Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1881-09-15

CONDUCTED BY
REV. ROBERT LATHAM.
IOriginal.1
THE DROUGHT,

THE DROUGHT.
The present year has certainly been, in
many respects, a most remarkable one. The
winter was long and intensely severe. The
spring was short and attended with few of
those beauties which charm poetic minds, and
the summer, which has just ended, has been
one of burning sans and clouds without rain.
The would be- philosopher is ready to say
there is nothing remarkable in all this. Ev-
cry thing, say these wise men, is governed by
natural laws, which cannot be changed. All
this sounds learned to a semi in6del multitude;
but, in fact, it is nothing but the emptiest non
sense. 1t ignores the fact that God is the
moral governor Of the world, and places the
government of the Universe in the hands o!
that which neither has nor can have any ex.
istence What, it may be asked, is natural
law, or what does any man know about it {?
Comparatively nothing. No Christian, We
suppose, will deny that there is such a thing
as natural law, or that God governs and con-
trolls all things in accordance with law but
this is very different thing from the natural
law of which so much is said by modern
heather philosophers. God has established
certain grand principles, which are as un-
changeable as himself The great principle
which every event, in the providence of God,
in some way demonstrates, is, that it shall be
well with the righteous andil with the wicked.
In countless number of ways does God,
in time, bless the righteous and punish the
wicked; but in no way so manifestly and so
frequently as by such long droughts as he has
sent upon our country during the year which
is fast drawing to a close. That Gods dis
pleasure is resting upon our country is evi
dent. Last year, with the exception Of small
sections of country, the fields brought forth
in abundance. This abundance was largely
consumed during the winter. Fruit trees Of
all kinds, in many and extensive sections of
country, never bloomed. Last spring was
comparatively without blossom. This sure
ly was indicative of Gods displeasure. The
clouds have been, during the whole summer,
clouds without rain. Everything seemed to
be wrong. The seed deposited in the ground
was slow to vegetate, and the earth seemed
to have been robbed Of its fertility. The
corn, on uplands especially, neither grew nor
burnt up, but wilted away. The soil, al
though covered, during the winter, with deep
SHOWS and frozen by the intense cold, turned
up in the spring in clods, many of which are
yet scattered about as so many tokens of Gods
displeasure
These are not all the evidences Of Gods
wrath. 1t is now the season of great plenty
and feeling of want begins to oppress the in.
habitants of the land Already, both man and
beast begin to suffer the effects of the drought.
The atmosphere is full of dust and the foun-
tains of water are drying up. The necessities
of life are fast advancing in price, at the
period when they are usually cheapest.
Such is mere outline of the present effect
Of the drought. What will be the whole re.
suits no one can tell No one will, in all
probability, escape without suffering. The
rich and the poor will be made to feel that
God reigns. What, it. may be asked, with
the greatest propriety, is the cause of the
drought? We answer, sin. Sin and suffer-
ing are constantly linked together as cause
and effect. Were there no sin, there would
be no suffering. This is principle plainly
stated in the Bible, and reduced to practice
in all the providential dealings with the chill
dren of men. On account of mans sin, all
creation is made to groan. A curse rests upon
everything with which man stands connected.
The earth brings forth thorns and thistles.
THERE'S no difficulty to learn why God has
visited our country with 80 long and so severe
drought. Our sins caused Gods anger to
burn, and he turned the heavens into brass and
the ground into iron. He gave US dust for
rain. We soWed much, but our fields brought
forth but little.
1t may be that as people we are addicted
to some particular sin. Nations as we'll as
individuals, have their besetting sins. 1t is,
however, impossible to mention the particular
sin which as nation, we have and are com
hitting. 1t is more than possible that God
is not furnishing US for single sin, but for
the multitude of our transgressions We
have, as people, added sin to sin and trans
gression to transgression. For our many
and heinous national and individual sins,
God is, to-day, threatening us with cleanness
of teeth.
What is our duty? What must we do in
order that God may turn away his wrath ?
The worldly wise man replies, ave must SOW
large quantities of wheat and oats, and use
the utmost economy in all things" This is
right, provided we keep it steadily in view
that God is the governor of the world. We
are bound, at all times and under all circum-
stances, to use all lawful efforts to increase
our own estate and that of our neighbor; but
we are never justifabe in attempting to take
advantage of God. He who rules and no
one can hinder, can just as easily blight the
prospective wheat and oats, as he has blasted
the present corn and cotton crop. 1t is i'm
possible to get the advantage of God. One
of the curses which he inflicted upon erring
Israel of old. was that they put their money