trial,
And concerning the way of witnessing.
There are some to whom the idea Of bear
ing personal witness in private talk ls re-
pugnant There are others who are so irl-
| sistent in testifying for Christ that they
forget the wisdom of serpent" and the
"harmlessness of doves" enjoined upon
Christ's followers; and testify for Him as
did the severe old Christian butcher, who
asked one of his patrons in q solemn voice
as he cut the meat with the great cieaveT,
Madam, are you prepared to die"
It is perhaps such injudicions instances
| that have held many good and brave peo-
PIE from witnessing for Jesus in this per
sonal way. And yet there are many who
owe their salvation. under God, to some
quiet, pleading word from friend whose
life is consistent with his speech.
While silence is often golden, there are
times when to speak is an imperative duty,
when merely to keep silence is cowardlce-
! The question of speaking in -rayer meet
ing must give the Christian Eldeayoret
| MUCH CHOupuG dS W INV W w ~ W stAS
very best advantage. It is rare that error
is made here in the direction of speech.
There is usually a surplus Of golden si-
'lence." Some one has said that our pray
er meetings are often like Siberian rivers
"frozen at the mouth"
There has been much talk about the way
people take part in their own meetings.
but it seems as If we had settled down at
the present time to accept the fact that
most of them have either become consh-
tutional verse repeaters or sit through the
meeting with sealed lips. Even many OF
our young leaders have fallen into the lazy
! habit of bringing some one OF the numer-
Gus "helps' on the topic and reading from
it. seeming so to- feel their duty fully done:
Now. it may be true that the writers OF
those helps are much more competent by
education than many of the young people
who read from them, bnt that does not
! make uD for the loss of the personal testt
mony that should come from the young
disciples heart. Stumbling though it
may be-. one sentence of heart love, TO
Christ expressed in the meeting is worth
whole columns of wise sayirrs and telling
| illustrations Cod misses His little hn-
! man praise" He would rather hear the
! trembling sentence, "I love Jesus" than
! to have the public duty of testimony dIs-
! charged by reading another's words
Grace Livingston Hill, in the New IarS:
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