The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-10-03

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banks, and the same David describes them,
and they seem so near together that in three
different places he speaks OF them as as a
continuous river, saying: "There is river
the stream whereof shall make glad the city
OF God;" 'l'hou shalt make them drink Of
enrichest 1t with the river of God which is
full of water"
But many Of you have turned your back
on that supply, and confront your trouble,
and you are soured with your circumstances,
and you are fighting society, and you are
fighting pursuing world, and troubles in
stead OF driving you into the cool lake of
heavenly comfort have made you stop and
turn round and lower your head, and it is
not blame you Probably under
the same circumstances I would
have done worse. But you are all wrong.
Iou need to do as the reindeer does in Feb
ruary and March-it sheds its horns. The
Rabbinical writers allude to this resignation
of antlers by the stag when they say Of a
man who ventures his money in risky enter
prises, he has hung it on the stag's horns; and
proverb in the tar East tells man who has
foolishly lost his fortune to 60 and find where
the deer shed her horns. My brother quit
the antagonism Of your circumstances, quit
misanthropy, quit complaint, quit pitching
into your pursuers; be as wise as, next
dacks. Shed your horns.
But very many Of you who are wronged Of
the world-and if in any assembly between
Sandy Hook, New York, and Golden Gate,
San Francisco, it were asked that all those
that had been sometimes badly treated
should raise both their hands, and
full response should be made; there would
be twice as many hands lifted as per-
sons PRESENT. say many Of you would
declare: 1--WE have always done the best we
could and tried to be useful, and why we
should become the victims Of malignment,
or invalidism, or mishap, is inscruta bIe {"
Why do you not know that the finer deer
and the more elegant its proportions, and the
more beautiful its bearing, the more anxious
the hunters and the hounds are to capture it,
Had that roebuck ragged fur and broken
hoofs and an oblterated eye and lmping
gait the hunters would have said: "Psha W |!
don't let us waste our ammunition on a sick
deer" And the hounds would have given a
few shifts Of the track and darted off in an
other direction for better game. But when
they see a deer with antlers lifted in
mighty challenge to earth and sky, and
the sleek hide looks as If it had been SIN oothed
by invisible hands, and the fat sides enclose
the richest pasture that could be nibbled
from the bank Of rills 80 clear they seem to
have dropped out Of heaven, and the stamp
and the rife, the horn, and the
hound, that deer they will have if they
must needs break their neck in the rapids.
So il there were no noble stuff in your make
up, if you were bifurcated nothing, if you
were forforn failure, you would be allowed
to 80 undisturbed; but the fact that the whole
pack is in full cry after you is proof positive
capturing. Therefore, sarcasm draws
on you its Finest bead" Therefore the
world goes running for you with its best
Maynard breech-loader. Highest compli-
ment is it to your talent or your virtue, or
your usefulness. Yon will be assailed in
proportion to your great achievements. The
best and the mightiest being that the world
hounds, terrestrial and diabolic, and
they Tapped his blood after the Cal
varean massacre. The world paid moth
ing to its Redeemer but bramble and a
cross. Many who have done their best t,
make the world better have had such rough
time of it that all their pleasure is in antici.
patton Of the next world, and they would
express their own feelings in the words
of the Baroness of Nairn at the close Of her
long life:
"Would you be young agains
So would not +;
One tear Of memory given;
Onward I'll HE;
LIfe's dark wave forded DER.
All but at rest on shore,
Say, would you plunge once more,
With home 80 n'gn?
"If You might, would you now
Retrace your way?
Wander through stormy wids,
Faint and astray?
Nights gloomy watches fed,
Morning all beamlng red.
Hopes smile arou:.d us shed,
Heavenward, away"
Yes; for some people in this world there
seems no let up They are pursued from
youth to manhood. and from manhood into
cd age. Very distinguished are Lord
Stafford's hounds, and Queen Victoria pays
eight Thousand, five hundred dollars per year
them put together do not equal in number,
or sreed, or power to hunt down, the great
kennel OF hounds Of which Sin and Trouble
are owner and MASTER
But what is relief for all those pursuits
of trouble, and annoyance, and pain, and be-
reavement! My text gives it to you in
word Of three letters but each letter is char
lot if you would triumph, or throne If you
want TO be crowned, or lake il you would
s.ake your thirst-yea, q chain of three letters
-G-o-d, the One for whom David longed, and
the One whom David found. You might as
we'll meet stag which, after its sixth mile
of running at the topmost sreed through
thicket and gorge, and with the breath of
the dogs on its heels, has come in fnll sight of
Scrcon Lake and tried to cool its projecting
and blistered tongue with drop Of dew from
blade of grass, as to attempt to satisfy
an immortal soul, when flying from trouble
and sin. with anything less deep, and
high, and broad, and immense, and infinite,
and eternal than God. His comfort, why it
embossoms all distress. His arm it wrenches
off all bondage. His hand. it wipes away all
tears. His Christly atonement, it makes US
all right with the past, and all right with the
future, and all right with God, all right with
man and all right forever. Lamartine
tells US that King Nimrod said
to his three sons: "Here are three vases, and
one is Of clay, another of amber. another OF
gold. Choose now which you will have"
The eldest son, having the first choice, chose
word empire" and when opened it was
found to contain human blood. The
chose the vase Of amber, inscribed
with the word glory" and when
opened it contained the ashes OF those who
we're once called great. The third son took
the vase of clay, and opening it, found IL
empty, but on the bottom of it was Inscribed
the name Of God. King Nimrod asked his
courtiers which vase they thought weighed
the most. The avaric Gus men OF his court
said the vase Of gold, The poets said the one
of amber. But the wisest men said the empty
vase, because one letter Of the name Of God
outweighed a universe.
For Him thirst; for His grace beg. on
HIS promise build my all. Without Him l
cannot be happy. I have tried the world,
and it does we'll enough as far as it goes, but
it is too uncertain world, too evanescent
world. | am not q preju'liced witness. l
have nothing against this world. lhave been
one Of the most fortunate, or, to use a
more Christian word, one of the most
blessed Of men, blessed in my parents, blessed