The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1881-06-22


Another consolation found in her history
is, that God was with the martyrs.
''He that embraced the stake and said :
Welcome the cross Of Christ, welcome
everlasting life'-He that dated his letter
from the 'delectabe orchard of tn: Leon
tine prison. He that said: In these
flames feel no more pain than if Was on
d bed of down. She, little before her
marlyrdom, being ask.a how she did, said ::
We'll and merry. and going to Heaven '"
Those who have gone smiling to the stake,
stood singing in the flames, preaching Jesus
To their murderers, and as was the case with
Lambert, lifting the stumps of his burning
arms towards Heaven, crying, none but
Jesus! none but Jesus !" were more than
conquerors, and they greatly encourage US
in our conflicts and trials. What gave
them that boldness to die for their Savior :?
What lit up their countenances with a
heavenly smile in death? v bat inspired
them with a glorious Immortality? God
was them, Jehovah Jesus and lis truth
governed them in the dying strife, and who
could be against them.
Another consolation, cheering the chris
tian, is found in the fact, that God was with
the Reformers.
When Charles the '. would have crushed
the rising Reformation, and unsheathed his
sword to accomplish his object, Luther
could say: Though our enemies have
around,them, beside them, with them, not on
ly that puissant Roman Emperor Charles, but
still more, the Emperor Of the Turks, and
his Mahomet; they could not intimidate me,
they could not frighten me; it is I, who,
in the strength OF God, am resolved to
trighten them. They shall yield 10 me
they shall fall-and | shall remain upright
and firm. My life shall be their headsman,
and my death their He'll" Like his great
prototype on Mars Hill, Luther could point
q dying world to the Lamb Of God. and
he knew that God was with him, when
in the presence of crowned heads and high
officials, cardinals and interested clergy-diS-
tinguished men of church and State-he
conld utter that thrilling sentence, which
comes sounding down the ages: "Hier
stehe ich, ich kann NIGHT anders, Gott helfe
mir" God alone must have strengthened the
hands and warmed the heart of him, who
was striving to divest the church Of the rub.
bish of the medeval ages, and to gain the
victory over those, who arraigned them
selves against the truth, as developed in the
Lutheran Reformation.
The history of the last 1900 years, proves
conclusively, that Christ is with his people
that He will never leave nor forsake those
who humbly bow at the foot of the cross
that He will carry them, like lambs in His
bosom even down to gray old age-that He
will guide them across the river Of death
and that He will give them the Rest, that
remaineth for the people of God-for God
was with them, and who can be against
them.
Young gentlemen: You have completed
contemplating human knowledge, you have
been impressed with the littleness of our
planet, and the insgniicance of man upon
it; and you have admired the God-like pow
ers Of the mind, which exhibit grandeur
and greatness unknown to the world of
matter. Without is illimitable space. and
man but a single point in it; within is q
power that continually approaches omnis-
cience. You are about to leave these acade-
mie halls, to go forth on the stage of active
life. wish to impress your mind, yea, in
delibly engraYe on your memory, never TO
be erased, the sure road to success, and the
doom of wrong purpose.
To succeed, you must have one aim, and
make that aim your life work. An Ameri-
can EsSayiSt says: The one prudence in life
is concentration; the one evil is dissipation.
1t makes no difference whether our dissipa.
tions are course or fne-property or its
cares, friends and a social habit, politics,
music, or feastiog. Everything is good which
takes away one plaything and delusion
more, and drives US home 10 add one stroke of
faithful work The Bible says: "The double
minded man is unstable in all his ways"
You will find your true work in your desires
and capabilities. Love Of ease, vanity, or
ambition have led many in the wrong path,
but your "fondneSs for any pursuit creates a
very strong probability that you were made
for It, and it will ensure your devotion 10 it,
and your success in it,
Again, you must not only haye one aim,
but it should be true one, in order to be sue
cessful. 1t matters not whether your choice
will be in the pulpit, at the bar, behind The
counter, or in the field. All work is hon.
orab!e, from the humble mechanic to The
King upon his throne. A man may disgrace
his work, but the work will never disgrace
him. The doom of failure will sooner or
later follow every pursuit, not in accordance
with the laws of nature or the will of the
moral Governor. A modern writer saws :
"Gravitation secures the stability Of the
universe, but he who leaps from the preci-
pice forces his own destruction. Thirst
was given for mans benefit, but stimulating
drinks unfit him for his work. Conscience is
guide to true manhood, but the transgressor
changes il into Scource Of remorSe." If
this be true in mans personal experience,
it is also true, in his life work. No amount
of energy, no determination, no resolution
can push any purpose to- ultimate success, in
the face of Omnipotence.
Once more, your aim should be the noblest
possible. In choosing your life work. per.
nit me to quote au ethical writer; Some
think that responsibility is found only in the
three learned professionalism, Medicine,
and Divinity. 1t is robbing the other hon.
est employments Of noble Workmen, to add
to the legious of dishonest lawyers, blunder.
ing doctors, and stupid and inefficient minis
ters." Young gentlemen, study the character
of the pure and noble, avoid, as you would
the leproSy, the power of an evil imagina-
tion, escheW with firm determination, all
debasing ideals of poetry, and reject with
firmness, that yellow covered literature, that
weakens the intellect, destroys the taste for
rational study, and stains the soul with sin.
You thus will be assisted in the choice of
your life work. To impress this on your
mind, we will quote one example from the
same ethical writer. Look at the character
of Satan, as presented in Paradise Lost,
Faust, Cain, A Drama of Exile, and the
Bible. The Miltopic Satan has exalted
virtues, but vices which would repel more,
so that the ambitious would sooner reign in
He'll, than serve in Heaven. The Mephis.
topheles of Goethe, appeals to all the baser
instincts, so that the wicked long to be such
devil: The Byronic Lucifer attracts more
than the Byronic God. The LuCifer of
Mrs. Browning is one, the highest and the
lowest say: GO from US, we have no need
Of thee" and the Satan of the Bible is q
terror to every human being, base or other
wise"
In conclusion, listen to the admonitions OF
truth. You have been taught in the sciences.
Now bathe continually in the pure streams
that flow from the pure, the good, and the
true. Let your life work be single aim, a
true one, the nobleSt possible, and he who
has promised will be with you, and you will
succeed. Reason and Faith are twin sisters
Both have the same parentage. They walk
arm 10 arm along the upward, onward path
towards Omniscience. When Reason tired
and faint, can go no farther, Faith says, in
the language of another, cart thou tired
Sister, rest thou here, while l essay this
boundless gulf" Then standing on the
last ground of thought. she spreads her an
gel wings, she flies into the bosom of the
Eternal One She sees that which eye ha:
never seen, she comprehends the incompre