Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1878-08-22

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REV. ROBERT LATHAM.
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DO GOOD.

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DO GOOD.
The position which man occupies in the
scale of creation, is very different from that
occupied by the irrational creatures. From
the Scriptures-the only correct history of
the work of creation--we learn that man was
made lord of the lower world. The beasts of
the field, the fowls of the air, and the fish of
the sea, were, in some way which we do not
now fully understand, made subject to man
by an act of creation This dominion man
forfeited when he sinned, and he has never
since been fully able to regain it. Traces of
it yet remain, and man still continues to be
lord of the lower world, but lord dethroned
and deprived of authority. With great pro-
priety, we may ask why was such a creature
as man brought into existence? Why is he,
although rebel against his sovereign and
maker, still permitted to remain the bene6-
ciary of him against whom he raised his arm
Of rebellion? We can only reply, man was
created for Gods glory, and he was permitted
to sin, and the sword Of justice was withheld
after he had sinned, for the same purpose. In
fact, all things were created and all things
are kept in existence for the glory of God.
No other answer will satisfy the mind, when
the question is asked, "Why was anything
created ?" Whatever other object God had
in view in exercising his creative power, bis
own glory was the principal one. For his
own glory also, God exercises his providential
care over all his creatures.
The reflective mind is filled with feeling
which is akin to sadness, when this inquiry is
raised, "What is to become of each member
of the human family now upon the earth %
Are they to make bread and eat it for num-
Der of years and then die? Is day and night
to chase each other, until, finally, each one
of the living shall drop into the grave9
What means all this hustle and stir2 What
is each mans mission? For what was he
created What work has the great Architect
OF the Universe assigned him to perform?
This string of questions and many more,
no doubt, has often been propounded and va
rous answers returned The worldly man
says: "I was made and l am kept in existence
that may hoard up a fortune" The ambi-
tious man says, 81 was born to rule" The
voluptuary says, pleasure is the whole Of
human existence" However plausible these
answers may appear, they are unsatisfactory.
They fail to quiet the inquisitive mind. They
are subterfuges.
What, then, we may ask, is the end for
which we were created and are continued in
existence? We reply, to do good. He who
does good enjoys kind of happiness which
neither the acquiring ofpower, nor the hoard.
ing ofwealth can bestow. He enjoys the ap-
probation of his maker and preserver, and the
approval of his own conscience.
"What is good p it may be inquired. That
is good which God sanctions, and that is evil,
which he dsapproves. The will of God is the
standard of right, and in the nature of things,
right and good are inseparably connected.
Ete who regulates his conduct by the revealed
will of God does right; and he who disregards
the revealed will of God, does wrong. 1t is
SO ordered, both in providence and grace, that
he who does right, does good ; and he who does
wrong, does evil-harm-mischief. All sin
consists in disobedience This is its germ
its root no matter what may be its tangible
form or visible appearance. All sin is an
evil. To violate the will of God is always
and under all circumstances an evil and Bit
ter thing. There is nothing in the universe
which produces harm but sin, hence the way
to do good and to secure the greatest good,
is to abstain from sin in thought, in word and
in deed.
In reducing this simple but grand theory
of good to practice, diversity of ways pre-.
sent themselves. Love to God and love to
man is the fulfilling Of the whole law. God
must be loved supremely, and our fellow men
must be loved as ourselves. No selfish man
can be good man. Selfshness and goodness
are the very opposite Of each other in their
nature and tendencies. The selfish man may
grow rich, become learned and acquire power,
but he never can be truly great or good. He
is only wrong doer-a mischief maker. To
do good, we must initiate God. He, in the
plenitude of his goodness, sends his rain upon
the just and upon the unjust. He visits with
light and heat, the unthankful and the rebel.
lious, as we'll as the obedient and grateful
Well does the poet say, "man's inhumanity
to man makes countless thousands mourn"
Mans wrong-doing brought misery into the
world, and because man continues to do wrong,
misery remains apdapfourishes in this world.
The path of virtue is the road which leads to
bliss. All the lost sinner has to do in order
to secure blessings, countless in number, and
inefable in quality, is to set his trust upon
God, his maker, preserver, and redeemer, and
do good. This is the key that unocks the
inexhaustible store houses of Gods provi-
dence and grace.
THE BIBLE AS LoGIc.-One of the second
ary benefits resulting from Bible study is that
it promotes intellectual strength. Close BIZ
bic students seldom fail of becoming deep and
vigorous thinkers. One reason why this is 80,
is that the Scriptures direct mans thoughts
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