The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-12-07
know whom I have believed" Not till

know whom l have believed Not till
then can you be at peace.
I am not called upon to explain the mys.
terry of Christ by which we are able to ar.
rive at this blessed conviction of faith. 1t
would be a difficult thing to follow by a
logical process. There are many things in
the working out of your deepest conscience
which are beyond our logic. Nevertheless.
I say there is no escape into the realm of
rest save by faith in the ~atoning grace Of
Jesus Christ. The thing that is at the bot.
tom of the fear is the latent conviction that
you are not right with God. Tt is that
which kept you vaguely unsatisfied. 1t is
eating the heart out of your enjoyment OF
life. Get that right once and you will re.
ceive the "peace Of God which passeth IN.
de~rstanding." Perhaps I may not have
been sufficiently personal. direct and pun.
gent, and, if so. I pray Gods forgiveness
and yours. It will not heal a deeply
poisoned wound to skin it over. I pray
YOU, probe your hearts to the uttermost.
IF YOU feel you have been wrong until now
begin to be right from this hour. Get the
central stay made firm and strong. Get fast
hold Of God. The great step is to be really
persuaded that God is your father To
be persuaded that He loved you, unworthy
as you are: that He reckons you among
the number of those to whom He gives
eternal life. The unrest comes from the
fear that YOU have not got on the solid
ground; that you are still worse, risking
The losing of your soul. At any moment
the Master may rise and close the door.
Your soul may suddenly look back upon
the probation period forever and look for
ward toward heaven for everlasting. O.,
try, I beseech you. for the hone set forth
in the gospel. Have it out with God. once
for all. Get on terms of peace with Him
before the day may close. Cast yourself
in the everlasting arms.
I nave spoken of two things. First, the
consuming care: second, the latent convlc-
ton. There is one other experience that
may break our sleep. I pray God that none
of you may have it. 1t is the experience
of one who has committed spiritual suicide.
In one of Victor Hugo's books there is a
character who, after n long series Of exper-
fences. at last arrived at a great crisis; he
waivers, hesitates, and then commits a co.
lossal sin. Conscience is insultcd beyond
forgiveness. Then suddenly he hears. as it
were. an internal burst of laughter-laugh-
ter of the soul-and the soul rarely hears
| this innermost laughter more than once
without hearing it forever. This character
afterward falls asleep and dreams. He en-
tiers the town; he comes upon many men
standing in various postures, silent and I'M
movable, as if dead. In unspeakable terror
he tries to flee out Of the l~ifeless city,
when. looking back, he is appalled, to see
the Inhabitants coming after him. They
overtake him and hold him and cry: "Do
You know that you have been dead for a
long while?' Now and then, in polite So
| ciety, in select communities, even in this
| fellowship, unknown to us, but not I'M.
known to God. one comes upon one of
these dead men. who have heard the inter-
nal burst of laughter, who mocks and de.
| ies God and insults divine mercy. There
is such a thing as spiritual suicide. Men
sometimes by their action or non-action
take the life Of the soul; thev are dead to
repentance and to hone. and at last they
are dead to God. Thus men drive sleep
forever from their eyelids, like Macbeth.
When once the conviction seizes upon the
soul then farewell to slumber and peace.
God forgive me if I have spoken too
plainly. If I have misrepresented the spirit
of truth. but if I have been true to the
word of God then let him that hath ears
hear what the spirit says: ""To-day, if you
will hear His voice. harden not your
hearts" Lay hold upon eternal life. Then
you may lay down in sleep, since when YOU
awake you shall still be with Him; and
whether YOU wake or not, you will be the
| Lords and His forever.