The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-06-13
THE PULPIT.
A SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON ef
DR., CHARLES EDWARD LOCKE,
Subject: The Universal King.

The sermon was the annual one be-
fore the New York East Conference.
The text was from Revelation Xi:lo:
The Kingdoms of this world are be-
come the Kingdoms OF our Lord and or
His Christ" Among other thlnss Dr'
Locke said:
With His own hand God wrote on the
foundations of history, The seed OF
the woman shall bruise the serpent
head" On the radiant advent morning
the angel said to the bewildered shep-
herds, Behold. l bring you good It'd
ings of great JOY. which shall be to al!
people;" and, later. the Great Teacher
Himself announced. Il, if l be lifted
up from the earth, will draw all men
unto Me- Though ConfuciuS died OF
broken heart, fearing he had spoken
no truths which would survive nm,
ard Socrates drank in dependency the
hemlock in his cave overlooking Ath-
ems vet Jesus Christ, the worlds Great
Optimist, cried out in triumph in the
midst of the agonieS of the cross-lt
is finished" and Paradise Lost became
Paradise Regained. John. the Revela-
tor, in the seraphic isolation OF his
exile, saw in his vision the fulfllment
of all these prophecies, and eXultantly
wrote, The Kingdoms Of this world
are become the Kingdoms Of our Lord
and Of His Christ"
1t was long looked for psychologi-
cal moment when Bethlehem's star
appeared above the dimpled hills OF
Judea Civilization had slipped down
from the hoary highlands of Bactrla
to the lowlands of Hindustan; it then
moved westward, tarrying long enough
to build its towers in Persia, its tem-
pies in Greece, its tombs in Egypt ana
it's thrones in Rome. At its birth
Christianity encountered the fierce op'
position of emperors and armies. Rome
was mistress of land and sea. The
founder of Christianity was q Roman
subject, it's chief apostle Roman citi-
zen. The whole Roman empire was
hurled across the path of the progress
of Christ. His followers suffered, but
in the sign of the cross they conquered.
Our forefathers bravely followed the
guiding star to the summit of the Allie
ghany Mountains and fixed the west
ern boundary of the new republic; but
the years pushed the frontiers west
ward, and when at last against the
prophecies of American statesmen the
plains were crossed by the intrepid
pioneer, then autocratic lawmakers
defantly announced that the serrated
peaks of the Rocky Mountains would
outline the western boundary of the
nation, but steadily and gracefully
moved that point Of light until at last
it mingled its silver beams with the
golden embroidery of the sunset coast
Then even tie wisest of modern magl
thought that the star Of empire mad
become a fixed star, but faithfully 1t
has pursued its noiseless tread until
to-day it is brilliantly shining above
eastern archipelagoes and continents.
We are the creatures of that star and
must keep up with its aerial flight,
for wherever it fingers there is another
Betblehem's cradle and another advent
hymn.
Within the lifetime of many here
present the star appeared in the
Asiatic heavens and the angel choir
again sang "Glory to God in the high
est, on earth peace, good will to men,"
The year 1858 has been called the
Annus Mirabilis of modern missions,
and truly it was ''year wonderful"
for the doors were opened to one thou
sand million of the human race. In
that year India was transferred from
the clutches of the avaricious East
India Company to the British crown
and Queen Victoria became Empress
Of India. By the Treaty of Tientsin
the ports and interior of China were
opened and the people were permitted
to accept Christianity without perse-
cuton. and Japan. after 200 years OF
exclusion, made its treaty with Great
Britain. Now, let us see how these
great kingdoms of the earth are becom-
ing the Kingdoms Of our Lord and OF
His Christ
India has a population of 250, 100000
and an area Of 100000 square miles.
Suttee, infanticide and the voracious
juggernaut are gone forever. Because
of the huge reservoirs constructed by
English foresight famine is rapidly dis
appearing, and the gradual elevation
OF women is taking place. India will
be Christian from the Himalayas to
Ceylon from Bombay to Calcutta.
China has hsd continuous authentic
history for forty centuries. The first
real character i'll Chinese history was
the Emperor Yu, who ruled 22O4 b. q.
The Chinese are supposed TO be the
descendants of Shem, the oldest son
of Noah. They settled Oh the banks
OF the Yellow River and established
kingdom coeval with Rabylonia and
EcyDt. and before Abraham came out
of Chaldea.
Four hundred and six millions Of peo-
pie and 4,225, 900 square miles, and has
q coast line of 2500 miles. The climate
is very much like our own. There are
broad rivers, lofty mountains and val
leys of extraordinary fertility. There
is vast mineral wealth. Beside iron,
gold, silver and copper there are I'M
mense coal fields; all of which lie al
most undisturbed waiting for the COM
ing Of the higher civilization which
will some day adorn this droWSy ma
ton. China lies partly in the temper
ate zone, where the greatest nations
have developed and where the posi-
bilities of power and permanency are
assured.
They are an industrious people, al
ways busy, quiet and peaceable. What
ever lethargy characterizes the country
rs government, the typical Chinaman
is q shrewd, active, successful toiler.
The Chinese invented printing and
gunpowder; first used the magnetic
needle; made the finest porcelain and
to-day manufacture the finest silk and
the most exquisite embroidery.
They are an educated people. All