The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-05-31
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moral nature of man." Man fallen
and dishonored was driven from para
disc Lost" The grand design OF the
Kingdom of Christ is to bring HIM into
such fellowship with God as that he
may be an heir of paradise Regained."
At Athens were two temples, "a temple
of Virtue and a temple of Honor"
Only through the former could the lat.
ter be entered.
Only through the invisible Kingdom
of God on earth-the Kingdom OF
Grace"-can we hope for admission at
length into the Kingdom Of the Re.
~deemed"-the Temple of Glory" The
subjects of this empire must be In
harmony with and breathe the spirit
of the King. We are reminded sec.
ondly of the small beginnings of the
Kingdom Of the Messiah.
The "stone cut out Of the mountain
without hands" was diminutive at first
as compared with its subsequent al
pearance. This is indeed the law OF
nature. The trees which fill our for.
ests were once but tender saplings-the
men of the next generation are to-day
but weakly children. Christianity was
indeed complete at the beginning.
From its very nature it must have
been. An imperfect system would have
been a witness against itself. In all
these nineteen centuries not a single
principle of truth has been added. II
was Christ's gift to the world. A mine
to be worked-a very bonanza. A sys.
tenn to be studied-a very thesaurus of
truth. Christ in His doctrine was its
teacher. In His matchless character
it's grand exponent. Each Christian is
a matriculate in the preparatory school
and when the term time of life shall
end will receive a certificate into the
University Of Heaven. Laws are being
constantly changed in order that they
be adapted to the varying condi'
tions of mankind. Amendments to the
Constitution have been added n by
one. Statutes are subject to frequent
revision. Provisions that have proved
injudicious have been struck out. Nee.
essary notifications and additions have
often been made. Can anything be
added to the system Of religion which
Jesus introduced into the world? Has
the Sermon on the Mount" ever been
improved? Can it be? AS we'll at
tempt to add to the radiance of the
midday sun or the majesty of the heav.
ing ocean. The necessity Of change
would imply weakness, crudeness, i'm
perfect knowledge. 81 am the Lord, J
change not" and Christianity is the
creed of Jehovah-the system of Him
who said, II am the truth" Who shall
say that Christianity can eve need
modification?
TO what age of the world. to what
to what government, to what
conditions has it not been
adapted? Still, in it's beginning, il
seemed of small and weak proportions.
From a human standpoint, what could
appear more uncompromising? II
seemed like a Lilliput arraying itself
against a host of giants. We are SO
constituted that we look for causes
shall seem adequate to given
effects. Who in the first century could
have conceived as ever possible the
scenes which in these latter days greet
our eyes and the facts which thrust
upon our attention? Christ
Himself was a poor and obscure Naza-
rene peasant, without prestige or i'm.
mediate pedigree of note. His disciples
were, with few exceptions, lacking in
culture and Of but limited influence.
The new religion had in it nothing to
win the opulent or the influential. 1t
not to the caprices Of men,
but combatted their strongest preju-
dices. 1t brought not peace, but a
sword" Judged by ordinary stand.
ards, it seemed doomed to failure. We
need not turn to the grand treatises OF
the Buffers, the Paleys, the Dwights,
resistless as their arguments seem; the
history of Christianity during
these nineteen centuries offers a might
Ter and more eloquent plea for it's di.
vine origin and character, q perfect
against which all the shafts
of infdelity seem but paper pellets.
But as we turn again to the inspired
narrative of the dream Of the Baby.
lonian king, we read that after the
image was smitten and the iron, the
clay, the brass, the silver and the gold
were broken in pieces, becoming like
the chaff Of the summer threshing floor,
the stone which destroyed the image
became a great mountain and filed
the whole earth.
Thus in mystic symbolism was the
truth revealed that the kingdom, which
at length Jehovah should set up, was
destined to universal prevalence. Nor
are we limited in this view to the Ian
guage of symbols. ASK Of Me and /
will give thee the heather for thine in
heritance and the uttermost parts Of
the earth for thy possession" 1.-THE
earth shall be full of the knowledge OF
the Lord as the waters cover the sea-"
Thus David and Isaiah, peering
through the perspective of coming
years, beheld the wondrous ascendency
the kingdom of Emmanuel. What
appeared to these prophets Of the olden
time in vision appears to us translated
into history, glorious with the grand
achievements Christianity has wrought.
Magnificent victories have followed its
banners. Territory after territory has
been added to its dominions. Despite
the opposition which its representa-
have met, the fiery prosecutions,
not limited to the period of its intro
duction, but blighting the records of
ten centuries, and, indeed, times long
the dark ages" its growth has
been phenomenal; aye, more than that,
Palestine has become the
moral centre Of the world. The prayer
Jesus has taught, "Thy kingdom
is being graciously answered.
Judging from the history Of Christian
.ty and reasoning from analogy, had we
not the promises of the Sacred Word,
we should be compelled to anticipate
the ultimate triumphs Of THE Re-
1eemer'S cause"