The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-02-02
THE PULPIT.
A SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON BY
THE REV. ARTHUR MERCER.
Theme: The Rich Man in Hell.

Ills 0uDJCCI SulAooJ ARS
Rich Man in He'll; or, the Penalty Of
Selfshness." MI. Mercer said:
"a certain rich mar and a certain
| beggar named Lazarus-and it came
to PASS that the beggar died. The
rich man also died, and in hell ne
lifted UP his eyes, being in torment,
and seeth Abraham afar off and Laz-
arus in his bosom" The picture Is
painted by a master artist. The colors
are varied and striking; the contrast
of light and shade, lurid and dra-
matte. We have before US the out
lines Of a tremendous social drama,
not so much being said as suggested
the details lying behind in a vivid
background. A splendid palace rises
before our thought. Its wealthy
owner, royalty CARRIED in purple and
fine linen, energies from the gate, fol-
lowed by his retinue and flatterers.
This is the light and brightness of the
picture. The colors are gay, the hg-
ures smiling and %debonair; everything
suggestive of prosperity and happi-
ness.
But there is also a shadow, a deep
and dismal one. 1t could not be 9TH
erwise, for this is a picture Of human
society-the social contrast-and so
I there in the shadow, in miserable an
| tithesis to this display of wealth lies
the beggar Lazarus with his rags n
disgusting sores.
The courtly train sweeps by, AFFECT
ing not to notice Lazarus. These hor-
rible social facts must be, because
they are a part Of the constituted
order Of things; but the peace Oh
Dives must not be troubled by lei
Nevertheless, he is generous. He per-
mits his servants to throw the crumbs
from the table where he and his COM
pany have s~umptuously Jared to Laz-
arus and his dogs. 1t shall not be
said that the rich have no regard for
the needs of the poor. :.
The death of Lazarus IS OF small
importance. A hurried visit to the
potter's field and all is over for Laz-
arus. But a second time, and all un-
looked for, the fatal knell rings out,
and this time there is a stir in the
social world. There is suppressed
excitement in the palace of Dives-a
moving of lights here and there at
night-a hurrying of muffled steps,
the passing of the scared whisper TO
and fro, and the d~eath-angel beckons
Dives to follow Lazarus. What a ter
rible reality now, this that had
seemed so far off and vague! And
the rich man also died, ald-after
the elegant funeral-was buried. the
curtain has rung down on the first
act.
Usually it remains down so far as
our present knowledge is concerned:
Death comes and then a thick veil
i~ntervenes. And then, whatever ter
rible thing or whatever happy thing
goes on, it goes on behind closed
doors. We turn indifferently away
from the graves mouth. But the
Master-Magician raises His wand and
there come ftful flames from hell be-
meath, and a vivid stream OF light
from heaven above, and merge into
| such a glare of light that the veil
becomes translucent, and the second
act of the drama unfolds before our
| eyes.
The scene has changed. There has
| been a complete and startling reversal
in the position Of the dramatis per-
sonae. Why? It does not appear
that Dives was a s%coundrel. He was
merely the type of the comfortable
and educated citizen Of that day; re-
ligious, according to the conventional
idea, educated, refined, benevolent,
and morally strict-with, however,
certain important but secret reserVa-
tions. He represents a w~ell-to-do and
cultivated social element OF every age.
A very likable sort of fellow, COM
panionable, sure to have a host OF
friends; an elder in the church, a
leader in most everything that is 60
+ ing on in society or in business.
Why, then, this utter damnation OF
Dives? He had been a philantropist.
If there had been newspapers in those
DAYS they would have lauded him to
the skies as one Of the most eminent
and honorable citizens. He had been
generous with his crumbs, even as
well-to-do society to-day is generous
in supporting charities for the benefit
of the poor victims of its own pros
perity. But everything was for his
own glory. "Self" was written upon
! his every act. If he had presented a
public library to Jerusalem it would
have been that his own name and bas-
relief might be stamped upon the
face Of it.
AS Dives was the beneficiary, so
Lazarus was the victim of unjust and
social conditions. He was not a beg
gar from choice. He was "the poor
in spirit" the man who thinks not
too we'll of himself. He was con
scious of his ignorance, of his moral
rags and ulcers, and he abased him
self before God. Such was Lazarus,
the man whom God can, and will,
help.
And so when the veil dissolves and
discloses the terrible second act,
where the souls of the two men are
brought to their trial before that
Great Judge, who r%egardeth not the
outward appearance, but ~searcheth
the reins and the heart. Lazarus is
seer in the company Of the blest.
while Dives looks up out of "Hell,"
the authorized version says, but the
Greek word is "Hades," which is a
general name for the whole spiritual
world, and the scene is neither heaven
nor hell, but the intermediate stage
called the world of spirits" where
all spirits, good and bad, assemble
after death and undergo their final
judgment in preparation for either
heaven or hell. We see Dives then
in the lower part Of this middle world
on his way to hell, and Lazarus in
the upper portion far on his way to
heaven. The great gulf" between
them is the Unreasonable distance