The semi-weekly messenger., 1906-07-24


tres-hed Yesterday morning in the
First Baptist church a powerful ser
mcn which he entitled. My Ticker" j"
In a brief notice of this sermon PRINT
ed in the Daily Industrial News OF
Saturday morning, it was spoken Of as
"a Political Sermon" DR. Battle takes
exception to this caption and in Il
note 10 the editor says:
There is a great difference between
political sermon and one that
ieaIs with important moral principles
involved in politics-yOu will at once
appreciate the distinction-the latte
type Of preaching is legitimate, the
former has no appropriate place in a
Christian pulpit. | think you will like
10 correct the misnOmer'
The doctor said that the sermon WAS
delivered in view Of the great political
agitation in the city and also through
out the state.
He took his text from Joshua 24 -
serve" Dr. Battle said:
Each life is a unit, and what seems
10 De discOnd is often hidden harmony
not understood. Each life has it's reg
ulating center Of power; its Declaration
Of independence, if you please. JUS as
our fOrefatherS, in the western W1ids,
moved out upon an untried and danger
Gus career with a definite embodiment
of certain great fundamental and eIeIn-
al principles for their chart, SO eacn
human being who sails the sea of life
is dominated by an ideal wrought out
in loom Of thought where heartbeat
drives the nightly wheel ard expert
ence plies the shuttle.
OUR LIFE is WHAT WE MAKE 1T.
"COnceding all that is claimed for
the potency of influences exerted by the
laws Of heredity and environment, We
must nevertheless, believe that the
judge of all the earth will do right and
confidently rest in the great and lndis-
pensable truth that moral accountability
(the fOundatiOn-StOne of all govern
ment) presuppOses liberty of choice
the ability to act or not to act, ID De
or not to be- 1t must be so for there
are 1IcdL llOIt1 "IIoSc LII
herent excellence the normal mind
must recognize-they pertain to those
truths which Cicero declared manifest
themselves by their own luster.
HE GIVES US HISTORY.
But God does not shut us up to the
COntemplatatiOn of abstract principles.
He gives us history, philosophy teach
ing by example, the history of men and
nations.
Men are the most potent factors III
the history of the planet. The personal
equation is the supreme equation. Our
cahDter narrates, in the words Of Je
hOvah himself, a magnificent catalo-
que Of blessings conferred on Israel ii
which peculiar emphasis is placed on
the gift of great leaders: Abraham
! Isaac, Jacob, Moses and AarOn-men
great because they crystaliZed lofty
principles into conduct; they caught
| and reflected some of the glOries Of
the unseen world, revealing as III d
SYMBOL the beauty and blessedness
Of true religion to an age gropiDg
in the darkness of paganism.
MEN MUST HAVE LEADERS,
Leaders serve to gather, cOndens
and solidify those persuasions which
often float nebulously in the minds
OF the multitude By their Superior
genius they not only create, but also
formulate and Interpret the peoples con-
victions to themselves, and become rhe
orifammes of progress.
A leader is worthy Of recognition ana
support only so far as he embodie5 n
his creed and life principles of value.
He may be richly endowed with per-
sonal magnetism as was AbsalOm, but
unless he is the head and front Of 2
worthy cause he cannot be counted 1
special blessing from God. He who
aspireS to leadership should be preuar-
ed to submit his claims to the cruel
bic Of severe and dispassion1te
thought.
WE MUST HAVE CONVICTIONS.
But YOU tell me some people cho cse
without thought. Also too true. Such
persons cannot be said to have conv;c-
tions: they have prejudices. They
choose only that they may be IN the
fashion or that they may follow in the
way of friends or family-that there
are reasons lurking around in ambush
they take for granted, and that those
| reasons are friends and allies 10 their
| particular Sue OF the question Jne ALSO
>ake for granted. If the matter a is
sue be one of ecclesiastical interest, and
they happen to be Methodists, their
spirits are held in absolute thrall by
the mighty name of John Wesley: if
they chance to be Presbyterians, they
go no further than the eighth chapter
Of Romans and 29th verse: Whom
He did fOreknOw, He al5o did preles-
tinate;" if Baptist. they reach the
Jordan, and their exploring minds
are satisfied If the issue be of diff
ferent sort, and they are tossing on the
sea political, their chart might as we'll
be written in Egyptian hieroglyphics,
so far as any intellectual appreciation
! is concerned; and alas too often thei'
north-star sparkles with the CLINT Of
gold. The world of the Lord is very
explicit: Moreover thou shalt provide