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May 1, 1912 ] THE 1
talked the whole night through. Directly all
was the bustle of the brigade preparing to embark
on the cars. And with a loving embrace
we parted?and 1 saw him no more for more
than ten years.
It has been my privilege to hear some of the
greatest preachers, but 1 have never heard his
superior, and very few were his equals. I
count one sermon that I heard Spurgeon preach
in his London Tabernacle, as the greatest single
sermon I ever heard. And I believe the sermon
Dr. Girardeau preached in Nashville was
almost if not quite, the equal of that. The
few weeks of intimate association with him forty-nine
years ago is one of my most precious
memories.
PAUL'S CONTRASTS.
REV. C. M. HUTTON.
This method of conveying truth was a favorite
one with Paul. In 2 Cor. 12:10 he says: "When
I am weak then am I strong. In another place
he explains this by saying: 1 * Most gladly therefore
will I rather glory in my infirmities that
tne power oi (Jurist may rest upon me/' It is
not the self-righteous man that Christ came to
call, but the sinner. The publican who cried:
"God be merciful to me a sinner," went down
justified rather than the boastful self-righteous
Pharasee: 4 4 The world needs not a physician.''
No sinner is in a more hopeless condition than
one who boasts that he is as good as many a
church member. Christ came to seek and to
save the lost, and it is well that the sinner should
feel his need when he comes to the Friend of
Sinners. Paul's weakness in himself was his
strength in Christ.
One of the most impressive instances of teaching
by contrast in Paul's writing is found in 2
Cor. 4:17: 4 4 Our light affliction, which is but
for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory." The contrast
is between the affliction of this life and the final
glory of Heaven. The former is said to be
"light," the latter has "weight;" the former is
"hut for a moment," the latter is "eternal."
Well, some may say, Paul's affliction does not
compare with mine. Let us have his nwn wnr<i?
his graphic account of his sufferings in behalf or
the Gospel as recorded (2 Cor. 11:23-28), in
which he sums us "his stripes above measure,"
"his stripes of the Jews," "his imprisonment,"
"his being stoned." "his shipwreck," his
journeyings, his perils of waters, of robbers, by
his own countrymen, by the heathen, in the city,
in the wilderness, in the sea, among the false
brethren, etc. Also note what he says (2 Cor.
4:8, 9, 10), "We are troubled on every side,
we are perplexed but not in despair; persecuted,
but not forsakpn. pn.<yt Hnwn Vmt nr?fr
always bearing about in the body the dying of
the Lord Jesus." I think Paul's trials and his
final tragic death at the hands of the blackhearted
tyrant, Nero, must have excelled what
mast people here have suffered. He says that the
affliction is "but for a moment." Of course he
means comparatively. This brief life is but a
moment when compared with unending eternity.
He says it "worketh for us," implying that the
results does not immediately follow: It may require
a life time to produce the best effect. Job
was a better man after his afflictions than before.
At first this "patient" man became so impatient
as to curse the day of his birth. Finally he says:
"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him."
The crushing of a flower may cause it to yield its
sweetest fragrance.
Hut the glory is further magnified as we consider
the words "far more exceedingThis is
&u unfortunate translation.. The original Greek
18 uperbol^n eis uperbolen an hyperbole
upon a hyperbole. An hyperbole is a rheto'
iral f.jrre "n which wo speak extrava.
PRESBYTERIAN 0 ? THE SO
gantly. We may, say "a thousand" when
perhaps it i3 not half that number. The Greek
word is made of two uper over plus ballein
to throw?to throw over or beyond. Paul exhausts
human language in describing the glory.
He may have thought of the time when caught
up to the third heavens and saw and heard
things not lawful to utter. The glory of which
he speaks is a weight of glory, an eternal weight
of glory, an hyperbole upon an hyperbole eternal
weight of glory. How insignificant by contrast
will all the sorrows, all the tears, all the heartaches
by deaths of dearest loved ones, all other
indescribable trials in this world appear when
we shall reach "The sweet fields arrayed in living
green and rivers of delight," when "God
shall wipe away all tears from all faces 1"
ROME'S ESTIMATE OF THE AMERICAN
CONSTITUTION;
or, THE SYLLABUS OF POPE PIUS IX.
When I say that the Constitution of the
United States condenses and exhibits the national
soul, I mean to include also the Declaration
of Independence, since the latter bears
the same relation to the former as the root to
the tree springing from it; as the fountainIwjorl
+? c ii. rnu. /-i?
.mm vu i>uc ma uuivmg xi~u ill it. X lie VjOBSlItution
iu its present form is, so to speak, an
exemplification of the Declaration of Independence?a
set of principles carefully selected
and embodying the best and most effective
means for carrying out the noble purposes
and sublime aims so clearly and powerfully
set forth in that wonderful document.
What are the main features of these two
documents? Behold what I consider the kernel
of Americanism: "That all men are endowed
by their Creator with certain unalienable
rights; that among these are life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure
these rights governments are instituted
umoner men. deriving their inot i\A?'nrD
O 1 O J?J/V" VIO
the consent of the governed. We, therefore,
the representatives of the United States of
America, in General Congress Assembled, appealing
to Supreme Judge of the world for the
rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name
and by the authority of the good people of
these colonies solemnly publish and declare
that these United Colonies are, and of right
ought to be free and independent States . .
And because free and independent, they
proceeded to adopt their sovereign constitution,
which specifies the rights of the citizens
4/v i:u?A? ?J -
iu me, nueriy ana me pursuit ot happiness
by granting the most representative form of
government, since the people through their
representatives legislate and through their
judges administer public justice. And because
the Constitution is fully and truly representative,
it not only grants rights to every
citizen, but it also excludes all privileged
classes and even rejects titles of nobility. And
because in the pursuit of happiness there are
no privileges more cherished nor blessings
greater than complete religious freedom, complete
freedom of the press and complete freedom
of speech, the Constitution of the United
States is very careful to proclaim forcefully that
glorious ireeaom in these emphatic words,
"Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom
of speech or of the press, or the right of the
peopl^ peaceably to assemble and to petition
the Government for a redress of grievances."
Both the Declaration of Independence and
the Constitution fcre very wise and explicit in
easting aside the old-world view of the omnipotence
of the State and the divine right
of rulers.
U T H (487) 3
The Declaration of Independence clearly
states that there are certain unalienable rights
granted, not by the State, but by the Creator,
and "that whenever any form of government
becomes destructive to these ends (freedom
and happiness) it is the right of the people
to alter or abolish it." And the Constitution
itself, Article IX of the amendments, says:
"The enumeration in the Constitution of certain
rights shall not be construed to deny or
disparage others retained by the people."
Article V provides the means of amending
the Constitution if needed. This view was
strongly endorsed by Washington, the first
and perhaps the greatest President, in his wise
and foreseeing farewell address, in these
words: "If, in the opinion of the people, the
distribution or modification of the constitutional
powers be, in any particular, wrong,
let it be corrected by an amendment in the way
which the Constitution designates." This
view was also strongly endorsed by Lincoln
when he uttered these memorable words,
"government of the people, by the people and
for the people."
Summing up both documents, it may be said
that they stand for an independent and sovernirrn
ftfofo n 1 1
wvuw, ivi ocparuliuu ojl cnurcn ana
State; for the pursuit of happiness by guaranteeing
and perpetuating to all citizens the
fullest religious freedom and the most complete
freedom of speech and of press.
Freedom, the blessed freedom based upon
unalienable rights bestowed by our Creator;
freedom based upon social and equal justice;
freedom based upon the mutual acknowledgement
of our mutual rights; freedom based upon
the mutual acceptance of our mutual privileges
and duties is that for which both documents so
emphatically stand, and it is the living soul of
the American people. The artist who representor
tu 1- " '
v-v* >ue inutiRuu pcupie uy pmciiig in rsew iorK
harbor the Statue of Liberty has written the best
compendium of American history and has
given the best picture of true Americanism.
All those who fail to grasp this truth will
never understand the real American soul, and
every American citizen who does not cherish
this ideal as the dearest and best of his ideals
is not a genuine American citizen. Any one
who is not ready to fight down even at the
cost of his life any plan which tramples upon
this freedom, no matter whether this plan be
originated by politicians or by some church;
no matter whether it be carried out by trusts
or by government officers, does not deserve to
be called an American.
No one who has travelled about the coun
try and has attended public meetings will ever
question the genuine patriotism of the American
people. The national songs and the mere
display of the national flag exert a magical
and deep effect upon the feelings of all American
citizens, no matter whether men or women,
no matter whether old or young, no matter
whether a native of America or of foreign birth.
I do not hesitate to assert that if a foreign
power should invade American territory, the
North and the South, the East and the West
would stand to a man to repel the invasions, even
at the cost of their money and blood.
But let my readers never forget that in
every great nation there is something of greater
importance than the keeping of the integrity of
the national territory and that is the keeping
and forwarding of the integrity of the national
soul. Let my readers never forget that
to enfeeble the national soul, even in little incidents,
even in some apparently small matters,
is in the long run more pernicious than
to lose part of the national territory.