The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1877-05-30
THANKSGIVING SERMON,
Delivered in the Episcopal Church,
at AbbevilIe on Thursday Morning
Last, bY the Rev. John KershaW.

he has bestowed on us, to invoke His di-
vine guidance in the present and to i'm
plore His protection i'll the future"
This is a country which. is professcdly
christian and it is therefore elninently
that we should thus remember the
Lord Il God. His hand has evidently
been dealing with us and not always as
we would have done, had we been the ar
chitect3 Of our W fortunes. But now
that we can see that we huve
SOMETHING TO BE THANKFUL FOR,
and a cherished something We wish
to preserve and perpetuate, it is
hoped that we have come here to-
dav and have in all earnestness and
sincerity offered up the incense of prayer
and uplifted the voice of heartfelt thanks
giving. 1t is fitting that we who for
twelve years were almost entirely out
casts from own heritage and stran-
ce.-s in our own land, should now meet to
testify our Acknowledgements to God for
his deliverance of us, and our reinstate-
ment in that which by right is ours.
There has not been any very marked adj
wealth as yet, but a most thorough rev0-
luton in the incentives which move us
to action, has occurred, and material
prosperity will follow in due time,
should no other unfortunate c0ntingen-
cies arise to operate against us, to prevent
it. And the handspring being
SET RIGHT,
having now great incentives and high
motives to action, we ought indeed to be
thankful. In it's last analysis, we must
find NOTICES lying ut the bottom Of all &C
ton. There is a reason for the action,
there is a motiuc for tho reason, and the
seat of motives is in the will. Causes in
ternal or external, first give an impulse
to the will, the will forms the resolve. tho
resolve issues into action. Up to this
time,
u MOTIVE
has been to throw off an usurping
government: and all our actions have
been done in pursuance of such re-
solution. But along with this, which
is an entirely proper resolve, there
has been much of hatred, malice
and uncharitableness ~engendercd in the
prosecution of our purpose. We have
thought of revenge rs well as of victory,
Of retaliation as we'll as Kidding our
selves of the incubus. The minds OF
many of us nave been familiarized with
the thoughts and words Of violence, and
in some instances they have issued in
deeds of that character. Anger has risen
in the heart like smoke, it has blinded us
so that we failed to see clearly and were
deaf to gentle Suggestions. We lost sight
of the eternal and
IMMUTABLE DISTINCTIONS
between right and wrong and have
advocated the policy, and in some cases
have carried it out, of Going evil that
good may come out of it, whereas ''pow-
er belongeth unto God" and to him only
it appertaineth to override the designs OF
evil to the accomplishment of good.
speak of the State generally and not with
any special reference to any Il commu-
nifty. Now that God has apparently
brought good to us out of the evil, how
should we not be most humbly thankful
to him for it? For it cannot rightly be
denied that all we had done, been carried
would not to-day be here to thank God for
his mercies and blessings to us. 1t is
A LAW
of the physical world, that a force,
say light for instance, is force in all dircc-
tons, as knowledge in the intellectual
world is power, but power in all direc-
tons, because knowledge sometimes
makes an accomplished viliain, as we'll as
an accomplished good man or a scholar.
And in the prosecution Of our purposes,
force was introduced as a factor. That
force in the hands Of q few wise and cau-
tious men, may have remained compare
lively harmless, but when issuing out OF
their hands, it falls into those of reckless,
indiscreet and violent men, it necessarily
becomes an engine Of indiscriminate de-
struction, because there is nothing, hu-
manly speaking, to prevent what we have
applied to others being applied to u.s., GnL
like the boomerang it may have returned
to plague the inventor. I mention this
to show how
GODS land
has been most manifest in everything our
evil doings to u apparent good, and in
putting & stop to the lawful results Of our
own short sighted policy. Surely for this
before God confessing that "his mercy
cndureth forever"
Such in brief have been our motives
and our actions in the recent past, such
should be this day our posture before
God. But let me give you
A WARNING.
If we continue to cherish in our hearts a
feeling of bitterness and uncharitable-
ness against those who have been Gods
human instruments in our late humilia-
ton if we continue to deem it right, as
many Of us have, to be unforgiving, and
cherish a desire in our hearts for their be-
ing punished in their turn, by God or by
man; if we rail and revile and curse and
prescribe and prosecute them, can you
suppose that that God whom to-day you
have owned for your Father, will permit
his children to indulge such feelings
without inflicting further chastiscment
upon them? If SO, you must have read
the history of Israel with a veil before
your eyes, for the story of that people be-
comes the forecast of that of all people
whom God now calls his own, since the
world has been redeemed by tho death
and passion of Jesus Christ. And you
must have read with singular obliquity
of vision, the history of A~lexander's
great empire, Of Greece and Of Rome,
if you fail to see there as plainly q you
may see the meridian sun in the heavens,
the chastisement Of God upon those who
forget his law and refuse to try to do his
revealed will.
WE ARE CHRISTIANS
that is, We are the servants of Christ. He
is our Saviour and example, u God and
our guide. So we profess. What then is
his teaching On this subject? II say un-
to you, Glove your enemies, bless them
which curse you, do good to them that hate
you and pray for them that despitefully
use you and prosecute you" This is the
christians example. God expects this
from US. And if he find it not and
He still care for us, like a loving Father,
loving while He strikes, plying while
he bruises, He will produce it in us
through chastisement still sorer than any
we have yet suffered. All this is marc to
do hard upon flesh and blood, but the
power of God is here, grace is stronger,
than human intirmity and neither flesh
and blood, nor the promptings of flesh
and blood nor the deeds Of flesh and
blood shall ever inherit the kingdom OF
God. Hence it is that if we do not what
| He commands for His sake, He will work
it upon us for our own sake, our souls
eternal welfare, unless He abandon us tc
our own devices. And moreover, as you
pray to-day, think have we not rushed
back to
OUR OLD IDOLS,
pride, haughtiness, worldly position
and worldly mindedness? Has not
our poverty only intensified our de.
sire for such things? These are the
l:lz1s .,fs,l Ga Loo ok-,ol. " -