The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-11-20

VIC wave, pu6 Sotl Ol Ialtu SpTcttu ouu HoP
It's wing, unless you have strong prayer foF
One more arrangement and you will R
ready for the sea. You must have compas4i
which is the Bible. Look at it every day,
and always sail by it, as its needle points to- =
wsrd the Star of Bethlehem. Through fog
md darkness and storm it works faithfully. :
Search the Scriptures. BOX the compass.n
Let me give you two or three rules for the
voyage. Allow your appetites and passions
only an under deck passage. Do not allow
Mortify your members which are upon the
earth. Never allow your lower nature any
thing better than steerage passage. Let
watchfulpess walk the decks as an armed sem
tinel, and shoot down with great promptness I
anything Like mutiny of friotous appetites.
Be sure to look out Of the forecastle for
icebergs. These are cold Christians floating
about in the church. Tho frigid zone pro-,
lessons will sink you. Steer clear Of icebergs
Keep log-book during all the voyage an
account Of how many furlongs you make
day. The merchant keeps q day book as
we'll as ledger. You ought to know every
night as we'll as every year, how things are
going. When the express train stops at the
depot you hear a hammer sounding on all
the wheels thus testing the safety. Of the
rail train. Bound, as we are, with more
than express speed toward great eternity,
ought we not often to try the work of self
examination? 80
Be sure to keep your colors up! You know
the ships Of England, Russia France and
Spain by the ensigns they carry. Sometime1
1t Is lion, sometimes an eagle, sometimes q
star, sometimes crown. Let it ever be
known who you are, and for what port you
are bound. Let christian" be written Of, 81
the very front, with figure Of cross
crown and dove; and from the MASTHEAD
let float the streamers Of Emmanuel. Then
the pirate vessels Of temptation will pass Won
unharmed as they say: ''There goes a Chris
tian, bound for the port Of heaven. We win !.
not disturb her, for she has too many gus
aboard" Run up your flag on this pulley
u am not ashamed Of the Gospel of Christ,
for it is the power of God and the wisdom Of |
God unto salvation" When driven back. or
laboring under great stress Of weather-now
changing from starboard tack to larboards51
and then from larboard to starboard-look
above the topgallauts, and your heart shall 4
beat like war drum as the streamers doat
on the wind. The sign Of the cross will make
you patient, and the crown will make you
glad. ..... -
Before you gain port you will smell the
land breezes Of heaven; and Christ the Pilot,
Of Death, and fasten to you, and say: stWhen
thou passest through the waters, / will be &
with thee; and through the rivers they shall
not overflow thee" Are you ready for such y
q voyage? Make up your minds. The gang
planks are lifting. The bell rings An
aboard for heaven! The world is not your =
rest. The chaffinch Is the silliest bird in all 5
the earth for trying to make its nest on the !
rocking billow. Oh, how wish that as en-
whom preach by tongue or type would em-
bark for heaven. What you all most need is 3
God, and you need Him now. Some of you 8
leave. in trouble. Things are going very
rough with you. You have had hard
struggle with poverty, or sickness or perse- Is
cution or bereavement. Light after light has
gone out and it is so dark that you can
hardly see any blessing left. May that Jesus, 4
who comforted the widow of Main and raised Y
sympathy wipe away your tears. All is well.
When David was fleeing through the viii
tlerness, pursued by his son, he was being 2
to become the sweet singer of Is J
rael. The pit and the dungeon were the best
schools at which Joseph ever graduated.
The hurricane that upset the tent and Killed
Jobs children prepared the man OF Uz to Is
write the magnificent poem that has as
founded the ages. There is no way to get
the wheat out Of the straw but to thresh it
There is no way to purify the gold but to
burn it. Look at the people who have always 4
had it their own way. They are proud, dis
contented, useless and unhappy. If you want
to find cheerful folks go among those
who have been purified by the fire. After
Rossini had rendered "Wiliam TeL' the i've
hundredth time, a company OF musicians
came under his window in Paris and sere-
naded him. They put upon his brow An
golden crown Of laurel leaves. But amidst
an the applause and enthusiasm Rossim
turned to a friend and said: II would give
all this brilliant scene for few days OF
youth and love-" Contrast the melancholy
feeling of Rossini, who had everything that
this world could give him, to tue joyful ex-
perience OF Isaac Watts whose nisfortune6
were innumerable, when ne says:
The bill OF Zion yields #
thousand sacred sweets,
Before we reach the heavenly aelds ..f
or walk the golden streets. ,t
Then let our songs abound, to
And every tear be dry
We're marching through 1mmanuers Srounq
To fairer worlds on high. q
II is prosperity that kills and trouble that
saves. While the Israelites were on the
march, amidst great privations and hard
shirs. they behaved well. After while, they
prayed for meat, and the sky darkened with
q large flock of quails, and these quails fell In
great multitudes all about them; and the Is 6
raelites ate and ate, and stuffed themselves
until they died. Oh! my friends it IS not
hardship, or trial. or starvation that Injuries
the soul, but abundant supply. 1t is not the
yulture Of trouble that eatsup the Christians
life; it is the quails! it is the quails!
cannot leave you until once more ! con-
fess nv faith in the Saviour whom have
preached. He ismy all in all, owe more
90 49,. grace Of God than most men. With .
this ardent temperament, if had gone over (,
board would have gone to the very depths.
You know can do nothing by halves.
9 to grace how great debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be: s
think all will be well. Do not be worried
about me- I know that my Redsamer liveth,
and if any fatality should befau me,
think I should go straight. have been most
unworthy, and would be sorry TO think that
any one of my friends had been as unworthy
Christian as myself. But God has helped
q great many through, and I hope He will
help me through. It is long account Of
shortcomings, but if He is going to rub any
of it out, I think He will rub it all out. -,
And now give us TOR 60 not alone yourf
benediction. When you send letters to q
friend in distant land you say via such<a
you good wishes to us, send t'!en via the
throne of God. We shall not travel out OF
the reach of your prayers.
There is scene where spirits dwell,
Where friend holds intercourse with friend;
Though sundered for, by faith we meet
Around one common mercy seat
And now, may the blessing Of God come =
down upon your bodies and upon your sootss
your fathers and mothers, your companions,
your children, your brothers and sisters, and.
your friends! May you be blessed in your
business and in your pleasures, in your joys
and in your sorrows, in the house and Dy the
way! And if, during our. separation, an