The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1908-04-01
THE PULPIT.
AN ELOQUENT SUNDAY SERMON BY
DR.. DWIGHT 6. MARVIN.
Subject: True Greatness.

terrain Church on True Greatness"
the pastor, the Rev. Dr.. Dwight u.
Marvin, took for his text John 10:41:
John, indeed, did no sign; but all
things whatsoever John spoke of this
MA we're true" In the course of
his sermon Dr.. Marvin said:
John did no miracles, yet he was
great, the greatest of the prophets.
Human nature loves the marvellous.
Men turn and look in wonder at the
feats Of the performer on the trapeze,
whether it be in theology, business,
politics or science. Dazzling feats Of
mind and body give q false view Of
life. John did not measure his great
ness by that of others; he was too
much absorbed in his mission to think
Of the work of his fellow men. Like
Moses, who twist not that his face
shone" when he came down from the
Mount Of Communion, John went to
the river bank t" preach in oblivious-
ness of his WI Tperiority to others.
To himself he seemed but a voice, a
breath, or q slave unworthy to loose
Messiah's sandals. Yet John was am
bilious; he aspired to a position of
faithfulness that would make him
worthy of his calling. Ambition is
natural to men; indeed there is little
hope for advancement in life without
1t. Young people are sometimes adj
vised to be satisfied with the condi-
tons in which they are placed and
crush all desire to better themselves.
Ambition Is right and praiseworthy
when 1t Is founded on humility and
obedience; it IS wrong when ground
ed in pride and s%elishness. Daniel
was ambitious to make known the
power of Jehovah in the land OF his
captivity. Joshua was ambitious to
be a worthy successor of Moses. Paul
was ambitious to plant the standard
Of the cross in every town of Asia
Minor. John the Apostle was am
bilious to repeat the vision that
came to him on Patmos, and Jesus
was ambitious to save the world.
In studying the life of John the
Baptist We discover four things that
made him great: He was faithful to
his call; he was humble in his SER
vice; he had a vivid realization of
the presence of the Messiah, and he
was devout In all that he did.
He was not a miracle worker, but
he was a forerunner, and as a fore
runner he gave himself to his work.
Rome had extended its power in
many directions; the destiny of the
empire was in one mans hands; the
old, sturdy Roman stock had died
out; two classes of men took its
place: the petted devotees Of wealth
and luxury and the slaves. The old
brick imperial city had given way to
q city of marble. Stoicism, epicurian-
ism and superstition prevailed. Men
w%orshiped their ancestors and the
emperor. The Jews in Palestine had
become restless under the Roman
yoke and were ready to resist foreign
control. They waited only for some
great mar to arise and stir them to
rebellion. There was a feeling every
where that the kingdom of heaven
was at hand, that the Messiah was
about to appear and lead their armies
on to successful combat against the
Romans. Suddenly John the Baptist
made his appearance on the banks of
the Jordan. His strange garb, his
positive preaching, his bold message,
attracted attention, and crowds came
from every district to hear his SER
mons, and submit to his baptism. 1t
Is no wonder, for John was q great
preacher.
We sometimes hear it said that
there are too many ministers. Va
can't pulpits, unemployed clergymen
and the prevalent unwillingness Of
Christians to pay living salaries to
their religious leaders are all men
toned in evidence of the fact. 1t
may be true that there are too many
ministers, but there are not too many
prophets, and there never can be.
The trouble is, we have a narrow
view of the ministry. The work Of
the Gospel Herald cannot be held
down to the limits Of a profession.
Eleven o'clock in the morning, 8
o'clock in the evening, so many
prayers, SO many readings, so many
sermons, so many calls during the
week, and the work is finished. Fra
Angelica preached when he wrought
his wonderful pictures, Savonarcla
preached when he hurled his ana
themas against the prevailing cor
ruption of religious leaders; Bunyan
preached when he penned his mar
velous dream of the Pilgrims Pro-
gress;" Carey preached when he
planned missionary service while
working at a cobbler's bench; Ger
don preached when he set an ex-
ample of righteousness and led his
soldiers on to sacrifice and service;
Livingston preached as he pushed his
way on through the dark continent;
Agassiz preached in his scientific
investigations; Miller preached when
he saw the footprints of the Creator
In the stones, and Frances Ridley
Havergal preached when she wrote
her poems and her songs Every
Christian Is called to be a preacher
just as truly as was John the Bap-
list. Our stores, shops, offices, homes
and schools are our pulpits, and orr
contracts, bargains, services and
daily routine work are our Bible
expositions. The preparation of one
self for preaching is always harder
than the preparation of q sermon.
Every man wrought in Jesus Christ
unto good works is a preacher, and
he is blessed Of God in his ministry
according to his faithfuIness. There
are no special promises for the pro-
found, the learned and the brilliant
John did no miracle"-but there
are innumerable promises for the
faithful.
John stood for truth. He said
that Christ would thoroughly purge
His floor, that He would baptize with
the Holy Spirit and that He could
take away the sin of the world, and
1t all came to pass as he said. The
heroic prophet on the river bank
never compromised in matters OF
princinle. lie Was the same loyal