Newspapers / The Christian Sun (Elon … / June 28, 1900, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Christian Sun (Elon College, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
BY ATKINSON & LAWRENCE. IN ESSENTIALS, UNITY; IN NON-ESSENTIALS, LIBERTY; IN ALL THINGS, CHARITY. $*oo PER YEAR ESTABLISHED 1844. ELON COLLEGE, N. 0., THURSDAY, JUNE 28,1900. _VOLUME LIII: NUMBER 26 Tl^ C^ri$tiarvSUr\ PUBLISHED WEEKLY. The Official Organ of the Southern Chris tian Convention. CARDINAL PRINCIPLES. X. Tbe Lord JesnB Is the only Head of the chnreh. 2. The name Christian, to the exclusion of all party and sectarian names. 8. The Holy Bible, or the Scriptures of l he Old and New Testaments, sufficient rule of faith and practice. 4. Christian character, or yital piety, the only test of fellowship Or membership. 5'. The right of private judgment, and the liberty of conscience, the privilege and duty of all. Affairs grow no bet Ciixna ter, but worse in and the China. The Boxers Powers, are numerous, bold and threatening. They despise foreigners and en croachment ot all kind and want no more of them. Murder, burn ings and plunder are reported from many quarters. Some mis sioners, traders and many na tive Christians have been tor tured and murdered. Much property has been destroyed All this the Chinese government secretly approves or openly sym patizes with. It would seem that war is eminent and that the Chinese government is to be broken up and partitioned among the powers. And yet we seriously doubt either, and lor two reasons. First, the Chinese are a people of great treachery as well as of unlimited adapta bility. You cannot count on them. When they seem most bold and threatening they may be preparing to be most docile and harmless. They know how to take the back track, to make amends, apologize and be cow ards. Just when you get ready to fight they are likely to be most ready to yield, surrender and make any sort of conces sion. They may do so this time. There is no reckoning with them. Second, the powers are iealous. Neither Japan, nor Russia, nor Germany, nor Frane has decided what part of China either wants for herself, or is willing for the others to have. It is doubtful if they do decide. It is more likely they will not. Meanwhile mas sacre and murder, burnings and plunder go on among foreign missionaries and merchants, a most unhappy, unfortunate, and precarious one. The whole affair is a deplorable one. It is doubtful The Seaboard if there has Air Line. been more wide spread and universal interest in any business enterprise in the South for many years than that begot ten by the successful completion and consolidation ot the Greater Seabord Air Line sy stem of rail roads. With little exception, if any, the press arid people gener ally have united in their congrat ulations and praise ot the policy pursued and work done by Pres ident John Skelton Williams and his able, whole-souled and effi cient co-laborers and subordin ates. It is a mistaken idea, that of thinking that a railroad com pany or corporation must of ne cessity be non-accommodating and unpopular. The Seaboard Air Line practically disproves, and experimentally demonstrates the falsity of, such a theory. Go where you will and you will find people interested in, and speak ing in highest praise of the Sea board Air Line, and deservedly so. The management is efficient and thorough,agents,conductors, and employees generally, cour teous, kind and accommodating. You find in it all a striking and happy combination of public spiritedness and business push and enterprise. And why should it not be so? Sentiment has a commercial worth and kindness itself an economic condition and value. Better be generous, cour teous and accommodating be cause it pays better than not be so gU—by far. Even the largest corporatins are no.t independent of the people who patronize them. The corporations are no more soulless than are the men who own and control them. Put men with souls in them to own and operate the corporations and you put souls into these. We join in the universal congratula tions and best wishes to the cour teous management of the Sea board Air Line Railroad. ■ One marked char Thk actenstic of your American genuine American Temper. is that he likes a joke. It is a part of his being to take things—even serious things—in good humor, and laugh over them awhile. He may become serious, but the first bent and strongest instincts of his mind are to the jovial; af terwards to the serious. He re gards nothing so helpful to his digestion, so strengthening in his burden bearing, as a good joke and a hearty laugh. His inconsistencies and incongrui ties furnish the abundant and ever ready material out of which he first gets his fun and pleas ure, and then afterwards, by means of these, he turns with a more serious mind and a richer experience to the matter-of-fact and mighty problems of life. You will make no greater blun der than to mistake his fun for seriousness, or his pleasure tor business. Admiral Dewey made that blunder. Your American took his day off, went on a pleas ure trip and gave the hero of Manilla a glorious welcome home. That was his holiday. When the hero’s reception was over and the American returned to his home and settled down to business,conditions were chang ed.Dewey the hero and Dewey the presidential candidate were two. different men altogether, and your American regarded him with two different moods altogether. This reminds us of a scene through which we Americans are passing now. On every han you hear the “trust” de nounced. From these oratorical and political denunciations you would think the trust some aw ful and hideous monster, seek ing whom-it might devour—and finding very many. Newspa pers and stump speakers, college orators, political debaters,and le gal declaimers all join heart and hand and voice in tnis terrible denunciation of the “trust.” Now about nine-tenths of all this is only a large joke, a sort of a side show before the main per formance begins. Your Ameri tau wm auci a wuuc look the trust question square in the lace and grapple with it like a man. At present, however, he is not doing so ; he is having his joke and you must let him have it out. Men are not now serious about the “trust.” Neith er political party is in earnest about it, nor is doing anything to rid the.country of it. It we were more in earnest about this ill that everybody tells us threal ens our national existence, we could have more light upon it and in some sort get to work at the obliteration of it. But we are not in earnest about. But we are not in earnest yet. High time we were, possibly, but we are not. Says an exchange: “The whole country has been disturbed by the trust issuse. President McKinley denounced it in his message. Every news paper has debated it; every po litical convention has proclaimed against it in its platform. Both parties are commited to the cap ture and the taming of the mons tqr, arid yet absolutely nothing has been done by the Fifty sixth Congress to halt or to hin der any'corporation or combina tion.” Thus you see that every single power in the land has had abundantly to do with the trust except the one power, Congress, that could possibly deal with it. How true a picture is this ol that which takes place so often in our churches, our communi ties, our homes 1 Every agency and power is agitated, disturb ed, and harassed except the sin gle one that might, and alone is able to, cope with and obliterate the ill. Contributions GOD’S PECULIAR TREASURE. REV. J. W. HARRELL. God has many rich and boun tiful treasures, but only one pe culiar treasure, the bride of Christ, his glorious church. “They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I.makeupmy peculiar treasure.” Mai. 3:17, R. V. God’s chief delight is the bride of Christ. He counted no sacrifice too great for him to make in her be half. He could lreely give his only begotten Son for her sake. Nothing has been spared that would in any way contribute to beauty and happiness. He has done everything that was neces sary to her beauty and happiness. He has done every thing that was necessary to make her lovely and attractive. He is today permitting the world, so full of sin and wickedness to continue her course until the bride of Christ, His peculiar treasure, shall be made ready and adorned in every particular. He wants her to rejoice and tri umph throughout all the cycles of eternity; hence the Lord has delayed His coming until she shall receive the last touch from the divine Architect. The bride of Chirist, which is the peculiar treasure of God, has been washed in the blood of the Lamb and made white every whit. There is nothing unclean or filthy about her. The old gar ments stained with sin and in iquity have been put away and a beautiful robe from the heaven ly wardrobe has been received by faith from God. “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God, for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a biidegroom decketh himself with ornaments and as a bride adorneth herself with jewels.” this splendid outfit from heaven God sends the bride forth into the world to live a spotless life, in the very midst of the grossest sin and corruption, without having her garments stained in the least. She lives in the world, but is not of the world. She sees sin all around her but is not a partaker of it. She reaches forth her hand to lift the vilest and lowest sinner out of the cesspool ot sin and darkness, and yet she herself is not stained. She is kept by the almighty-keeping power. The bride of Christ has not only been made white, but cloth ed with the holiness of God. She is a partaker of the divine na ture. “Wherefore are given un to us exceeding great and prec ious promises ; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature.” “For they verily for a few days, chastened us alter their own pleasure ; but He for our profit, that we might be par takers of His holiness.” The holiness which the bride Of Christ possesses is no human in vention. It is not to be pur chased with anything that we possess. It cannot be earned or merited by hard and persistent labors. It is impossible for us to grow into it. It is the free gift of God to his church, an'1 the only means by which she can receive it is simple faith. By faith we become partakers of that which God has already pre pared and offered us. God has given his precious promises to awaken in us a burning desire for his holiness and has, in all the tenderness of his love, per mitted the chastening rod to fall upon us that we might look unto him in simple laith and become “partakers of his holiness.” He uses every means possible to bring us into the place where He can clothe us with His holi ness. Oh, the depths of His in finite love and mercy. How we should yield to the first call of his gentle Spirit and receive His blessed will, so full of care and interest for us. God delights to fill the bride of Christ with His own presence and power, which gives her prestige and power in the world. She has nothing of herself. She gave up herself and took Christ. All her possessions are from above. Her treasures are in heaven, so she has a single eye. All things are viewed (rom a heavenly standpoint, and the question always asked is, will it glorify God. God has been pleased to come down to the earth and walk in His church as he goes in and out before the world.. He fills her with His glory and so directs her that she will always glorify His name. The church should be filled g’ith the divine presence, as the holy of holies with the shekinah shed ding forth always the effulgence of the divine nature. In this sa cred place God dwelt in His full ness. It is the presence of God in the church that causes sin and formality to drop off as the dead leaves of autumn. It is the pres ence of God in her that makes her the faithful bride of Christ. What is needed in the church es of the land today above every thing else is the presence of God. He would loose the fetters that bind her to the world and teach that she could not save the world by becoming like the world. Many times has the blessed Holy Ghost been grieved when the church compromised with or sold herself to the world for a few paltry dollars or the favor of men who loved not the Lord. If the churches of the laud today would open their hearts to God, and in che depth of humility be seech Him to come in and till them with his presence and pow er there would be a repetition of the Apostles. She would swing back to Apostolic plans and means of work with the same re sults. The church would be able to accomplish wonders, as the Holy Ghost moved in and worked through her. God is the same mighty God that he was in the -days of the early church. There is a great lack of spiritual power in the church of today. She is not filled with that presence and power which regenerates society and gives it a mighty bent heavenward. God, in the church, seeks to reach the people through regen eration instead of reformation. Reformation may follow regen eration, but if never precedes it The sinner mu't be regenerated before he can be truly reformed. Let our churches be filled with the presence of God and mighty victories will be won from the powers of darkness. Let us wait upon God until us with his heaven inspiring presence and power. THE TRUE SERMON. We believe that many preach ers think that unless they can get something sensational they will be dull and tiresome to their congregations. Nothing could be further from the mark. Congre gations do not want to hear sen sations when they go to church ; they can get plenty of these lrom the secular press and from neighborhood gossip. They “want to hear the gospel, the' sim ple, sweet story of the gospel, a theme hallowed with age, but al ways new, always interesting, never old, never tiresome. Cogregations never grow tired of the story of the gospel when it comes from a heart aflame for the salvation of men, with a soul inspired by the great and thrill ing love of God for sin-cursed and sin-sick mortals. Dr. Joseph Parker as quoted in the Watchword and Truth recently quoted some very wise and timely words for the preach ers : “In thd pulpit we want to hear as little as possible about labor and capital, strikes and wages, classes and masses ; in the pulpit we want to hear as little as possi ble about public events which can seldom have other than the most transitory interst. We want to preach to the common experien ce of mankind. We need not say a word about capital and labor, yet we can so preach the univer sal Gospel of Christ and the ev erlasting law of God as to put an end to all strifes and bitter com petitions and hostilities. The true sermon is not a summary of the week’s events. We are to go for our materials not to the newspa pers but the Bible- There will always be a minor grade of hu manity caring most for anec dotes, events, eclipses, and Collis ions, and to whom an eruption or an earthquake would be more interesting than the vision which Isaiah saw when the seraph came with a living coal to his waiting lips. An anecdote is not a revelation. A newspaper is but the sheet of dying day. The most godly people in a congreg tion do not want in a sanctuary to hear anything about science, about criticism, and even as little as possible about the Pope, and nothing at all about evolution. The men who have exercised the profoundest influence in the Christian pulpit are the men who have kept most strictly and most fervently to the declaration that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. L,et ministers read the lives of Wesley, Whitfield, Baxter and McCheyne and not least,the lives of the early Methodist preachers. What was it defied the devil and awoke angry passions and caus ed the bitterest persecution ? It was evangelical preaching that did the work. The early Meth odist preachers had no learning, they had no academic degrees, they took no scholastic prizes, but in the power of God they shook the world ! Most ofthe people are weary, sad, dis^^ pointed, full of fear, and nothing but the love of God in Christ Je sus can get at the wound which makes the heart bleed. Ministers of the gospel let me plead with you to heal the sores of time with the glorious gospel of the bless ed God.” SIHJIS OF A REVIVAL. Immediately following the re currence of the old faith and the abandonment of the fancies of the critics we find an increased warmth in the piety of the churches. From every quarter also, come assurances of the c®n viction and conversion of the outide world. All over New England the tide of spirituality has begun to rise. In Brooklyn lyn the meetings under the di rection of all denaminations have been greatly blessed. In Denver one church reports con verts by the hundred, and in Los Angeles, a little boy, under twelve years of age is there with his father and older brother at work and a church seating 2500 turns away hundreds of people every night. The lad says no thing striking except that he tells the oik story of the old gos pel in a simple, earnest and na tural way and many hundreds have confessed Christ publicly and by testimonials that reveal ed deep and healthy experiences. Oh, ye brethren who have been wailing over the dearth of the land, God is not dead and the gospel has not lost its power. Get back to the heart of God, feel his great love for lost men throbbing in your human heart, believe in the presence and pow er of the Holy Spirit, give him a chance to glorify Christ by un folding the wealth of his grace to meet the need of the sinner, plead with lost men to cease their rebellion against God, their folly against themselves, and be seech them to flee from the com ing doom of the lost, and then see what great results will fol low. There is a sign of some thing moving in the air and we believe it is the droppings before the coming shower. Call your people together, brother pastor, for prayer, confession, and for work. God will bless you, and that speedily.—Religious Re view of Reviews. There is a mistaken idea of culture prevalent. Culture does not mean merely committing to memory a great number ot tacts out of text-books,but it does mean a careful and thoughtful assim ilation of every bit of knowledge that comes our way tor the pur pose of making ourselves more intelligent, more noble, more helpful human beings, and where can be found a better school for the development of these attrib utes than in a wisely and properly conducted home ?—Ladies’ Horn ^ Journal. i THE FOOL’S HEATH BY W. F. PRICE, “And the king lamented over Abner, and said, died Abner as a fool dieth.” 2 Sam. 3: 33. Saul, the first king ‘of Israel had been slain in battle with the Philistines. The throne of Is rael was vacant with Ishbosheth, the son ot Saul, and David as aspirants. Each has his armies and following. David enquires of the Lord and is directed to go up to Hebron where he is anointed king over the house of ludah, while Abner, the general of Saul’s army declares Ishbosh eth king over all Israel. Thus matters stood for a while; but the two kings could no more rule peaceably together over the same land than two can reign together in the same heart, so there was no alternative but to fight. They, met together in battle array, the armies of Saul and David, with Abner as leader of the Israelitish forces, while Joab espoused the cause of David. The field of battie is by the pool of Gibeon. They se lect twelve men from each side to precipitate, by a preliminary skirmish, the battle that was soon to follow. They meet in mortal combat and Jud ah prevails. Abner, with his army flees, with Joab in hot pursuit. Asahel, one of Joab’s brothers, in order to distinguish himself upon the field of battle endeavors to capture and slay the vanquish ed general. Being light ot foot he advances upon him, but heed ing not a generous warning^wice given, the fleeing foe turns upon him and spears him to the ground. Thus is laid in this act the foundation for the fatal trag edy ot our text; and though pur ely a matter of self-defence on the pan of Abner, yet Joab is henceforth his sworn and bitter enemy, in that he had slain his brother. It is not long before Abner quarrels with the King over a matter, and deserts him for the cause of David. They league together which means the over throw of Ishbosheth, the king, and great rejoicings and feast ings are in the house of David. But a man’s greatest enemy is sometimes found in his own household. When Joab heard of Abner’s kind, reception by David he was very wroth, and his intense hatred and jealousy kindled afresh the awful fires of revenge. Seizing an opportu nity to make way with his rival as well as to avenge his brother’s death, he induces him under the pretense of a friendly walk and consultation to step outside the gate of the city, where without a note of warning the unsuspect ing Abner is slain by Joab, his pretended friend. David is deeply grieved and all the neo* pie mourn and weep over his sad and untimely death. “And the King lamented over Abner, and said died Abner as a fool dieth. Thy hands were not bound nor thy feet put into fet ters ; as a man—falleth before wicked men so fellest thour And all the people wept over him again.” i\ow, let us araw a iew sug gestive lessons from this narra tive. Why is it said, “Died Ab ner as a fool dieth?” First, I would say that Abner died as a (ool because he listened to the voice of his enemy. He had slain Joab’s brother and he knew it, and thereby incurred his eter nal enmity. He should not have listened to, or trusted himself with, shch a deadly foe. But is not this first what many are doing today? The devil is qian’s sworn enemy. It is his highest ambition and purpose tq deceive and destroy the souls of men. He came from a world of darkness to capture and carry our souls into darkness. The blessed, tender, loving Christ came from glory that he might carry us to glory. Thus two unseen but mighty powers are continually at war for the souls of men. But one is the embodi ment of all that is good and grand and glorious in this life while the other is the embodi ment of all that is evil. One hopes to win and conquer by the sweet demonstrations of truth and love, while the other de pends upon his power to deceive. The latter is a liar from the be ginning (see John 8:44) and to listen to his sophistries means to commit eternal spiritual suicide. He says to the awakened sinner, “Be not in a hurry ; there is time enough yet.” God says, “To day is the day of salvation.” He says to the man of the world, “Get riches by all means, for wealth is the source of all r ' ■ . pleasure and position’' d says, “Lay not up for »ives treasures upon earti.^ A what, doth it profit thp* man gain the whole wor’ vN .d yet lose his own son?i^* He says of the church, “S® a an hard road, filled with superstition and de ceipt, wherein dwelleth no good thing.” God says, “He that winneth souls is wise,” and of the church, “Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.” He s’ays to the worldly-minded, lazy Chris tian, “Sleep oh in ease, seek pleasure, ‘have a good time at a more convenient season thou canst obey thy Master’s call.” God says, “I knew thy works, nidi LilUU Ilcl&l cl Li cl 111 C Hid l U1CI C livest and art dead.” “Many will say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not proph esied in thy name and in thy name done many wonderful works?” “And then I will pro fess unto them, I never knew you ; depart from me ye that Work iniquity.” Oh, that men would stop listening to the sub tle whisperings of the evil one, and listen to the still small voice of God. Then it could not be said of so many as it is now so truly said, “Die they as a fool dieth.” The second reason I would give why Abner died as a fool is, he should have been ready and defended himself. He knew that Joab was his bitter enemy and might attack him at any moment, therefore he should have been prepared to meet him. In the midst of David’s sorrow ful lamentations over his fallen friend, he cries out in the agony of his soul, “Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters.” Why, O, why, Abner, didst thou not defend thyself against thine adversary? But is not this also true of many a professing Christian to day? He carries no spiritual weapon with which to defend himself against the attacks and wilful sophistries of the devil. The Bible is our weapon. It is God's will concerning us, reveal ed, and contains all the powder, shot and shell needed to put the devil to flight if we only knew how to handle it properly. We should know it and use it in de fense of our Master’s cause whenever and wherever occa sion demands. “For the word of God is quick and powerful, ond sharper than any two edged sword.” We should study to know it as perfectly as a physi cian knows his medicine chest, tor here may we hope to ward off the darts of the evil one, or administer its soothing and heal ing balms to the sin-sick soul without a knowledge of just where to find the fit and proper remedy ? The reason why so many go wrong today is because they do not take the time and trouble to open that blessed Book and read therein the way and words of life. They do not study for themselves, but listen to every creed and„ confession and doc trine and “ism” that cqmes along and consequently the)’ believe they inow not what. They have no abiding convictions of their own, but are led hither and thither by that old sophist, the devil, and eventually *go down to perdition and to ruin. Ah, brethren, we should arm our selves with God’s eternal truths and counsels, and like David of old, go forth in the might and power of our God. Then the giants of sin and deception would fall and victory would be ours, through Christ, our King. The third and last reason I would give wrhy Abner died as a fool is, he should not have gone outside the gate of the city. [Concluded on 4th Page.1
The Christian Sun (Elon College, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
June 28, 1900, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75