The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-04-21
THE PULPIT.
a BRILLIANT SUNDAY SERMON BY
TIE REV. JOHN WESLEY HILL.
Theme: The Iingship of Patience.

NEW 1OTh SlLy.-1A lo'Ao"AhS
Impressive discourse was delivered in
the Metropolitan Temple I'M. e. by
the pastor, the Rev. John Wesley
Hill, who is by far at present the
most progressive of New York's
preachers. The subject of the ser
mon was THE Kingship of Patience"
and the text, Revelation 1:9: Il,
John, your brother and companion in
tribulation, and in the kingdom and
patience of Jesus Christ" MIR. Hill
said:
Patience does not appeal to us as
a regal quality. Why should a king
wait? Having power to accomplish
at once, why should he bear with the
dulness and obdurateness Of his sub
jects? Commanding swift agencies,
why should he delay their execution?
And right here we encounter a SEEM
ing contradiction; our text introduces
a divine Interpretation. 1t teaches
that kingship is not divorced from pa
thence, but bound up with 1t; that
the divine kingdom is Inherited
through patience; and that spiritual
sovereignty is acquired not by a sin
gle bound, but through the long,
plodding pilgrimage which patience
alone can make. This is a truth
which permeates the entire spiritual
economy, finding it's supreme exem-
p%lifcation in the being and nature OF
God.
Christianity is solitary in its rev.
elation Of patience as a quality Of
God. No pagan god was ever crowned
with this virtue. The coarse mind OF
man never evolved a gentle deity.
The gods of human genius are great
in imGatience, force and resentment.
This conception of impotence as the
prerogative of deity Is not only at b
root Of the grotesque forms of pagan
ism, but it is responsible for many of
the false and monstrous views OF
God that have found their way into
the so-called "Christian theology"
When theologians paint pictures OF
God that stamp Him with remorse-
less absolutism; when they say that
God must be just and may be merci-
frl, and set themselves to parceling
out the divine nature into sections,
tracing the boundary lines with
mathematical precision, and then
setting watches upon the frontiers
lest love should encroach upon truth
and mercy s%upplant justice; then
they forget that all the great moral
qualities are duly proportional in the.
divine nature; that they include each
other in a way that defes triangula-
ton; and that patience is the
guardian of them all.
When the sculptor's vision dis
closes the angel in the block, he Is
not discouraged by hardness in the
stone nor defect in the grain. He is
bent on actualizing his ideal. The
greater the difficulties, the more his
patience is called into play. And
dare we think Of God as %conceiving a
purpose less sharply or bringing 1t to
perfection. with less patience?
We fall into bitter, suspicious, mis-
anthropic frames Of mind yer the
high-handed insolence Of demagogu-
ism, over social laxity and %licentious-
ness, over fraud and graft and god
less luxury; and because things are
crooked, we would hew them to the
line Of our thinking, lay the scor-
pion scourge on the back Of con-
servatism, condemn all who are not
willing to march to DIR music; yea,
we are tempted to doubt the divine
goodness, because God does not arise
in His might, destroy sin, and usher
in the millennium. But meanwhile,
God waits. He stands in the midst
Of the passing centuries with out
stretched hands of entreaty. No
other attitude would be %consonant
with His character. Self-eXistent and
eternal, without beginning or ending,
He cannot take account of tine.
Time is an element that does not
enter into His being. Perfection is
the mould in which the divine ideals
are cast; the amount of time is moth
ing. 1t Is not a question of calendar
but of character. The problem re-
duces itself to perfection. That is
tie infinite goal toward which all
things in the universe, seen and un-
seer, are silently, slowly, and patient
ly mcving-the goal Of a redeemed,
perfected and glorifed humanity.
From this viewpoint, we begin to
understand that there is a divine
philosophy in the expression, the
kingdom and patience Of Jesus
Christ" In it is hidden the mystery
of redemption; above 1t is lifted the
blood-stained cross; upon the o
hangs an innocent Victim, an in
Unite Sacrifice, vicarious and saving,
Gods great love argument to the
world. Time, Providence and Cal
vary are the forces that conquer the
soul, and therefore God waits to give
hem a chance, waits for US to weary
af 0,,~ ~ohol1so- r,o,&r f~n %L1 fo-nr
IF sin to cool, waits for the black
blood Of passion to run out, waits
with infinite patience for US to re-
.Lrn, demanding 10 more than obedi-
snce, and asking only the homageof
Dur hearts; and then He embraces US
in the rapture of long delayed recon-
eiliation.
Standing thus before Calvary, and
gazing into the tranquil face of Jesus
Christ, we begin to realize what is
meant by the patience of Jesus
Christ. His patience meant infinitely
more than the popular conception of
patience; more than the power of
physical endurance, more than drift
Ing and dreaming in silence. The
patience Of Jesus Christ is a con-
structive force; it inspires a des-
perate, persistent struggle for spirit
ual manhood. 1t is a power which
makes a kingly man and not a stoical
p~etrifaction, insensible to "the sings
and arrows Of outrageous fortune"
Now, there can be no kingship in
the absence of patience. Protracted
discipline is the condition of exalted
character. 1t is thus that man wins
himself from the wrecking forces of
life; thus that he learns the truth
and feels the power of Christ's i'm
mortal maxim, In your patience We
Shal nOSSeSS lWfnl Ynnr SnnlS y 1t