The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-08-08

seek and to save Just such broken
lives us that!
=. How far it will carry us. There
are 4 great many really good people
who fear to become open disciples OF
the Christ and unite with His church
because they fear that they will not
be able to hold out. rs they say. Their
ideal of the Christian life is so lofty
that they fear they shall not be able
to continue in well-doing to the end
so they stand aloof.
Then. there are q great many Chris
tiaus in the churches who are fearful
all the time-fearful rs to the issue
of their life. and many are especially
afraid of death. They have a horror
of it; they are afraid that it Will
come to them in an hour when they
may not be ready for it: they are
afraid that it may bring q pain that
they may not be able to endure-and
so they are full Of terror.
And then there are Christian men
and women. and young men and wo-
men everywhere, who are asking, rs
this Christianity able to carry us
through this life" Is it strong enough
to carry us mp the steep sides of the
mountains Of difficulty we meet in
life? Is it strong enough to carry
us safely through the valleys. where
there are kissing serpents, and where
the voiled vampires have their homes,
and where crouching beasts Of temp
tation are ever ready to spring upon
us in an unguarded moment. Is this
love of Christ able to carry us all the
way through? On the high seas Of
life, in the stresses of all weather,
when the billows roll and dash against
our frail bark-is there a pilot able
to guide the ship through the mighty
seas?
Oh. look at what God has done.
First: He has promised to provision
us. Look at the eleventh verse of
the eighty-fourth Psalm: For Jehovah
God is 4 sun and a shield; Jehovah
will give grace and glory; no good
thing will He withhold from them
that walk uprightly." That is actually
in the Bible I sometimes think that
we treat the Bible rs if it were huge
joke-that these words do not mean
what they actually say. Listen to
them again: 'No good thing will He
withhold from them that walk up
rightly" And these words are con-
frmed by our Masters own teaching.
Second: He has promised to protect
us. 81 will lift up mine eyes unto the
mountains" We'll. that may not be
wise thing to do. Is it wise to
look at our difficulties? Is that what
it means? But the Psalmist is not
done: From whence shall my help
come" No wonder, when you are
looking at the mountains of difficulty,
that you should say that Now listen.
"My help cometh from Jehovah, who
made heaven and EARTH" Is that not
good enough? No wonder Paul said:
What then shall we say to these
things? If God is for US, who is
against us?'
III. From what depth will it rescue
us? The depth indicates the distance
that love reaches. 1t goes down to
the deepest forms of sin. It reaches
to the greatest sinner. Wherefore,
also, He is able to save to the utter
most them that draw near unto God
through Him. seeing that He ever
iiveth to make intercession for them.
shall never forget hearing one Of
the foremost Africans in powerful
speech in the City of Washington.
D. C. He was pleading for patience.
He pleaded with the people to give
his race n chance and time. and he
said: ooh, think of the depths-of
the depths of impotence and super
stitiou and poverty out of which and
up from which my race must Gomez
All, yes! But we were in lower
depths STILL Down beneath the black
man. wearing shackles ourselves had
forged about our feet and lands
the shackles of sin. 1t is up out Of
these depths our God must lift us.
w. The height unto which He lifts
us. For this Love is not only broad
as our needs, continuous rs our pill
grmage, reaches down to the depths
where we are. but it also lifts up to
the highest attitudes of the Divine
Life. The way to measure is to be-
gin at the cross and the foul abyss
Of evil and go up to the throne. This
wondrous Love lifts up from the low
est degradation and sin to the glory
of Sonship in the courts Of heaven.
How high will it lift US? o, God,
Thou knowest.
Well, after we add all our powers
together and seek to apprehend the
love Of Christ in its length and
breadth and depth and height, the
superlative glory is all beyond us! 1t
passeth knowledge. Even when We
are filled unto all the fullness of God,
the over1owing is infinite! Let us
soon see to it that we use our indi-
vidual power to its utmost. Let us
see to it that every capacity is hal
lowed. Let us open the innermost
chamber and let in the King, and by
the ministry of His love toward us
these higher perceptions may become
ours.