Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1909-04-14
THE, PULPIT. :.
ANSEEo SUNDAY SERMON BY
s5 DIR. CURTIS LEE LAWS. .:; :;;
Theme: Backslidins;.

Theme: Eackshdin2.
Brooklyn, N. Yin tho Greene
Avenue Baptist Church, Sunday, the
pastor, the Rev. DR.! Curtis Lee Laws,
preached strong sermon on Back
siding" The text was from Proverbs
14:14: "The backslider in heart
shall be filed with his own ways"
DIR. Laws said:
Do you recall your early expert
ences In the service of the LORD? DO
you remember the day and hour
when the burden Of sin rolled on
your heart, and when you could look
up for the first time into the face OF
your heavenly Father, rejoicing ID
His presence and in His love? Do
you not recall how the whole world
suddenly became more beautiful and
how your heart yearned over your
friends and enemies as never before?
There was on old man converted to
ChSis. down in Washington some
time ago. He was a rugged old fell
How, his esthetic nature had not been
much cultivated, and he did, not have
an artists eye. The morning after
his conversion, when his wife came
down to breakfast, he was standing
at the dining room window looking
out at the desolate winter scenery.
He turned and said: Wife, come
here and look, come here and look;
the very trees are clapping their
! hands in praise to God!" All, In the
days gone by there has been many an
echo of those words in many heart
here.
TO me after found God, the whole
world was more beautiful; the SKY
was bluer, the grass was greeneE, the
breezes were softer, the sun was
warmer and all mankind were dearer
to me.
What is the meaning OF all this?
/ It means that I had found that which
was the complement Of my whole be-
J ing. AS. Augustine said: 20 Lord,
/ Thou hast made us for Thyself, and
we are restless till we rest in Thee"
1t means that in God had tJund the
satisfaction which this world had
never afforded me, for as the ocean
only can fill the oceans bed, so God
alone can satisfy the mind of man.
Blessed Is the man who has been rec
onciled to his heavenly Father, VINO
has returned like the prodigal to his
Fathers love.
/ turn ROW to the dark side Of the
picture How few of Us have kept
| this early Joy, and have continued IN
this blessed peace? OF course you
know the story OF the lost chord? A
woman, in the shadows Of the tWl-
! light, when her heart was sad, gently
| touched the keys of a glorious organ.
She did not know or care ghat she
was playing, her fingers fingered idly
but caressingly upon the keys. Sud-
;denly she struck chord, and its Won
drous melody as 1t filled the room
was uplifting and transforming and
heavenly.
1t flooded the crimson twilight.
| Like the close of an angels psalm,
And it lay on her fevered spirit
With the touch of infinite calm.
It quieted pain and sorrcNy.
Like love overcoming strife;
It seemed the harmonious echo
From our discordant life.
It linked all perplexed meanings
/ - Into one perfect peace,
Z And trembled away in silence,
As If it were 10th to cease.
Something disturbed this woman
and called her from the organ. AS
soon as possible she hurried back and
began to play, but this divine chord
was gone, and though she kept on
( playing she could not bring 1t back
/, again.
How similar to our experience as
the children Of God and yet how op-
posite! Many Of us have lost our
peace, our joy, our rapture, but bless
God, we can all havo this heavenly
music in our souls again, If we are
willing, for God Is willing to heal our
backsllding. Backsliding is so COM
mon among Christians as to be almost
| universal. OF course, there are fdif-
i ferent degrees of backsliding. Some
! have gone only a little way, Wnife
others have gone so far that the re-
turn will be difficult, but thank God,
| aot impossible.
1 First of all, let US consider how
men become backsliders. The word
itself is Significant. To go forward
requires effort, to go backward re-
| Quires no effort at ALL In the Chris
tian life, if you cease to go forward
/ you will inevitably go backward.
+, This backsliding always begins in the
/ heart. We may go on for a time In
!, the outward performance Of duty, in
! the ceaseless round Of Christian ac-
! tivities, while in our hearts these
things are growing more and more
distasteful. The heart may therefore
be in wrong relation to given thing,
/ while our actions may be perfectly ex-
Z emplary. But God knows that that
! man Is backslider, and he knows 1T
himself. Whether others know it
matters very little. But after time
all men will know it, for the back
slider in heart generally becomes the
/ backslider in life. 1t is very hard for
men to continue long in hypocrisy.
+, Ordinarily a mans outward life is the
expression of his inner life. A mans
character may be better than his rep
utation, or mans reputation may be
better than his character, butt ordi-
narily reputation and character agree.
We call the uncouth and uncivil adia.
monds in the rough"
We constantly say of the man who
sins with his tongue, well, you
know, he is ryhastyand impetuous,
and often says things which he does
not mean" But God says these
things have their origin in the heart,
and from the heart flow outward.
When our conduct becomes bad, It Is
because we have already been back