Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1884-12-11
Selisrellaueuns &eading.
THE SCOTCH-IRISH.
4 THANKsGIyING SERMON PREA CHED A7
BETHEL CHURCH, YORK COUNTY, $. C., NO
NEJBER o7 1884 BY REV. II. Il. WEBB.


BETHEL CHURCH, YORK COUNTY, S. C., NO
MEMBER 27, 1884, BY REV. II. Il. WEBB.
"Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his
name bring an offering, and come before nm:
worship the Lord in the beauty OF hoilheSs. -
I Chronicles, xvi:
On this Thanksgiving occasion, call upon
you to "give unto the Lord the glory due
unto his name;" to "brng an offering, and
come before him :" to "wOrship the Lord in
the beauty of his holiness" BY way of
stirring up your hearts to this thankfulness,
propose to give brief sketch ofthe Scotch
Irish people-your own ancestors-that you
may see how Jehovah Jireh, c.the LORD Will
provide,') and Jehovah Nissl, c'the LORD
is my banner,") and Jehovah Shalom, c"the
Lord send peace, and JehoVah Shamruch,
C'the Lord is THEREBY and Jehovah Zld-
kenu, (''the Lord our ighteousness') ')-hoW
Jehovah. with his many ancient and signiti-
can't names, has followed you and your fore
fathers through many and troubled centu-
ries. If you will read your history Alright,
tracing the hand of Providence all through,
YOU will cheerfully put EBENEZER, ("hlth-
ertO hath the Lord helped us,") upon your
banner, and confess that 'the Lord that
brought Abraham from Ur Of the Chal-
dees.n is the same who brought you through
weary and mary centuries unto this BETH
Ell, this "house of God"
Going back to earliest historic times, it is
believed that the migration OF the ocots
"was through northeastern Europe, by
Belgium and the North of France, to Ire
land. There they certainly lived in the
third century, and there they first received
the light of Christianity" (Howe.) In the
sixth century after Christ colony OF these
Irish Scots migrated to North Britain, and
subugated the Picts who dwelt there; and
thenceforward ancient Caledonia became
the Land of the Scots, and Scotland 1t is
called unto this day.
Owing to their inaccessible mountains, the
Picts and Scots were never subdued by the
Roman legions, though attempts were made
TO bring them under the iron heel of the
Caesars. And here may remark that these
hardy tribes and their sons have never been
conquered by foreign power. TWAS in the
person of a Scottish king that England and
Scotland were brought under the same poll
ty. From the early daWnings of their his
tory down to latest times, their uncOnquera-
BILE love of liberty has been supported by
heroic endeavors. In the early days Gale
donia's crags and cliffs became the asylum
of the oppressed and prosecuted, and as the
Roman Empire began almost Immediately
upon the death Of Christ to atf1ict his fol-
lowers Scotland became the retreat of those
of course, having taken refuge in their
mountain homes, these fugitive disciples OF
the Nazarene would. tell "the story of Jesus
and his love-" to the wild tribes they found
inhabiting there. In all probability, then,
YOUR forefathers who were once but band
of robbers, drew their Christianity from
persons who got it directly from the Apos-
ties, and some of them, maybe, from the
Master himself. The Christianity of nearly
the whole world came through the Roman
Empire, but the ancient Irish-ScOts derived
their religion from the East, and not from
the West, where the Apostles had lived, Ia
bored and died. 1t is a matter of Presby-
terian pride, therefore, to know that in these
early centuries the ancient Caldees of Scot
land held the pure doctrines OF Gods Word,
and the Presbyterian form of government,
a thousand years before Calvin was born,
and when all the world had gone wonder
inc after the beast" "Christianity," says
one who gave special investigation into this
matter, "Christianity was introduced into
Scotland very near to, if not during the lives
of the later Apostles, partly by direct mis-
sionary effort and partly by stress OF perse-
cution, driving the primitive disciples TO (,
the mountains of Scotland as an asylum" "
(NIoore.0
This religious light, thus kindled upon
Caledonia's mountain tops, for season
burned brilliantly, lighting up every head
land and every peak, and flashing down ev,,
ery valley and across every lake; nor had
it quite died out when WicIliffe, 'the NOR
ming star of the Reformation" appeared
glimmerng on the dark horizon of that H.
lustrious day. The converted lrish-Scots
abounded in missionary enterprises, found
ed their schools, and prospered IN things
temporal and things spiritual, though envy
and ambition on the part of their neighbors
caused them many a hard and sanguinary
struggle. Their fire of soul was unquencha-
BILE. and their cheek Of courage was never
blanched. The foe who would invade them
either by sea or land was surely and severe
lv repulsed. But the chilling Influences OF
the dark ages could not thus successfully be
rolled back The appalling darkness, which
arose from Rome as centre, and CONTINUES
to fume from the same source to this day, al
last covered their hill-sides and settled dowr
like the gloomy fog Of the morning upon
their locks and glens and romantic valleys
Highlands and lowlands were alike over
laid with the murky darkness of moral mid
night. Except few secret camp-tires al
was lost-and religious Rome had done what
military Rome had utterly failed to do.
But Scotlands day Of deliverance al
length dawned, her morning as yet be-
, ing stretched with graysh light. Luther''
voice sounded, and aWoke the giant OF re-
ligious liberty, who disenthralled the ma
tiOns. The sound-waves of religious free
dom rolled until they struck upon the rock!
shores of ancient Caledonia, they leapet
from crag to crag, with magic spell un
known to the clarion note of any clansnan' .
, horn. John Knox, "who never feared tht
face of man." was aroused, and, catching
the cry from the lips Of the burning PatrlcE
Hamilton. shouted in the royal palace, II
legislative halls, on mountain tops, in brake
and fens, until all Scotland awoke, throbbed
and struck for her affairs and her tiresldes
The hand that managesall things, and flash
, es unseen hther and thither, ''putting doW1
one and setting up another" shifting here
and caressing there, distributing tears II
one and smiles to another, is not an cycles
+ fate that knows not and cares not, but rathe
the hand of heavens Omnipotent and ON
niscient Monarch. He guided her energie
= of mind, heart and will, in the heroic en-
, deavor. God smiled upon the land!
James was a Scotchman, and a professet
T Presbyterian. He it was who united tn
a crown of Scotland and the crown of Eng
l land, and the two remain one unto tins gay
Until he was crowned King of England, n
filled his peoples ears with the fairest @
+ promises. Inconsistent, corrupt, unprlncl
q pled though he was, we are indebted to TN
= monarch for two measures of lncalcuabl
y good. One was the plan by which we re
! ceived the English version of the Bibl
n which we have and use this day, and whic
= we commonly call liking James version:
y The other is the project attempted in loo
= and 1872 by Queen Elizabeth, namely, tn
r colonization of the northern provinces
< Ireland with Protestant people. Reason
q of State determined this policy. The north