The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-08-01

Casarl Who bids for it9 Who cares now
anything about the Amphictyonic council or
the laws Of Lycurgus9 Who trembles now
because Xerxes crossed the Hellespont on q
bridge Of boats2 Who fears because Nebu
chadnezzar thunders at the gates Of Jerusa-
lem? Who cares now whether or not Cleopatra
marries Antony7 Who crouches before Fer
dinand, or Boniface, or Alarica Can Crom-
we'll dissolve the English parliament now
Is William, Prince Of Orange, King of the
Netherlands No, mol However much
Elizabeth NAV love the Russian crown, she
must pass il to Peter, and Peter to Catherine,
and Catherine to Paul, and Paul to Alex
ander, and Alexander to Nicholas. Leopold
puts the German scepter into the hand OF
Joseph, and Philip comes down off the Span
ish throne to let Ferdinand 90 on. House of
Stuart, house Of Bourbon, quarreling
about everything else, but agreeing
in this: ''The fashion of this world
passeth away" But have all these dignita-
ries gomez Can they not be called back3 ]
have been in assemblages where Ihsve heard
the roll called, and many distinguished men
have answered. If should call the roll to-
day of some Of those mighty ones who have
gone wonder il they would not answer. I
Kings first: Alfred the GreatT William the
Conqueror Frederick IEl Louis XVII No
answer. I will call the role Of the poets:
Robert Southeyl Thomas Campbell! John
Keats! George Crabbe! Robert Burnsl No
answer. I call the roll Of artists: Michael
Angelo! Paul Veronesel William Turner!
Christopher Wrenl No answer: Eyes
closed. Ears deaf. Lips silent Hands pal
sled. Scepter, pencil, pen, sword, put down
forever. Why should we struggle for such
baubles?
Another reason why we should culture this
spirit of cheerfulness is the fact that God
knows what is best for His creatures. You
know what is best for your child. he thinks
you are not as liberal with him as>you ought
TO be. He criticses your discipline, but you
look over the whole field, and you, loving
that child, do what in your deliberate judg-
ment is best for him. Now, God is the best
of fathers. Sometimes his children think
that he is hard on them, and that he j. not as
dren do not know as much as father. 1
can tell you why you are not largely afluent,
and why you have not been grandly success
fuL It IS because you cannot stand the temp
tation. If your path had been smooth, you
would have depended upon your own
surefootedness; but God roughened that
path, so you have to take, hold OF
his hand. If the weather, had been
mild, you would have loitered along the
water courses, but at the first howl Of the
storm you quickened your pace heavenward
and wrapped around you the warm robe OF q
Soviour's Righteousness. "What have I
doneT' SAYS the wheatsheaf to the farmer;
uwhat have done that you beat me 80 hard
with your failg" The farmer makes no
answer, but the rake takes off the straw, and
the mill blows the chaf to the wind, and the
golden grain falls down at the foot OF the
Windmill. After while, the straw looking
klo 10 orr
banked up on either side the floor under
stands why the farmer beat the wheatsheat
with the fail
Who are those before the thronea The an
swer came: "These are they who, out OF
great tribulation, had their robes washed and
made white in the blood Of the lamb. !"
Would God that we could understand that
our trials are the very best thing for US. II
We had an appreciation OF that truth, then
we should know why it was that Jo6n
Neyra, the martyr, in the very midst OF the
fame. reached down and picked up one Of
the fagots that was consuming him, and
kissed it. and said: "Blessed be God for the
time when was born for this preferment"
They who suffer with Him on earth shall be
glorifed with Him in heaven. Be content,
then, with such things as you have.
Another consideration leading us to the
spirit Of the text is the assurance that the
holds the water in the hollow of his hand
a low his children to die Of thirst! Will he
who owns the cattle on q thousand hills. and
all the earth's lu1uriance Of grain and fruit,
allow his children to starvel 60 out to
morrow morning at o'clock in the woods
and hear the birds chant. They have had no
breakfast, they know not where they will
dine, they have no idea where they Will sup;
but hear the birds chant at 5 O'Clock in the
NJ - L. II ~ hn ayr.s
for they sow not, neither do they reap nor
gather into barns, yet your heavenly
Father feedeth them. Are you not
much better than theyl' Seven thousand
people, in Christ's time, went into the desert.
They were the most improvident people
ever heard of. They deserved to starve. They
might have taken food enough to last them
until they got back. Nothing did they take.
A lad, who had more wit than all OF them
put together asked his mother that morning
for some loaves of bread and some fishes.
They were put into his sacheL DE went out @
into the desert. From this provision the
seven thousand were fed, and the more they
ate the larger the loaves grew until the pro-
vision that the boy brought in one sachel was
multiplied so he could not have carried the
fragments home in six sachels ~" you say,
titimes have changed, and the day Of miracles
has gone" reply that, what God did then
by miracle, He does now in some other way,
and by natural laws. ~ have been young, !,
said David, "but now am old; yet have
never seen the righteous forsaken, nor Hls
Won people who are fretting about worldly
circumstances, and who are fearing you are
coming TO want, understood that rne oatn OF
the eternal God is involved IN the fact tna'
Won are to have enough to eat and to wear.
Again: remark that the religion OF Jesus
Christ is the grandest influence to MAKE q
man contented. Indemnity against all hian-
cial and spiritual harm! 1t Gains the splrIt,
dwindles the earth into insigniticance, ano
Swallows mn the soul with the thought OF
heaven. O We who have been going about
from place to place expecting to find 10
change Of circumstances something to give
solace to the spirit, I commend you, thls
morning, to the warm hearted, earnest, Prac
tical. common sense religion or the Lore
Jesus Christ. "There is no peace, satin my
Cod, for the wicked, and as long as you con
tiuue in your sin you will be mlseraDle
Come to Christ. Make Him your portion
and start for heaven and you Will 90 naPpI
man-you will be happy woman.
Yet, my friends, notwithstanding an tneo9
inducements to spirit Of contehtment,
have to tell you this morning the human
race is divided into two classes those Who
scold and those who get scolded. The car
penter wants to be anything but carpenter,
and the mason anything but mason, ano an
the banker anything but banker, and the
lawyer anything but lawyer, and the MN.
ister anything but a minister, and every body
would be happy if he were only somebody
else. The anemone wants to be sunfioWer,
and the apple orchards throw down shelr
blossoms because they are not tall ce9aIs,
and the scow wants to be schooner, ana Ine
sloop would like to be seventy four pounder,
and parents have the worst children that ever
were, and everybody has the greatest mis-,
fortune, and everything is upside down, or
going to be. Alb! my friends, you never
make any advance through such q spirit as
that. You cannot fret yourself, up; you