The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-12-13
THE PULPIT.
ELOQUENT SUNDAY SERMON BIZ
he REV. JOHN DOUGLAS ADAM.
subjeS: Moral Lameness.

BROOKLYN, N. Y.-The Rev. John
pglas Adam, the pastor OF the Re
3med Church on the Heights,
fached Sunday on Moral Lame
81 from the text: Acts iii:6: Then
q said, Silver and gold have l
but such as / have give l unto
In the name of Jesus Christ of
areth rise up and walk He said:
Fdr text introduces us to a lame
n who lay day by day ut the gate
the temple in Jerusalem, begging
sufficient money to keep him In
y. This is a very common scene
the New Testament, where we are
stantly meeting the lame, the halt,
ASh1iistd and the lepers, and there is
bder, for we must bear in mind
SO were the days when there were
hospitals, no scientific medical
Tools, no homes for i%ncurables, nor
b Societies of aid. Since that day
Efstianity, without boastfulness, has
Ia magnificent share in the crea-
Of those centres of relief. We e
buch spectacle on u streets as did
Syrian Of old upon his. Our Chris
sentiment and Christian love have
Svided the hospital, and our lame
n are sent there. And net only the
kpital, but we have to-day enlight-
Id scientific effort, societies OF CHAR
and helpfulness Oh all hands; and
&ause the modern method Of dealing
kh sickness is not the same as that
the apostles, never think that 1t is
] Christian, for the same Christian
|rit plays about the treatment OF
Fsical ills to-day. We have to be
firnSed, it seems to me, from the
at God is only in the extraor-
That He is only in the large.
Is to be hard upon our reason
Eprehend. God is as much in
einary as in the miracle. 1t is
me God, and God is as much
hospital, in His spirit, ana IN
[6dern, methods Of curing SICK
God is there just as truly as He
& in the days Of old. So Christian
has in a large measure solved the
estion of the physically:!lame man..
am not going to speak this morn
! Of him. We have practically dis
led Of him. 1 shall talk OF q
raBy lame man, and when 1 speak
let us understand each other.
morally lame man may be physl.
equipped with the physique OF
iumphant athlete He may pay
v debt. The morally lame man
he man who is lame in his will,
he knows it. His will does not
with health toward his duty.
lame in his conscience; it is de-
re. He is lame in his affections.
kmotions in the higher reaches are
His imagination does not bound
d, its goal. for the goal OF the
nation is God and the infinite.
morally lame man falls down be-
bis own ]self-respect in the develop
of Iris character. He fails In
gn conception Of duty and in his
{tions asa, son, , or husband, or
End, and$in his relationship to town
country. He is not a factor IN
spsrnl progress Of those about him
liz community. He contributes
kpg. but rather takes away-%This
man in the story lay begging.
& are physical and moral beg.
but the worst pauperism is
pauperism. The man who lacks
lent force to pilot himself through
nd never creates optimism and
stamina out of his own life
Eif the world were to surrender
fal power, commit suicide. If
n4tice, the chief contributors to
mans sustenance were the people
the way to the temple. They gave
MIN sufficient to keep him alive and
hi passed on to worship. And /
nix they are still the chief contrib
.s,to the sustenance Of the morally
enan. This poor fellow may have
Ehed in his sleeve at the religious
ICES as they passed on, and the
Earnest men and women are the
who are supporting morally
swho sometimes even sneer at
moral earnestness. 1t is those
lie maintaining the rest OF the
unity. Man lives not by bread
hut. as he is sustained physi-
through the industry Of those
reduce bread and the necessities
ysical life, and without which
would be physical famine, so we
h moral bread and we are much
;hiependent on that in the last
sfs of life than ca the physical,
nation like this lives upon ideas
owe more than on any material
Take these away and all our
Stef material progress falls like a
sa of cards, as did the glorious ma
wealth Of Rome because there
not behind it the manhood to sus-
il. Our world lives through the
3stry Of the truest men and women
in the moral sphere. and If there
10 love being generated by unset
hearts and no faith by pure minds
no moral inspiration by brave
b a nation is doomed. There are
who not only do not contribute
kal strength, but there are those
take away the moral bread baked
the labor Of good men in the fiery
ace of trial, and throw it away
sheer at every pure and divine
q. They are the Infamous de-
yers Of that which is the pillar OF
Fer.
I1r problem to-day is the lame man.
s q patriotic, economic and relig-
one, than which there is none
e practical. The problem before
church is to set the lame man on
feet SO that he can make his own
in things CT the heart and become
bntributor 10 the moral health OF
world. Let us observe how Peter
John faced the problem. First,
faced it squarely. They did not
he it. They were not too anxious
t getting to the temple. While
hip has it's supreme place in the
Sous life of every man, there is
khing else. They did not criticise
Dor fellow; they helped him. And
mestion is how they helped him?
Hid not give him money. They
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