The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-03-26
.DAVID'S DESPAIR
USED TO COMFORT
PRESENT DISTRESS
Dr.. MCNeiII breaches Last
MONDAY Sermon at Court
Avenue ChurCh-Dr. Nor
gan Opens Services Monday

Using tue Biblical story OF DaNld |
despair TO point out lesson Of comfort |
for discouraged Christians today. DR.,
John McNeill, famous Scotch Presby-
t5rian evangelist, delivered the last of
his series Of five sermons at, Court
Avenue church, at the MONDAY prayer
meeting Friday, incident to the simul
taneous evangeistic campaign now
going on in 81 local churches. Fridays
sermon being the final one delivered
here by DR.. Mcneil, was heard by an
other great congregation that filled
the entire church. Monday, the noon
day services win be continued with
Df, Carey 10. Morgan, noted Christian
minister. of Nashville, occupying the
pulpit for five more sermons,
The final message OF Dr. Mcneil
brought out such large attendance
that the main auditorium of Court
Avenue church could not hold the peo-
pie, and an overflow meeting had to
be held in the Sunday school ROOM
where DR., T.. F. Hendrick rSunshine
evangelist VINO is assisting In the re-
vival at Court avenue church, spoke to
several hundred people who could no,
get in to hear DR. McNeil
The great enthusiasm aroused by DR..
AicNeill will not suffer through pr.
Aiorgans coming as his successor. The
Nashville minister is sufficiently well
known in Memphis to assure a contin-
uation of the capacity congregations
that have made the past week phe-
nomenal from a religious standpoint.
DIR. Morgan's ability to thrill his hear
ers is too universally known In Mem
phis to forecast anything but wide
kspread interest in his coming.
Dr. ,McNeill took as his text, l. Sam
uel, 27:1: "And David said in his heart,
shall now perish one day by the hand
OF Saul; there is nothing better for
me than that / should speedily escape
into. the land of the Philistines; and
Saul shall despair of me, to seek me
amy more in any coast of Israel; so
shall l escape out of his hand"
In part, DR.. Mcneil said:
yWe all know that David was q
brave strong, patient soul, but here
I'VE see him IN a state of collapse, That
Is characteristic OF the Bible. The
weaknesses of Bible men are shown
hs well as their strength. Bible BIZ
pgraphies are much briefer than ours
nd very much more impartial. That
s why they. are so readable, and still
lnore why they are so valuable. Our
Biographies often are scarcely worth
readng; like photograph, the mega
Nye Is stippled and touched up out Of
All recognition. ..As -
Here is David, the man who has set
ns all singing in the dark and cloudy
day silent and dumb himself
Arouses Sympathy,
First of all, let us sympathize with
him He was enduring as the New
Testament says, a great affliction. God
had anointed him to be king over
Israel by the hand of Samuel, God s
accredited ambassador, some time
earlier. Saul, the regning king, had
rejected God, and after much patience
God had rejected him, and had ap-
pointed David in his room, This had
only brought David into persecution
I'll and peril Of his life. for Saul did not
Fesign and make things easy for David
and for God, He did the very op-
posite.
"Years of WEAKNESS and danger had
come 20 David and one day he threw
Up the sponge. He said in his heart:
on top of me, But | am not going to
III die like a rat in a hole. shah take
things into my own hands, l shall
abandon my claim to be Gods king and
go over among the Philistines, where
Saul does not rule. This daily mar
tyrdom for nothing shall cease, l shall
escape out of Sanl's hand.
1t was a pitiful condition for a
brave, strong, patient man to come to
but when we loose our grip of God apt
walk by sight and not by faith we Viii
do anything foolish and desperate
thinking that we are supremely wise
that there is nothing else to do. i
Is as If David had said: / have los
lttdIl, L nave lUSl my Hedu also, Du
my heels are still left-you watch mt
run.'
Poor David. Yes, poor you and me
when with far less excuse than David
and with God revealed to US in fal
i clearer light, we abandon our claim
chosen, separated and sealed children
and go over into the world to ge
things easier.
What Christian Is.
For what is Christian? A Chris
tian Is a man to whom God came NOR
or less definitely and entirely of Hi
own free grace; called him, chose mn
and anointed him to be His and CAV
him grace to accept the calling-gav
him grace to become an heir of Co
and joint heir with Jesus Christ t.
suffer with Him for little while
need be- that we might also reig
Il with Him when the probation is over
reign with Him forevermore. An
then, because everything does not hap
pen In day, and the Christian lif
turns out to be severe-far more trou
i bled than we thought-we slip the ca
Bile and go out among the PhilistineS
You get it easier there, you don
need to carry that separated cross
4 and you 60 with the crowd, drift wit
the stream and avoid all persecutio
for the name of Jesus.
Now, there are three cures fC
II this;
First David shouldn't have sal
what he did in his heart he shoul
1 have said IL out loud. He should hav
L given some friend, some faithful frient
1 a chance TO speak the word of goo
II cheer and hope that he could no long
NNer find in his own mouth.
kA Second. If there were no frien
n there, there always is one friend VIII
III never leaves. Why didn't David pray
why didn't he dig this dark, despair
1 ing thought, i shall perish one da
ii by the hand of SAUL out OF his heal
i and tell God about it? But he didn'
III -fIe neither spoke of it to friend nc
Il prayed to God, and it sank him lii
dead in the icy waters for forsaker
II ness and despair
Third Why didn't he sing abot
II ttg David was great singer, but thel
Was no song born that day. And
III any dark, despairing thought in OF
Il hearts will neither say to a friend
nor pray, nor sing; Il must be of Il
devil, and to see that is to get Il
victory and to hold our ground
III we are not going to believe &c
and His faithfulness surely we are NJ
going to believe Che devil. As We a
know. David did rot perNn-Saul pc
4 ished and this move of Da1Bd und
II The influence of darkness and fear WI
an absolutely wrong move.
III God is for us-and He is-wl
or what can be against u.s.
TWO SEEK DIVORCE.