The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1905-06-22

AN ELOQUENT SUNDAY SERMON BY
THE REV. c. E. JEFFERSON.

New York City. - In the famous
Broadway Tabernacle the pastor. the
Rev. Charles Edward Jefferson. D. D..
on Sunday preached the following SER
mon entitled, Wanted: \ New Vision
of Cod"
The great word on the lips of the
coming preacher will be God" The
name which is above every name has
been too much neglected i'll these re-
cent years, even by the men anointed
to proclaim it.
There have been reasons for this neg
lect. The evolutionary philosophy
awakened 4 new and thrilling interest
in man. Whence he came. how he
started. what have been the processes
Of his climbing, these are the questions
which have bewitched and absorbed US
all. The phenomenal achievements Of
the last half century have worked to-
ward the same result. Never has man
been so wonderful as now, never has
he done such mighty deeds. He is q
miracle worker who says each evening,
Il will do greater things tomorrow
His prowesS. cunning and mastery are
astounding. and to chant his praises
has been our pastime and delight.
The miSerieS Of man have also con-
spired TO fix our attention on him. He
has come from the country to the city
and he is in trouble. He has become
the victim of all sorts of economic and
social forces. which have left him
lying bleeding and half dead by the
side of the road along which the
strong have driven furiously to wealth
and power. To lift the man who is
down and place him on our beast and
get him into the nearest inn is a prob
lem of vast dimensions, and has taken
a deal of our thought and time.
We have been caught in the COM
pleX of secondary causes. and have lit
tie inclination to consider She Cause
which underlieS them all. To many
minds Gods presence has become dim,
His personality vague and doubtful.
His holiness has been by many quite
forgotten. In admiripg or pitying the
creature we have gotten our eyes of
the Creator. Our first duty is the step
of the prodigal. II will arise and so
back to my father"
The prophet Of the coming days is
going to say in the words Of one of
old. II have yet somewhat to say on
Gods behalf" Mans cause has been
pleaded eloquently and long. and the
time has arrived for the forthputting
of the claims of God. Beginning at
the earth always ends in Babel. be-
ginning at the throne Of God leads to
Pentecost.
We are coming back to the old evan
gelism of the apostles. Wherever Paul
went his message was, Eve pray you
in ChristS steal. be ye reconciled to
God" Simon Peter met the uproar
in the streets of Jerusalem on the Day
of Pentecost with great Gee aration
Of God-"I will pour out of My spirit
upon allsflesh"; and from first to last
it was upon what God had done in
Christ that he based his passionate eX-
hortation to repentance.
All deep-eyed men are seeing with
increaS sing clearness that it is not by
ecclesiastical might or political power,
but by the spiri. of Jehovah that the
mountains of iniquity are to be leveled
and the rough places made smooth.
The evangelism Of the coming days
will begin with God.
Three doctrines will be counted car
dinal. In the forefront will be placed
the sovereignty Of God. If the Puri-
tan passion has died out of our blood
1t is because the Puritan conception
Of God has faded out Of our hearts.
What we need to see to-day is throne
with God on it. Democracy has made
havoc with our ideas of authority,
and the result is fabbiness Of respon-
sibility and laxness Of CONDUCT. which
unless counteracted. will lead. to- our
ruin. The pessimism and hopeless
ness so prevalent to-day. even among
processing Christians are the direct
result of failure to grasp the funda-
mental doctrine Of Gods omnipotence.
Along with the doctrine OF Gods
|sovereignity will 60 the doctrine OF
His immanence. 1t is an old doctrine
couched in fresh phraseology and with
new light shot through it by modern
science. The doctrine is written large
across the pages Of Scripture, and in
every land and time the saints have
snown that God dwells IN the hearts
# men. In Him we live and move
nd have our being, as the apostle
opng ago declared. And centuries be-
yore Pauls day a Hebrew poet thrilled
~ the thought of Gods omnpotence
Srote the lS9th Psalm. ----.-
That God is above all and through
II, and in I'll, and that of Him and
Him and to Him are all
$&ings is one of the commonplaces Of
2e Bible; and whether we use the old
ahrase, "the indwelling God" or the
3krase now most popular, 1.-The imma-
z&nt God" the thought needs to be
Emphasized and wrought into the con-
Of the Christians of our day
at God is in His world and dwells
ate special fulness in the hearts Of those
prclo love and serve Him.
6rsNor will the holiness of God be for
:. ;rtten. The decadence Of the sense
g. sin has been caused by the blur
ioi Of the doctrine of Gods holiness.
t"Sly Father VS. the title by which
lte9us knew God. and it is thus that
dur must know Him if it is to be we'll
sverh our souls. The forms in which
d in.ibution was often preached in pre-
theing generations were so grotesque
,b,a arbitrary that some of us have
IN ashamed to say it right out clear
VI strong. that God pun.shes men
'i' heir sins. In the coming day we
hergoing to believe again that whatso-
'ans-s a man soveth that shall he also
'rom,, that without holiness no man can
ions the Lord, that there is no peace
,ths. the wicked, that the soul that sim
dies III the act Of tts SHINING. and
God is calling upon men every