Abbeville press. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, 1868-10-02
CHEERFULNESS.


II IS unsuitcd to the natural bl,oyuncy
and chccrfulncss Of youth, to the vigor
and enterprise Of manhood and to in
firm Old ago alike. Some admit that
IL has It's present pleasures and its
promises Of future bliss, but deny that
these compensate for the loss Of the
worldly cnjoymcllts Of this life: and
therefore that they arc either mis-
guided or ianatic:,l who sscL the
pleasures Of the Spirit and Of faith at
the sacrifice Of the pleasures Of sense
and Of sight. BuL in nothing Of the
spiritual life has the natural mind so
misconccivcd as in this direction. q
Cor. :: II; l Tim. 4: s; and Ps. 81:
ll) Certain asct lies and some gloomy
rlctists have placed restrictions upon
the lawful cnioymtnts Of the world
until they cast II cloud Of gloom
around religion instead OF using it to
crown them as with Il halo Of Hmht
and beauty. 1t is in this way that
many, and especially those Of youth
1ul years. have been terrified with
religion instead Of being attracted
by it.
These sclfriShtcous rclis:onist; di-
vorcc religion from the world and
deprive her from working out one
great feature Of her mission, which
WAS not to abolish, but to reform and
sanctify the proper cnjoymcnts of sec
ular life, and thus to mako the rcla-
tions of domestic and social life and
tho operations of literature, science
and art the friends and aids Of rclin-
ION rather than her enemies.
Cheeyulness ought not to be con-
founded with nairA, as thcso men Of
austore principles do, and who back
thejr ascctio views with the obscrva-
ton that Jesus, "thc great pattern of
perfection, was never seen to laugh r'
Airth is tho out gushing of momcn-
tary and mostly Of unlawful JOY, and
thcn may leave tho soul to sink into
tho deepest melancholy! Cheerful
ness is the slower but more constant
flowing Of stream supplied by tho
cquanimity Of mind or the conscious
integrity of soul which belong to the
virtuous and holy. Chccrfulucss is
but another expression for the scrcn-
ity Of soul jesus had and which
brcathcs from his portrait drawn by
tho Divine Artist within the nosDelS.
although there is no record Of laughter
connected with it.
Nay, not only is lauyiltcr not ncccs-
sary to chccrlulncss, but on the other
hand, this may be expressed by tears.
Have you never heard of one "wccD
ing for joy?t Some thirteen Years
ago % young man stood in tho pulpit
l. now occupy: he was preaching his
trial sermon" before the Prcsbytcry
Of Baltimore. There was nothing
pathetic in the discourse by which to
move the audience to tears, and the
grave Prcsbytcrs sat there calmly
Judging whether or not he were quail
fled to preach the Word of God. But
there was ono man there, amidst the
congregation, and he O ruling elder,
who was powerfully overwhelmed by
the service. lie was the venerable
father Of the candidate in the pulpit.
[ saw him wiping away tear aft II
tear as they tric!llcd down his checks!
Why did hc weep? Not because, like
many heart broken parent, he had
to mourn oyer u son, bcsottcd, de-
bauchcd, ruined, disgracing the Da-
rental name, and cursing tho mother
that horo him, and bringing the fa-
theirs grey hairs with sorrow to the
grave! No, he wcpt for joy! lie
wcpt under tho overwhelming fact
that there was tho Ja6e he had consc
Grated TO God in inf;,ncy the chilli
trained by an anxious mother in the
nurture and admonition of tho Lord:
the bog Of many fears and hopes: the
only son for whom he had toiled the
ypuM of a thousand temptations and of
as many prayers: now q young man of
noble form, Of cultivated intellect, Of
sanctiticd heart, and withal, commits
stoned Of tho court Of heaven to preach
the blessed gospel Of Jesus Christ! 1t
was for this constmmation of his high
est earthly hopes that ho wept
What father, what mother, who ever
heard the most powerful notes of elo-
quencc from the lips of darling son,
standing within tic Senate Chamber,
or heard the acclamations of praise
greeting q son rs he returned from
tho tented field, the nations conquer
or, what such parent eyer enjoyed the
p.ro gladncss Of that parent within
that temple of Godl .-
But alas, every joy connected with
our poor frail humanity must fail lis,
however pure thatijoy may, be-: but
few months Of most promising min
istry passed and the young preacher
diedl Yet,that light went not out, it
only faded away into that Creator
Light 7thelpSun of Righteousnessl
Here is rthesonly unfailing source of
true enjoyment, and it is peculiarly
the portion Of tho righteous: it is
lulanlinitedS u \ and lihtex haastiblc; for it
springs from Tho eternal purpose of