The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-08-21
THE PULPIT.
a SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON BY
THE REV. G. r. EGGlESTON.
Subject: The Measure Of Duty.

the Greenville Reformed Church, Jer-
sey City, on the above theme, the
Rev. G. H. Eggleston, pastor, took
Luke 17:10: We are improbable
servants, we have done that which it
was our duty to d." as his text. He
said:
In the vocabulary Of Christianity
love is the supreme word. Operating
in life it becomes the supreme law
It is so because it was supreme in the
life of Jesus. But outside the religion
of Jesus, duty is perhaps the con-
~spicuous word. Upon duty the nom
Christian heart lays extreme en-
pbasis. Duty, interpretated in terms
of the best each age could produce,
has been the ideal of life.
To-day the very atmosphere is sur
charged, as by an electric current,
with the Importance OF faithfulness
I to duty. That which is in the air OF
the age is made tangible continuous
ly from pulpit and from press, in
school and club and home. Ministers
and teachers, leaders in business and
in civic life, are pleading for the en-
thronement Of duty in human hearts.
Public sentiment, finding expression
in courts and Investigations and laws,
is being aroused in the interest OF
duty. Traitors to duty are being
branded at their true worth.
We admire the devotion to duty
in that rising nation Of the East
which Enthusiastically found ex-
preston in the speech of the captain
of the Japanese battleship Asama,
who said 20 his men as they drank
in turR from a cup of cold water,
bidding each other a last good-bye:
I'm sending you on the duty Of block
ing the harbor entrance of Port Ar
thur-a duty which affords you only
one chance out Of a thousand to re-
turn alive-I feel as If I were sending
my beloved sons. And if I had a hun
dred SONS I would send them all on
such q bold adventure as this; and
had I only one son I should wish to
do the same with him. In perform
ing your duty, If you happen to lose
your left hand, work with your right;
If you lose both hands. work with
both feet; if you lose both feet, work
with your head, and faithfully carry
out the orders of your commander.
- Adk i dSh VI yOU ~ 10 w w yooA
duty regardless of your life. The cup
OF water I nov offer you is not meant
to give you courage. 1t would be
shameful If our men needed courage
to go to the place Of death. 1t Is only
to make you representatives Of the
honor Of the Asama. Submit your
life to the will of Heaven, and calmly
perform your duty" That is the
utterance Of the spirit of the age,
crystallized in those nations that
stand in the vanguard Of progress.
It Is the emphasis upon duty.
Do we realize what that spirit
would mean if we had it beating in
the life blood of the Christian
church? It would mean the purifca-
tion Of our ideals. It would mean
the Strengthening of the Church of
Jesus in work and worship. 1t would
mean the broadening of our vision
so we could see the brotherhood of
man. If that loyalty to the duty of
patriotism which is characteristic of
the best citizens could be translated
into terms Of the moral and religious,
it would mean that the message Of
the Cross, love, service and sacrifice,
would find expression in every life.
What a result if Christians and the
Christian church would do it's bare
duty! But Is 1t being done? Nom
inally this is a Christian country.
And yet the deadly child labor, in all
its horror exists in this country. It
could not exist if the united Christian
church should say it shall not. Nom
S-a1lr - Th-ycfnn aNY1nfru on6 pnt
the sale Of the stuff that kills men
and women physically, mentally and
morally, that destroys domestic hap
piness and undermines the stability
Of nation, goes on. 1t could not
be SO, were it not sanctioned and pro-
tected by the sentiment and power of
Christian people. But why the need
of citing Illustrations Of that which
we all know? The conclusion is
clear. There are those who, though
faithful to duty in home and in pri-
vate life, when it comes to moral
issues affecting the welfare Of hui
mainly at large, are afflicted with
myopia or Indifference. Can it be
that the cup of cold water tasted by
mex of q pagan religion contains a
greater inspiration to the perform
ance of duty in the face of danger,
than does the sacred brotherhood
of the Christian church? They touch
their lips to the cold water then
face duty unflinchingly, though ii
cost hand, or foot, or life. So the
true Christian from time to time
touches his lips to the wine of the
Communion in pledge of his loyalty
to the Master and in memory Of the
love of that Master. So the majority
gain therein the inspiration that sets
their face unflinchingly toward duty
: without thought of what it may cost,
There are many who 1inch. These
break the solid phalanx Of the Chris
tian army, and SO put off the day OF
victory over evil. Many to whom a
dollar is of more worth than a moral
principle. Many to whom their own
, personal w%ell-being counts for more
than a needy brother or sister. Many
to whom gold is Of greater value than
the welfare of their fellowmen,
Many of whom it may be said, it re.
quires only a little thing-not the
loss Of a hand or foot-only a little
hurt to the feelings, only a little in.
jury to the pride, only some little
thing which they have interpretated
as a slight, only a little demand for
sacrifice Of material comfort, and
they throw their duty to the Chris
tian church to the Withstand some
times their loyalty to the Master
goes with it. 1t is this unfaithful.
ness on the part of a few in every
church to the obligations which every
Christian assumes when he unites
with the Church of Jesus. that makes
it impossible for the Christian churci'
to exert the influence for righteous
ness that is its duty.