The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-01-23
Fappy New Year to one and ALL


5ting for the events Of the opening year
to come upon US, and there is beroic way
of going out to meet them, strong in God and
2earing nothing. When the body Of Catine
was found OH the battlefield it was found far
lin advance Of all his troops and among the
enemy; and the best way is not for US to lle
down and let the events of life trample over
us, but to 60 forth in Christian spirit de-
termined to conquer.
The papers were made out, and some or
you have just entered into business partner
hips, and others Of You take higher positions
n the commercial establishment where you
were engaged, and others have entered upon
new enterprises, and there were last week IN
these cities ten thousand business changes.
II on are expecting prosperity, end am de-
fermined. so far as l have anything to 90
With it, that you shall not Ee disappointed,
hnd therefore propose, as God may help me
this morning, to project upon your attef-
lion a new element of success. lou will have
in the business firm, frugality, patience IN
dustry, perseverance, economy-a very
strong business firm, but there needs to Oe
one member added, mightier than them ail'
land not silent partner either-the one In
by my text: Goodness which Is
profitable unto all things, having the prom.
se OF the life that now is as well as OF that
which is to come"
L suppose YOU are all willing to admit that
Godliness is important IN its eternal rela-
tions but perhaps some OF you say: AL L
want is an opportunity to say :, a aJ prayer De,
great many people who suppose that II they
can finally get safely out of this world into
better world they will have exhausted the
entire advantage of our holy religion They
Atalk as though religion were mere nod or
recognition which We are to give to the LORD
Jesus on our way up to heavenly manson;
! as though it were an admission ticket, or no
| use except to give in at the door Of heaven.
And there are thousands of people who have
great admiration for religion OF the shroud,
kand religion of the coffin, and religion or
The hearSe, and a religion of the cemetery,
who have no appreciation OF a religion Tor
Ehe bank, for the farm, for the factory, Tor
the warehouse, for the jewelers. shop,
not throw any slur on post-mortem
religion, want this morning, and on the
I first Sabbath of the new year. to eulogize an
ante mortem religion. A religion that IS or
no Use to you while you live, will be OF no
3use to you when you die "Godliness IS
profitable unto all things, having the prom.
iss of the life that now is rs we'll as OF that
which is to come" And l have always
noticed that when the grace is very. low in
mans heart he talks a great deal in prayer
meetings about deaths, and about collins, and
about churchyards. / have noticed that the
healthy Christian, the man who IS living
near to God, and is on the straight road to
Heaven, IS full of jubilant satisfaction, and
italks about the duties of this life, under
| tanding well that if God helps him to live
light He will help him to die right.
Now, in the first place, remark that God
illness is good for mans physical health.
do not mean 10 say that it will restore
broken down constitution, or drive rheuma-
5tism from the limbs, or neuralgia from the
temples, or pleurisy from the side; but do
mean to say that it gives one such habits and
puts one in such condition as is most favor
able for physical health. That l believe,
buoyancy of spirit is good physical advan-
tage. Gloom, unrest, detection are at war
with every pulsation of the heart, and with
every respiration OF the lungs. 1t lowers
the vitality, it slacEens the circulation, while
exhilaration Of spirit pours the very balm OF
heaven through all the currents of life. The
scene of insecurity which sometimes hovers
over an unregenerate man, or pounces upon
him with the blast Of ten thousand trumpets
Of terror, is most depicting and most ex-
hausting, while the feeling that all things are
working together for my good now. and for
my everlasting welfare,is is conducive to phys
ical health.
You will observe that Godliness induces
industry, which IS the foundation of good
keep lazy man well. Pleurisy will stab
him. erysipelas will burn him, iaundice will
discolor him, gout will cripple him, and the
intelligent physician will not prescribe anti
septic, or febrjfuge, or anodyne, but saws,
and hammers, and yardstickS and crowbars,
| and piclaxes. There is no such thing as good
physical condition without positive work Of
| some kind. although you should sleep on
| down OF swan, or ride i'll carriage of softest
upholstery, or have on your table all the luz
uries that were poured from the wine-vats Of
Ispahau and Shiraz. Our religion says:
"Away to the bank away to the field! away
to the shop! away to the factory! do some-
thing that will enlist all the energies of your
body, mind and soul" "Dihgent in bus-
while upon tho barc hack of the idler and
drone comes down the sharp lash of the apos-
tie as he says: If any man will not work,
neither shall he eat"
Oh, how important in this day, when 80
, much is said about anatomy and physiology
and therapeutics and some new style OF
medicine is ever and anon springing upon
the world, that you should understand that
the highest school of medicine is the school OF
Christ which declo-es that 'Go''liness is
profitable unto all things. having the promise
Of the life that now is as well as that which
is to come" So if you start out two men in
the world with equal physical health, and
then one Of them shall get the religion OF the
Lord Jesus Christ in his heart, and the other
shall not get it, the one who becomes son
of the Lord Almighty will live the longer.
"With long life will satisfy thee, and show
thee My salvation"
Again remark that Godliness is good for
the intellect. know some have supposed
that just as soon as man enters into the
Christian life his intellect goes into be-
dwarfing process So far from that, religion
win give new brilliancy to the intellect. new
strength to the imagination, new force to
lectual faculties. Christianity is the great
central fire at which Philosophy has lighted
its brightest torch. The religion OF the Lord
Jesus Christ is the fountain out Of which
learning has dipped its clearest draught
The Helicon poured forth no such inspiring
waters as those which flow from under the
throne of God clear as crystal Religion has
given new energy to Poesy, weeping in DR..
Cowpers "Task," flaming in Charles Wes-
aryehangelie ar s splendor ' through Mil
toms paradise Lost" The religion Of
Jesus Christ has hung in studio and in gal
lery of art and in Vatican, the best pictures
--1itian's Assumption" Raphaers Trans
fguration," Rebenss Descent from the
Cross" Claude's Burning Bush" and An
the best music of the world-Haydn's "Crea-
tion," Handel's Messiah" Mozart's "Re-
QUEEN" Is it possible that a religion which
builds such indestructible monuments, and
which lifts its ensign on the highest promon-
tories Of worldly power, can have any effect
upon mans intellect but elevation and ell
largement9 Now, l commend Goodness as
the best mental cipline-better than bellies
lettres to purify the taste. better than mathe-
matics to harness the mind to all intricacy
ard elaboration, better than logic to marshal
the intellectual forces for onset and victory.