Newspaper Page Text
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«.‘-
