The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-03-09
THE PULPIT.
4 SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON BY
THE REV. JOEL B. SLOCUM.
Theme: Prisoners of Hope.

IN the BaptlSC CnuTcn, tue
pastor, the Rev. Joel Byron Slocum,
A. NJ, delivered the sermon, his sub
jecr being prisoners Of Hope" Els
text was John 1919, Il am the door,"
His sermon follows:
If Love is the greatest of the three
angels of life, Hope is next to the
greatest. We are prisoners Of hope.
An old-fashioned picture, which I
saw for the first time years ago, and
many times since, has always made
on me a profound impression. 1t
represents a sad gathering of the fam
lily in the ample living room Of the
old home. The oldest boy, a manly
fellow, clothed in the homespun Of
the farm, but with straightforward
eyes and erect form, Is standing In
the centre Of the room, and the
mother is clinging to him as though
she could not let him 60. The other
members of the family show how
keenly they feel this parting. But
the artist has skilfully depicted in
the face of the mother. not anxiety
and not heartbreak alone, but the
benediction of a great hope. The boy
Is going to the great city. His pur-
pose is as truly heroic as ever moved
a knight to seek the Holy Grail.
Long vigils of prayer will follow him,
ever as years of parental prayers pre-
cedei his going. How often she had
fingered at his bedside, long after
sleep had closed his eyes, and lifted
up such a petition for him as only a
Christian mother can breathe out OF
her Utmost spirit. So now, as she
sends him forth, she is saying in her
heart: II know he'll be good and
noble and take a mans part In a
manly life" Hers is the quality of
hope that passes over the borderland
of mere expectation into the gardens
Of certainty. Better for that young
! man that. he had never been born
than that he should disappoint such
a hope.
How we'll I recall the day that
marked the crisis of my leaving the
old home for the great city. AS he
said goodbye there was one word
which, in broken accents. my father
spoke. as he took my hand in his.
It was the word remember" He
could not have selected a more sig
nifcant expression. Into those three
syllables were gathered up the price
less influences of a Christian home.
In the year that followed. through
all the temptations Of a big city, that
parting suggestion was never for
gotten. Whenever sin whispered.
there was always another voice that
said: Remember"
In the midst of the instructions
which Jehovah gave to Moses there
was this impressive command: And
thou shalt remember all the way
which Jehovah thy God hath led
thee" On the threshold of this new
year there stand with us to-day two
angels, Memory and Hope. However
much we may be inclined to turn to
the first, we are really more con-
cerned with the other. 1t is well
that we should not forget the merci-
full past; it is more important still
that we should be equipped for the
shadowy future. In an old German
I church there is this inscription:
Look not mournfully into the past;
it comes not back again. Wisely i'm
prove the present; it is thine. Go
forth to meet the shadowy future
without a fear and with g. manly
heart" Concerning the future, we
are this morning prisoners of hope;
with emphasis on the hope. Our con
6dence is justified by the truth Of the
text. Il am the door"
There are two doors between US
and the kingdom. One of them is
controlled largely by ourselves. 1t is
at this door that the Master Of life
so often stands and knocks and waits
to hear our invitation. But the other
door is the one over which He Him
self presides. Behold, 1 lave set
before thee an open door, which no
man can shut" We are to go out
to our heritage and to our service
through the door which He has left
open. He will come to us through
the door which it is Jul privilege to
unlatch.
Outside one of the beautiful gate
! ways Of the magnificent mosque of
st. Sofia, in Constantinople, there is
a picture of an open Bible with this
inscription: "The Lord said, I am the
door; by Me if any man enter in he
shall be saved" The Mahomedans
left this inscription when they took
the beautiful temple from the Chris
tians; because they could see no ref
creme in it to Jesus Christ. Every
thing else that suggested Christianity
or the Cross was obliterated. There
is a twentieth century spirit that
would obliterate Jesus Christ and the
necessity of His saving work. But
meanwhile He, the strong Son of God,
calmly waits for the worlds recog-
milton. He has presented His proofs,
and the responsibility is ours. There
is no other gospel, no other road, no
other Christ. For his own convent
ence nan has invented a number of
short cuts" But it remains as true
to-day as when Jesus Himself spoke
the words. that he who climbs up
some other way is "a thief and a rob-
ber."
There is an interesting painting,
representing Jesus standing at the
door of the fold. With His right
hand He holds open the door; with
His left arm He holds, against His
heart. q tiny lamb that is not strong
enough yet to take its place in the
great tnrong of sheep. The key re-
mains in the outside of the door.
Two pigeons over the door post are
smuggling down for the night. In the
foreground there are two lambs. fol
lowed by their mothers, and these
in turn. are followed by a long line OF
sheep and lambs as far back as the
eve ran roach Ac those boautifu1