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THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN. SATrttPAT. JIVE 3. I!*n« By REV. DR. JOHN E. WHITE GROWING A SOUL “GROW in grace"-// peter, m./s i •*•••••********< ~=PASTOR=s SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH In small apace here are two great I than that. Socrates knew better. Ilfs words—"grace" and "grow." Placed Christ left no standing room within In iheir relation the)’ make an epitome **!?_?*?? .iT* 10 a, 0 ®*,?'* contribution of Christianity to know hlghe.t thought for the philosophy of chnracter. They are the ret rWng Worda of the moat Import tant problem of human life. What la the.greateat business of a town's life? For the narrow space of i hie world what Is the greatest work a matt can put himself to? I think the lev answers that very old human ■incstloB. The great business of man in this world la to grow a soul—to Kwr In grace. .I' SUS Christ, It seems to me, placed title fact beyond challenge when He >.tld, “TVbat shall It profit a man If he ■ lose his own soul and gain the whole S world, or what will a man give In ex change for his soul?" Socrates In his *i"'iogy said: “I do nothing but go shout persuading you all, old and 3 oung alike, not to take thought for your persons or your properties, but first and chiefly to care about the rreat set Improvement of the soul." It Is a sad commentary upon tbs moral backwardness of our age that a lmean philosopher who lived before i Ibrist had come to teach all that ha i.mrht on this subject, should have realised tha value of growing a soul so much more than we do. Let me repeat l'. The groat business of a man In this r orld, In America, In Atlanta, Is to (tree a soul, or as tho last phrases It, i i grow In grace! Do you believe that? Ores ter than building railroads or writing books or ruling a nation Is to grow a groat soul. Whan you start ■ ■it In the morning, will yon dara to In l; at your law ofllce, your store, your bank, your business, and say: ' The improvement of my soul Is a matter of more Importance than this?" It l- the truth. If It were not true this world would not be lit to lire In f ir an hour. If anything leas than this Is the supreme Ideal of life. If tha paltering concerns, the Inanities of so ciety and the vanities of secular am bition are the real things to live for and wo are put Into this world to gst ratlsfactlona for the senses, then this iinKme and Its order are below tho wisdom aod the character of a Crea- tor who Is worthy of worship. I saw a picture In Brussels which represents r,,,i| as about to begin the creative net. The Almighty arm la outstretched t > create the world, when an angsl lays a restraining Unger upon the Cra- rtor’s arm. "If about to maka such a world.* tha canvas seems to say, "stay Thin" hand." But we know better know that Gpd’a highest thought man was about bis soul. Tha Planting. What Is meant by growing a soul? What does the apostle mean by grow ing In grgee? It la profitable sometimes to throw aalds thoologlcal definitions and get fresher terms for truth. Tho word "grace" Is the greatest word In tits Bible. It la found in the New. Testament one hundred and twenty-nine times. It meant so es sentially all that domes from God to man that It was employed to repre sent many Ideas relating to God's deal ing with human life, whatever was good was of graoe. Every gift of God was a grace given. Every con trary evil was defined as net of grace. The Kingdom of 'God was condi tioned upon grace. With moot of these meanings we have nothing tor do In the text. The common definition of grace, for Instance, la In tha formula, "The free and unmerited favor of Ood to the unworthy." Plainly, we cannot rrow In that grace. We cannot grow n the favor of Ood. No Increase Is possible In God's grace toward us. Ood will love us no better because wo art better. Another Idea of grace le met with In Christian teaching—the conception of grace as n state or condition of those who are saved. But that la not "grace” as the text means It. We cannot grow Into grace. Into the state of salvation. To grow In greet Implies that the eoul has already bean rooted In grace. To the man who Is willing to realise that the growing of a soul Ts bis life's business It Is most Important not to stumble at thin point. Growing In race Is not salvation by character, hough certainly It la true that there la no salvation without character. I would say to the man who brings me a rare (lower he means to grow. "First, plant It, sir." I would say to the man who wants to make the most of his soul, "First, get It planted In the right soil." To this and Christ gave’ His treat teaching about the vine and the tranches; Christianity places a miracle at the basis of ths soul's growth. It would be no better than any other philosophy of life If It did not. Men are striving to Improve their souls In all lands and under ail religions. There Is no quar rel with them on this account. You have discovered already that I have no heart for quarreling with Socrates. Paganism had ita taints. But thn dtf- fsrence between I*aganism end Chris- , tlanlty, between Socrates and Chrlet, In the growing of soula, le a difference I well Illustrated by what we aie In na ture. It le the difference between a rock and a flower. The rock may he a I diamond, but It cannot grow. It larka the life principle. Paganism la tha religion of spiritual tailoring. It dresses the soul up and than shows off Its dotbes. There Is nothing wonderful about It at all. Christ came saying something that Socratea did not dream of, "I am the life.” "I come that they might have life" "Fe muat.be born again." He put life In the soul, gave It a new vitality, and rooted It In Himself and then He said, "Abide In Me and grow am! bring forth.” Take g rock In one hand ana a Bruited vine In the other. There le a world of difference between them at tha vital point One Is life less, the other has life. A young lady cams to me, much disturbed, to ask If I agreed that tha morally upright and clean non-believer was to be placed In the same category with (he vicious and Immoral man, If both were In the same aenee unsaved sinners before Ood. Have you not queatloned end doubted at that point? I told her, "Tea, they are In the tame state be fore God, though not In the same con dition and degree/' One of them la beautiful like the diamond, tha other rough and luaterleas like charcoal, but both are carbon, both In the last true analysis black and dead stufT. Neith er has the eternal lift In Him. In tha white heat of eternity thoee who are clothed In lovely robes of virtue, but know nothing, of the Imparted life which cornea to ’the broken and sur- rendered heart, though they ehlnt among men as paragons, will be melted down to the level of their real spiritual fact. I have said tha moat Important thlnr that can be said about growing a souk To grow In greet la not possible except you are rooted In grace. A college dresident once said that over every nboratory, science hall and lecture room should be written these words for those who were there for self-improve ment: “Ye must be bom again.” The Deed Lina of Progress. ’ Now let ua look at tha text with the emphasis placed upon the other word, the word written In the Imperative mood, the word "grow." Here Is where so many people fell. cording to the legend, "Quo Vadls,” I but the appalling decay of * n uls, the "God don’t make files like carosnt.— that Peter was In Home and turned to falling away of Christian character, ’make thlnr* taking ’em eri floe from the fires t.f persecution. A- ] the leprous spots of spiritual disease .'“Lil He r , .'J PUt,ln * he lied across the Campagna the le- the drooping and dying of love In tho * r " , g tne T’ H " J U8t says, Let there gend says lie met Christ with His face heart, the moral rotting of soul fibers, be “**• an d ,h ere la files'" But not They believe In grace, In salvation by grace, but thsy do not put much em phasis on growing In grace. A little girl was tendsrly asked why she had fallen .oft the bed. Between her aob* she replied, "I reckon. I went to sleep too close to the edge whan I got In.” That la tha trouble In the church. So many people have made their peace with God and gone to sleep. It would fit the moral facts of ths case If we would put beds at the door of tbe bap tistry In our churches. Tha man who aald, ."Grow In grace," la tha man of all tha apostles who could say It. Oscar Wilde, the disgraced English writer, gave the world aa he came out of prison his last contribution to liter ature. The book was entitled "De Pro- fundls.” He wrote It from the depths of dishonor and shame. It Is a literary curiosity. So far aa we know, the words of our text are the last words from the pen of the Apostle Peter. He wrote It aa tha warning and the tn- treaty of hla life against backsliding. Hs wrote from the depths of sorrowful memory. Possibly he wrote from the palp of the last Impending trial of his faith. For It was about this time, Se vern the city. i. %o, on the darkness broke a wander- I Ing ray, | A vision-flashed along the Applan way; Divinely on the pagan knight It shone, A mournful face, a figure hurrying on; Though haggard and dishevelled, frail and worn. A King of David's lineage crowned with thorn. 'Lord, whither farest?' Patsr wonder ing cried. To Rome,' said Christ, 'to be racrucl- fled.' Into the night tha vision ebbed like breath. And Peter turned and rushed on Ronte and death.' Whether the legend bo true or false, lhagg last wards of 'Voter’s epistle are warm with sympathetic understanding with all hard-pressed and tempted souls. “Beware," he says. "Beware, lest ye also, being, led away with the error, of the wicked one, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow la grace and In tha knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.” That was to say to every man Ilka himself subject to weakness, that the safety of the soul from the overthrow of eln la to be found only In growing; that to eeeape failure In the faith one must make progress continually. Experience, Peter's, mine, yours, proves the truth of It. It Is the plain, common sense of. life, aa well os of Christian experience. The moving, progressing, growing. Increasing force thrusts’ (allure from the path. Roll a coin across the floor; so long aa It • forward It remains upright, row a ball Into the air; so long as It persists in Its upward progress 'It conquers the downward pull of gravi tation. In the experience of the soul there threatens ever to come an hour when the forces that Influence us are balanced equality. That la tha critical hour. From such an hour the history of every backeltdlng begins. To refar to backsliders la simply to mark the fact that Christian* hare ceased to grow In grace. No one can estimate the extent of the check which the cause of Christ suffers on account of backsliding. But the terrible thing about it I* not In what the churches and the cause of the kingdom suffers. the* burdensome accumulation of brok- ‘ 5n with the development of a aoul it ■ u vow, and alighted Christian honor, grows. It grows by laws of ao!rlt„.i the malfeasance and disregard of faith l Kr0 wth. God never undo „ fledged and sealed by aolemn rite, at ? . , ,alnt b ? all of which the world, points It, taunt- ,7" ,ouI * * ub mUted to the In* sneer. “See these Christian*!*’ .conditions of growth. Christ thrust This is the sorrow and the tragedy of His hand Into the heart of truth and the Church. Let tho back*Md*r look;drew forth n Illy. “Consider tho im! at himself. He ought to look at him- ; how . they Krnw Thev tftJI . l v ie| aelf and reallte w hat he represents 1,, ., to11 not ' "'“her do they apln, yet Solomon. In all hi, glory, was not arrayed like one , f these." The Interesting thing about tho Illy Is "how it grow*.” it i, n ,, t 1 by trying to grow, but by abiding la the conditions of growth. Sooner than her slaters of the garden the Illy a\ MI droop if torn from the conditions of p, growth. We can none of ua Increu. our statue by striving. We can gr, * and we will grow In grace If we wilt keep ourselves In the right relation with God. It la Important then r^r Christians to watch, lest they h,.« the right relation. "Abide In me" i, Christ s practical word here. It mean, OTWlt means love, It means ser vice. There ore bo many Imperfect at- tachmenta to Christ, so much parti,: allegiance nnd consequently so mum stunted life In the church. Soul, do not grow If they will not abide. But they will grow If they will abide i„ Christ. There are no known limits to th. soul's capacity for growth. "It doth not yet appear what wo shall be." Who can estimate the realms of victory and achievement that lie out before u« if wo will give our soula a chance. w» can annihilate tho power of our lower desires. We can come at Inst to the place of freedom In which the ,.,ui holds tho body In subjection. Then we are ready for the day. fully ready when the aoul shall wnve doctors and' nurses aside nnd fling the bo.lv back upon the death couch and leap forth beyond’the circle of loved one, and be at last freed. and realize what he reprea The Comtesse de Casllgllone, who died In Paris two years ago, was one of the most renowned beauties of the regime of Louis Napoleon, during the second empire. When her beauty be gan to vanish her anguish of mind was Intense. She possessed a full length portrait of hereelf painted by a mas ter which represented her In the day. of her glory. One day It was noticed that the picture had disappeared from the walls of her drawing room. Tha comtesse had fretted over the fact that every day she was growing uglier, growing more and more nnllke the ex quisite creature on the canvas, and In a fit of rage she had one day furiously attacked the picture and with her acls- aors had cut It into ribbons. How strange It la that one should regret gray hairs and fading beauty of the body and care so little that, the soul is uglier dny by day. Let'the backslider look at hlmaelf. Let every man look at the backslider. That Is the fate it those who do not grow In grace. They decline Into spiritual dis grace. The dead line In the ministry of which we hear much Is the Une at which a preacher ceases to study gnd aspire. The pathos of the old preacher whom nobody want* to hear la ever before my eye*. It Is a sad fate. But there la something In reality sadder far. It is the dead line of the soul. There Is a place at which the Christian life halts/energies relapse, enthusiasm abates, the sense of duty subsides, the soul ceases to grow. Old men In the church are often backsliders without realising It. Conaidar the Lilias, g There la mystery, but no necromancy about growing a soul. Two young boys sitting In tbe eun. One of them caught a fly In hie hand. “Look at him! Look at hts legs. Ain’t he funny? How does God make fllee?" “Why," eald the ruminant philosopher In reply, "Build thee more stately mansions, oh, my soul! As the swift seasons roll; leave thy law vaulted past. Let each new temple nobler than the last, shut thee from heaven, With a dome'more vaat, till thou at length art free. Leaving thine outworn shell by life', unresting sea." By DR. GEORGE A. BEATTIE. Jesus snd the children! Math It: 1-14. Golden text: It la not the will of your Father which la In heaven that "II" of these little once should perish. Matt, lit 14. The Incident In thla lesson occurred In the latter part of our Savior’s inln- l,iry. Though tho disciples had bean with Him for two and omMialf years they had not yet caught the spirit of ihr Master. They had not as yet been tranaflg- urrd. Pride and selfishness, and am bition had not been eliminated. They il.ought that Christ was going to es tablish an earthly kingdom, and In case He did they expected to have prominent positions In It. The mat- t. i as discussed among themselves as to who should he the greatest. Christ will reprove them with an Object Lesson. It was In this way the moat of hla teachings were given. At one time It It a bird, at another & Mower. Again a tnan going out to so. and again one of Ihv temple lucits. on this occasion It was a little child. We learn there were a great many ibildren In the crowds that flocked to Jeans. Many of them, no doubt, taken i the mother* because they could not leave them at home. It the mothers a ent they had to take th* children. < In one occasion, and It might have been on* of muny. tho mothers desired t., take their children to Jesus that lb- might lay Ills hands upon their litie heads itml bless them. The dis ci! les forbade them, and then Jesus uttered those memorable words, ”8uf- r, r little children to come unto me, nnd f,a bid them not, for of such Is th* kingdom of heaven.” Jesus a Lover of Children. We have every reason to believe that the children, whose Intuition for read lnx character la much greater than are wont to credit them with, were by Hla countenance and manner nnd gentleness drawn to Jsaus. The , h.ldren ran to Him and not from Him. And now In this bouse at Caper- I,., urn. It might have been Peter - *, lie w.H taka a child for hla text, and i-reach a sermon to His disciples. It » -ild be on* they never could forget, for every child would remind them of it Would that It might have th* earn* ..fleet on all of us. He would teach them how to be great, and th* way to ,-nter th* kingdom. Ho calling a little . hill. He placed him In the midst, and ,iiJ: "Except ye be converted, and become as llttl* children, ye shall not enter Into the kingdom of heaven." The Greek word Is nowhere els* translated “converted." It means to turn. Turn, right about face, front i ir ambitious, self-seeking spirit, or ye cannot enter the kingdom of heaven ns'sinless beings. I know there are aome who deny the fiectrine of natural depravity, and oth- ers who Indignantly combat It. Point ing* us to a sweet, beautiful. Innocent child that kneels at It* mother’s knee to lisp Its evening prayer, or as It en twines Its dimpled arms around, that mother's neck and singsitaelf to sleep on her bosom, they eay, who can fancy such a creature as that aa being en mity against God? Yet who could finer that the time would ever com* when that little child would drive sor row* sharper than any arrows. Into that mother's bleeding heart; that tha tt-i.e would ever com*, when th* moth- ■ would wish her child had died, when she hung In tears over the little Ilf* that seemed trembling IS the balance? And yet that happens. And many an other thing happens th* fancy would never paint. Is ths springtime there are eeed* In —ry furrow so minute the keenest of Mrd cannot detect them, that n:y await the summer’s sunshine snd Shower to develop Into s rank growth of wends! Ho In 1 the heart of every child, no msttgr how sweet snd beau tiful, and Innoosnt It may seam, are seeds of tin that unleie eliminated by grace, may develop Into crime and sin. Ho held up the little child, not as s model of alnleesneas or Innocence, but of faith and humility. • - A self-seeking, ambitious spirit does not produce greatness, but It dwindle* snd dwarfs Into littleness. Men who might have been great, become mere pigmies. They might hare been a bleeeing to the race, but with oil their affections aspirations snd actions cen tered on self,' they go down to their graves, "unwept, unhonored and un sung." i Huppose you are forgetful of self, mindful of -others, considerate of their feelings, sver ready to speak s loving word, or do s kindly deed, your pres ence will carry sunshine wherever you go, that th* would would not exchange for the dasxle of a hero. Goodness and greatness are synony mous. He Is greatest who renders the moat service. Better to go through tHe world like s single sunbeam, dispelling darkness, or a drop of water allaying thirst nnd giving refreshment, than like a sponge, absorbing everything und giving nothing In return. "He that would be greatest among you, let him be your servant." Thla was Christ's'motto for His own life. He condescended to gird Himself and wash Ills disciples’ feet. There la nothing menial, when the service le rendered for others. He that humbletli himself shall be exalted. Christ's Car* for th* Children. In the treatment of children Ho gives e promise to those that receive them, saying that He will regard It the same ss though done to Hlmaelf, and a warning tn thoee who would be n stumbling block In their way; for the latter It would b* better for them If a mill atone were hung about their neck, and then cast Into the sea. Christ knew that If His church would be established on earth, the children must not be neglected. A church that has no Sunday school or other means for training and-holding the children will toon become extinct. Th* Old Farmer and th* 8h**p. An old farmer who had great suc cess In raising sheep was once asked what was th* secret of hie success, and he replied: "I take care of the lambs." The statistics of all the churches will show that the great ma jority of these who are members of the church today, were brought In while they were young. Dr. Alexan der, of Princeton, said near ths close of hie life: "If I had my life to live over again, I would p*y more attention to th* children." ' And that Is th* redaction of every pastor. After an abssnet of twenty years. once returned to a city churoh of which I had been pastor. I found on* whom I left a pupil In the Infant class now teaching It. Th* choir was com posed of children who. had been gath ered In. and many of th* officers of the church twenty years before were pupils In ths Sunday school. Many of my Bunday school boys are preaching the gospel today In this and foreign lands. You never know what possl- biiites and .potentialities are wrapped up In the child. What ha shall be largely depends upon the Impression made while the heart la tender and receptive. Churehee Too Conservative. . Churches are too conservative about receiving children Into membership. Aa -soon as a child can comprehend and accept the plan of salvation, re gardless or age, It la old enough to maka a public profession of faith. Sta tistics show that those who come In early ere most apt to remain steadfast and faithful, and make the moat active and useful members. While.Jesus has been saying, "Let ths llttlt children como unto Me," the parent*, like the disciples did, have forbade them. A little girl only eight years old once came before tha session of a church, making application for mem bership. The mother thought she wee too young, perhaps did not fully un derstand the step she was taking, and came with her. After all the exami nation questions had been satisfac torily nnswered, alia wanted to ask her child when she first loved Jesus, and looking up Into her face, she re plied. "Why. mamma, I learned to love Jesus Just as I learned -to* lovs you.” From her earliest childhood ths By ELLA WHEELER WILCOX. (Copyright, ISOS, by American-Journal-Examlner.) LORD, give the mothers of the world More lovo to do their part; That love which reaches not alone Ths children made by brith their own. Hut every childish heart. Wake In their souls true motherhood Which alma at universal good. Lord, give the teachers of the world More love, and let them see How bsser metals la their store Msy be transformed to precious ore By love's strange alchemy. And let them dally seek to find The ehlldtnh HEART beneath the mind. Lord, give the preschera of the world More love to warm the word They apeak for tender souls to hear; Too long old dogmas hosed on fear The human race bos heard. Inspire Thy ministers to feed Their flocks upon n loving creed. Lord, give the Christians of the world Morn love for dolly use; And show them simple ways to prove They do not keep tha Rule of Love For homilies shot ruse. But live each day Thy golden law As If Thou dwelt on earth and saw. mother had htld up Jesus before the child, and she had fallen In love with Him. From that day to this she ha* been an earnest active worker In th* church. For the soul winner, no'fleld prom ises so much as work among th* chil dren. The great object of every teach er In the Sunday school should be to lead the child to Christ. The seed sown may. lay dormant for years, and then ripen Into fruition. Th* Shipwrecked Child. Some years ago . a California miner was shipwrecked In sight of land, had put on a life-preserver and wok buckling bis belt of gold dust about him, when a little girl came up. and looking up Into his face, said: "Please, can you save me?” There was a mo ment's hesitation and a struggle In his mind. Ha felt bs could not save the child and bis bag of gold, his ravings for years, and which he expected to carry to his Eastern home. II* quickly unbuckled hi* belt and flung It out Into the waves, and then stooping down told the little girl -to put her prms about hla neck, and then struck out for the shore, but Just before he reached It a huge wave tore hla precious burden from him, and coat him senseless on the rocks. Hs was rescued by adme who had reached the shore, and when is came to consciousness tha first ab lest he saw was ths beautiful child he tad saved. A similar axperltnc* may bs ours. When we close our aye* In death and open them In glory some of ths dear children we have tried to save may ba the first to meet us and greet us on th* heavenly ahore. What th* Bavlor meant by th* hand or foot causing us to stumbl* Is, tbat It Is better to have eternal life here, to be a true. Christian, and enter Into heaven- without enjoying th# things that caused us to sin, than to enjoy them here and then be lost. Hell Fir*. Literally, “the Gehenna of Are." a*, henna wo* a valley south of Jerusa lem. a former scene of Molech wor ship, nnd later a place where garbage of th* city wa* burned with perpetual Are*. We ore not to understand from this nnd similar passages that Christ Intended to tench that there Is a literal hell Are, where th* eoule of the loet are burned. He usee It only ** * type or symbol of the sufferings they will en dure. It would be a« reasonable to suppose that tho streets of heaven nr* literally paved with gold, and the gats* are massive pearl*. ** to suppose that hell will be a take of Are and brim- stone. This wa* th* conception of the artist who painted scene* of the Judg ment day on th* wall* Qf one of the churches at Rom*. In which deVIt* ore represented as pitching the aoul* of th* lost over Into such a lake. Heaven la represented as a place of everlast ing holiness and happiness, and heU as a place of everlasting misery. Each will go. by spiritual gravitation, as It were, to his own place—the place for which he le fitted, where hi* compan ions will be most congenial, and where he can be th* happiest So w# can writ* ovar th* gate* of hell, a* ovar the gates of heaven: Ood la love; God Is merciful. y . ... . But the condition at each , will be eternal. Once saved, saved forever. Once lost,-lost forevsr. Dante’s Inftrno. Dante had Scriptural authority for writing over th# gates of his Inferno: "Let him who enters here leave all hop* behind." . . How much Christ think* of us and how anxious He Is to eav* u* He Illus trates by the Shepherd who leave* the ninety and nln* to go out and find the on* that Is lost. H* Is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come unto Him and have everlasting life. None will be excluded from heaven save those who exclude themselves. AII who find th* gate* of heaven closed against them will find that tha bolts and bare are all on tha outside, and that they have been forged and drlvtn by their own hand*. He I* able and wiUlng to save unto the uttermost all who come to Him. ARE YOU GOING AWAY? If so, hare Th* Georgian moiled to you. Mailed to city subscriber* while away from home for th# summer months at th* regular ret* of ten cent* * Wfek—no charge for mailing. Sent to shy address In th* United States or Canada. Foreign postage extra. THE RELIGIOUS WORK DONE AMONG FEDERAL PRISONERS their religious freedom hod been pre served—an Impression which Satan puts Into the hearts of people outside of prisons somstlmea. Why not call It by Its right name, Irregllious freedom, for it Is the same Impression and spirit that forbids the reading and study of God> word In th* public ocbools of so- called Chrletlan communities, and largaly through political sophistry and manipulation, preserves to a certain element In some of our large cities tha right—If w# must so call It—of com ing horn* Into from somo concort gar den on Sunday night with wife and children redolent with beer and steoped In that aplrlt of anarchy which de mands license for liberty and which makes easy for many the pathway to crime? So, while the seed la scattered from our prison pulpit much of It falls upon ground which Is hard and stony because of the resistance which Satan puts Into th* hearts of these earthly mortals. Tha Reaton Why. Some of my colleagues In prison managomsnt In other Institutions dlia gree with me on this mattsr of com pulsory chapel atendance, claiming that It does no good to force a man to hear religious services; but who con tell when,* hymn, or a prayer, or some passage from the Scriptures may not awaken In th* heart memories nnd feellnga long forgotten and bring life to the hop* some mother had away bock In the dim past? I look Into my own heart and know that one song, sung away back yonder In my child hood, has a far more potent effect upon me than many a splendid voluntary I have since heard. And I know, too, that from a certain college chapel, . - t _ where, also, attendance was compul- the gong In tha corridor between the «ory, there come to me today th* sa- "Mere Isolation from all ths world will accomplish nothing In ths reform atlon of those who have become crimi nals.' That Is the text from which the of ficials of the United States penitent! ary, near Atlanta, preach. They are attempting to do much In their rela tions with the wayward and the un fortunate who have become thelc chargee. They have accomplished— Well, there la no standard of meas urement of the spiritual and moral good don* a man, so nothing but gen eralities can be aald as to what they have accomplished. ' Tha prayer meeting congregation of tha Central Presbyterian Church It one of the moat active tn religious work and religious thought In the city of Atlanta. Recently It requested C. C. McClaughry, who Is deputy warden at the federal prison, to give a talk on the religious work done at that Insti tution. Hla address, which created so much favorable comment, was aa fol lows: I have been asked by your commit tee te tell you something of th* re ligious work whlcb Is being attempted out at the United State* penitentiary, where I am employed. I do not say what la being accom plished, for I would not In any way Indues you to believe that wa are boastful In a matter concerning which' It was said so many hundred yean ago, "Bo then neither Is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but Ood that glveth the Increase.’’ EVcry Bunday morning at 9 o’clock two great cell houses rings, and soma five hundred men march Into ths roomy chapel. Then follows a service In which, with prayer and sermon and hymn, It Is en deavored to sow the scad of God's truth In th* bsarta of thoaa who as semble there. "The Book"—** our Covenanting Scotch forefathers loved to call It In tha day* of thslr testify ing—Is offered to the gathered throng "The Way, th* Truth and the Life." I had almost said "to ths listening and attentive throng”—and, perhaps, I ought to say so yet, for th* men do give fair attantlon and apparently listen well, but It must be remembered that these 600 men and their keepers alt quiet under a compelling discipline. Attendance I* Compulsory. Attendance upon thla sendee ts com pulsory. If It were optional It Is prob able that a large number of these men would cbooa* to remain In their little I .by » cells, nursing evil or Idle thoughts under the Impression that cred achoea of psalms, and prayer-hal lowed memories of tha closed eyes and earnest faces of grey-hatred saints long gathered to their fathers, whloh I would not be without today. Anyhow I know that the Increase la In God’s hands, and that our duty Ir with tha seed-corn- and not with the harvest. Th* Sunday 8ahoal. Now, afttr tha regular chapel serv ice comes our Sabbath school. At tendance upon this service Is not com pulsory, and os ths too march out from the chapel at 10 o'clock, on th* way back to their cells, about 160—or about 180 when our total prison population was 5*0—fall out of th* two lines of moving men, and, marching around by the outer aisles, return to the front of the chapel where they mass for th* opening hymn with which the Babbath school service begins. After this hymn the men form Into eight classes. In cluding one Catholic class—and as many gentlemen from your city greet "The heavens declare His righteousness and all the- peo ple iso His glory.”—Psalms #7:6. * When from beneath tbe cloud appears Rain drops falling aa many tears, Could not this be our Father weeping O'er sinners still In bondage sleeping? When lightnings flash behind the elond, . And thunder rolls so very loud. Could not this be our Savior speaking To let us know HIs heart Is breaking? When winds from east to west do blow And clouds are tinged with radiant glow. Could not this be our Father’s love. To anger we vile tinners drove? , Then later on, when all Is calmed. That all ba saved and none bs damned. I'm sure, thus salth the Spirit's voice. "Reflect, repent, believe, rejoice.” A. M. STEAD. 8unday, June 17, 1S06. > them and begin th* study of t!te let- son from quarterlies which are pro. vlded through th* generoalty of some good friends. While your Uncle Sam provides ua with a chaplain and with copies of the Bible, he goes no farther, for he wants to be strictly non-mta- rlan In order to be popular with all hi* children. Now, while we are getting a larger percentage of growing grain in this gathering than In the preaching ser vice I have before described, these lmi men do not all represent wheat, os yet. for, strange as It msy seem, some nf the worst "tares" we have come to tha Sabbath school. But In the fact that they voluntarily come there Is hope, for who can tell In what clod or under what stone the mystery of germination may not take place? ' Your beloved pastor visited last year the bedside of a prisoner who was serving Ills fourth term In prison, ngalnat whose name there were writ ten former charges of robber)' and murder and over whose head yet hung charges unanswered; whoa* early con duct In the prison had been a bold de fiance of everything religious or right, and yet who was, at the time of the visit, firmly reliant on Christ’s atone- mem, and whose last words to me be fore h* dlsd, contained hla hope that we might meet "Over There,” snd the earnest request that I would not neg lect to pray every night Thl* from a man who had once gloried in being s Western tough of the cowboy pattern, and who had once replied. In answer to an announcement of services to be held In th# prison chapel, “X may be In hell before that time.” The shattered wreck of hla earthly life lies In the soil of Louisiana, but his soul has escaped the fate which once It oballenged. Ray of Hop* in Many Fact*. As I sit each Sunday and watch closely th* work of these classes in our Sabbath school I see many earnest face* and I believe that many are on the road to that peace which the Great Teacher left with us. The closest at tention is given by nearly all to HI* representatives, who give with glad ness a portion of their precious rest day to this service, and I ‘say preclou* rest day’ advisedly, for these teacher* are not kid-gloved Christians, people of wealth and leisure. All but one are. I believe, Christians who work hard with their hands and brains during the six labor days; salesmen, machinists, pat tern-makers. and so on. Through the efforts of some of our friends we have obtained, In addition to -tho quarterlies, copies of various religious papers and magazines, wdticn *r# distributed to the pupils of th* Sab bath school each Sunday, and are eagerly recelvod. Letter* from somt of our teachers to the editors of some of tbs Christian publications, describ ing our needs and the work, have brought donntlona of papers. “Red Letter” Testament*. Another recent Innovation, to which a gentleman sitting near me wa* * large contributor, waa tbe purchase of a number of "Red Letter" TestamenlJ In which Christ's words stand out* figurative and veritable letter* of fitmA nnd burn thalr way Into th# attention and, wa hope. Into the,heart* of'now of ths men. With these men the use of these books wa* an experiment. Observation had lad. us to belter* that the ordinary men who wo* at m™ not religiously Inclined was apt to ope* ths black-letter Bible without ap«iu aim and with Indifferent attention. « he opened It at oil, and what wa* a**"* ed was something that would catch m* ay* and turn hla attention qulckl) j what was most essential for him « grasp. If you have never opened on of these "Red Leter" Testaments. !^ Christians who carry Oxford Bibles, Just buy jrourselve* «p- le* and try th* axperlrasnt on your selves, and sea If you do notwperien a r.ew farclnatlnn In th* ooayd writing- Then Imagine how, If th* J**w Te* ment was an unexplored nnd unkno volume to you. these flashes of would brighten the path to )ou lead you on. “What did H» **> t i "Why did He say that?" ou la the dieclples or other* mUT" of be the natural order snd seqoem > the questions which would lead you Into the context. Requests for Teetements. Now, we did not give thee® J** * menu out as boys give you hend-o * on the street*. The teacher*— Continued on Oppos te P«.‘-