Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1875-07-29
&eaaiug fur the Sabbath,
CONDUCTED BY
REV. ROBERT LATHAM.
THINK SOBERLY.

If man thinks himself to be something
when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself
and in deceiving himself he may often mos
disastrously deceive others. For many have
confidence in man in proportion to his as
surance, his selfcon6dence, or his position
without regard to his real character. If 6
man seems sincere they con6de in him, for
getting that no men are more sincere than
those who have deceived themselves, and who
now of necessity and with the utmost SINGER.
ity, deceive others.
1t is sad thing for an honest well.meaning
man to spend years of his life in earnest,
Jealous effort in a given direction, and then
awake to the horrible thought that throughout
the whole time he has been doing deceiver's
work, turning men from the right way, divid-
ing, alternating, and destroying; all upon
basis of error, which is not of God, for "no
lie is of him."
To conscientious mind it must be most dis.
tressing to refect-"The course I have taken
is wrong; the doctrines I have preached are
proved false; the leaders I have followed
have gone astray and fallen into the ditch
the measures I have supported have proved
disastrous the men whom I have denounced
have been in the right; the doctrines | have
fought against still stand, but my followers
and associates, whose faith I have under.
mined, and whose minds have embittered
against everything else, have been misled by
me are Ike sheep without shepherd, and
am powerless to remedy the ruin I have
wrought"
Such might be the reflections of men who
have pressed forward to positions of leader.
ship for which they were unfit, who have as
pired to teach, when they hardly knew enough
to learn, and who have been looked up to as
oracles, when in fact they we're only blind
leaders of the blind.
Unfortunately many Of these thoughts will
never enter into the minds Of those who have
selfdeceived. Ignorant, conceited, and self
sufficient, they know little of humility, Of
confession, Of forsaking every wrong way
What they do is invested with halo of self
confidence. Their very errors are better than
ordinary truths. Their mistakes are foreor.
dained of God. Their follies are marks Of
divine wisdom. Their wrongs are better than
common peoples rights. And 80, whatever
position they may have taken, they never re-
cede, never rectify, never confess, but push
headlong on, until they plunge into the depths
Of ruin at the end.
The lesson from all this is, "Think soberly.'
He who honestly reviews his errors, his faults
his follies, and his sins, cannot think highly
of himself, but will rather be clothed with hu.
mility. He who has any knowledge of the
wisdom and holiness Of God, will abhor him
self, and repent in dust and ashes. Such q
man will not come to the Lords table and
choose for himself the chiefest seat he will
not boast of his wisdom, his holiness, his faith
or his works. He will sit down in the lowest
place, conscious of his own in6rmity and un.
worthiness, and nothing but the persuading
and commanding voice of Him that bade him
shall call him to higher place.
Let US learn this lesson Of humility, for he
that exalteth himself shall be abased, while
he that humbeth himself shall be exalted
and all be subject one to another, for God re-
sisteth the proud. and giveth grace to the
humble-The Christion.