Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1861-06-27
searchings Of heart;" let our devotions be
earnest and spiritual

earnest and spiritual.
We are constrained to confess before
God that even in our sunny land there has
been much Prescription during our pres
ent struggle. How often have we forgot
ten God? How many of our statesmen,
officers, and soldiers are still uuregeuerate,
and, while impenitent, incapable of exer-
cising proper trust in God? How nat
urlly have they been led to defy science.
to rely upon an arm of flesh? Do We not
all stand convicted to-day of looking too
much to the shot aud the shell, the sword
and the bayonet, and too little to the Je-
hovah Of hosts? Here, 0, Lord, is our
sin. We confess it before thee We im-
plore mercy at the hands of the Merciful
Teach US that without thee We can do moth
ing.
We must confess too that in our armies
there is much actual sin.
The moral character of our soldiers uud
their leaders is doubtless vastly superior to
that of those who oppose US, but We must
not forget our own iniquities while we thank
God that we are better than other men.
In our camps there is frequently iutoxi-
cation when opportunity offers. There is
uublushing profanity There is deplor-
able amount of Sabbath. breaking. Nor
can we make this enumeration of sins com.
plete. While We have in the service thou
sands of Christian soldiers, we have thou
sands who daily grieve the Holy Spirit, ig
uored the Savior, insult the Father. Welook
out upon these SHINING soldiers, and We ask
will God bless them will he favor a
cause which is advocated by those who fight
against him? Again we get down in the
dust We acknowledge our transgressions
as a people. We cry to God through
Christ to be merciful to our unrighteous-
ness. We confess the sins of all the wick.
ed in our Southern land, and ask for that
c!emency which We by no means deserve.
We must also weep over the inactivity
of the Church. Does not Zion languish :?
In the midst of the war excitement has not
the love of many waxed cold? How many
sinners have been converted in our midst
during the present year? How many be.
levers have heen built up and established :?
What aggressive movements are we making
upon Satan's empire? 0, my brethren,
while We fight the enemies of our country
VIC must not forget to fight the enemy of
SOUS. The pious Jews who had been in
captivity in Babylon returned and wept
over the desolations of Jerusalem. They
bedewed the ashes of the temple with their
tears, and they said-how often did We
meet here to worship? What happy days
when we bebe!d the beauty of the Lord in
his sanctuary? And they commenced
rebuilding the city Of their solemnities. -
But, being assailed by their enemies, while
they built up the walls with one hand,
they had to def@cd themselves with ths
other Aud so we must remember Zion.
We must love tie Church as we'll as our
Con airy At home, vigorous operations
must be carried on; and abroad, the con
quests of the cross must extend. We must
fight on until the standard of our glorious
Emmanuel is triumphautly planted upon
all the hills and vallies of the habitable
globe.
Ia the days of the prophet Habakkuk,
the ruin of his country was imminent. 1t
was soon to be overran by the relentless foe.
The prophet, iu view of the gathering
storm, prays, 30, Lord revive thy work. .
He ielt that tic impending calami;ies were
he consequence of sin. He felt that riety
was the palladium of liberty-that religious
principles was the parent of freedotn-that
the revival of Gods work in the hearts OF
the people was the only means by which
deserved wrath could be averted Let US
initiate his example-let US offer up his
prayer. How gracious outpouring of the
spirit would cheer our hearts in these trou.
blous times! Who can tell how much it
would contribute towards propitiatiog the
favor of Heaven, and bringing US victori-
ously through the present strife.
o, that we we're suitably impressed with
the fact that there must be a lively trust in
Col if we would have his blessing.
The use Of the means is not Of itself suf-
fcieut. Some say it was Napoleon, and
some say it vas Frederick, who iupiously
,sserted that God always takes sides with
the heaviest artillery. To say so, is to say
that God is governed by meaus-that where
there is the mos powerful array Of instru.
mensalities there he will bestow his bles-
sing. 1t is surely our duty to make the
means as efficient as possible, but it must
be remembered that God governs means
iustead of being governed by them. He
often uses "weak things" to accomplish
great results lie can so give his blessing
that in any engagement that takes place,
one shall chase thousand, and two shall
put ten thousand to flight. Fear not
c. cften takes his stand with the feeble
ana the despised, aud gives them the as
tendency over the great and the strong.
1t is not enough that we have good
cause. This Poland had, but her leaders
by their dissentions, gave the enemy the
advantage, and riveted upon the people the
oppressor's chains.
The cause Of Hungary was good, but
there was fatal lack of religious principle
-v;:al faith in God, and hence she still
weeps. We may, however, safely chal-
lenge the world /, point to single instance
of the failure of an injured nation to as
$ RI her rights anu maintain her liberties,