The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-02-13
Theme: Jesus Christ; an Estimate.

in His capacity of Revealer and Saw.
ious, He measured true to divine de-
mands. Truth triumphs. Sincerity
counts. To straddle is unsafe. IN
spiritual power is the greatest
strength. The straight way IS the
safe way. Principle is potent to gain
respect. Sham and shoddy are soon
discovered. Christ claimed divinity,
and He lived a godly life. He insist
ed that His was the way unto life
eternal, and We know He spoke the
truth. Investigation Of His lie finds
His action and speech in harmony.
The measure of Mis- conduct by Fills
uttered ideals can find no flaw. He
is as He claims to be, and His glory
is as the glory of the Father.
The Christ was a stalwart man.
AS the Anglo-Saxons had it, He was
a ma who was "foundation-worthy."
Fixed firm and constant the Christ
was never guilty of DETECTION from
the strict, straight path of loyal duty.
Full worthy was our Lord to be the
founder of a spiritual and moral rem
aissarce that will overcome the
world. Built strong and firm and
true was He, upon whom the hopes
of humanity are fixed.
The Christ was a man of courage.
He was a man of heart. Courage Is
heartiness. To be hearty is to be
full of heart. He did not shrink from
danger. Without a sign Of fear or
fright, our Lord defed the very
prince of the powers of darkness.
Calamity, bravely, nobly He cleansed
His Fathers house. How nightly
He inveighed against the powers OF
Palestine we may all attest. The
Christ was not weak hearted. Hav-
ing a work to do He did it with a will.
Conscious of the odds against Him,
He had no fear.
Out in the open, despised, forsaken
even by His friends, trusting only in
the power Of the truth, He battled
ever on for human liberty. Bearing
upon His broken body the sins of an
evil world, He was yet courageous;
He had always heart. The Christ was
sound to the r
The Christ was a nan Of deter.
mination. He was a man of resolu-
ton. Having determined His sphere
and His call in life, He was resolved
to fill it. To be determined is to be
ready to go to all lengths-that is to
say, to see the thing through to the
finish. The Christ vas true to His re-
solves, even unto ar ignomin1ous end.
Having marked a clear line Of duty,
He walked without swerving. Hear
ing the call of the dying world, He
saw and conquered Calvary.
The Christ was a sturdy man. He
had power of resistance, ard He
could not less well force the fight.
Born with antipathy to evil, He stood
against sin firmly. Seeing the inhu-
mainly of mankind to man, He forced
the issue, and He flayed, with burn
ing words, the evil of His day. Strong
as the oak He stood against the
storm. Keen as the tempered blade
He smote His adversaries. Were
they var He was more. Were they
subtle He was shrewder. Did they
lay a snare, He did but tangle all OF
them in the meshes of their selected
net. When they were most cautious
than did the Christ confound them.
They smote Him and He did not flee.
They showed him Caesars image, but
He was not caught. They p~redicated
marriage in the heavenly country and
He pointed their mistake. They asked
a sign and got not one.
But sturdy and stalwart and strong
Of purpose and of will, as the Master
was, He was yet the soul of sympa-
thy. Hating iniquity and scoring evil,
He had yet a healing hand for me1.
Disdaining sin, His heart held pity
for the sinner. Crucifed by wicked
ness, He could yet pray mercy for His
prosecutors. His was the sympathy
that cured. His was the tenderness
that touched. Filled with divine com
passion, He knew the sufferings OF
human souls, and He preferred heal
ing and a rich release.
men, like nails, lose their useful
ness when they lose their direction
and begin to bend" runs a piece Of
sterling wisdom. The Saviour had
His bearings, End He kept the goa.
in sight. For Him the straight way
was the surest, and He walked the
middle of the path of duty. The
offer of a whole worlds wealth could
not swerve Him from His course.
"Get thee behind lie, devil" was the
motto Of His life as He dealt with
sin. His fidelity should be the fash
ion of our faith. His directness
should insure our zeal. His sympathy
should sustain our love toward men
and for God. His stalwart energy
and sturdiness of soul should be Jul
pattern. Our lives should radiate
His light. Our spirits should suffuse
His love.
What Titan and Corot and Turner
did for art; what Bach and Beethoven
and Mendelssohn did for music; what
Tennyson and all the lyric host have
done for the conservation and the
culture of the minds Of men, that,
and infinitely more, can Jesus do to-
ward the saving of a soul. Sturdy
and stalwart and strong He stands
to-day the Saviour Of the race, the
incarnation of the Word. His &C.
tions are an open book, and he who
runs may read. His words are mighty
unto fife that is eternal, and he who
hears and needs may live. The imi-
tation of His character is the calling
Of the Christian. The representing
Of His strength, His power, purity
and love, is the signof Christly grace.
Have you much or none?
An Awful Awakening.
r..