The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-11-17
sand years ago was sunk through the solid

ing his own well, he taught US not to be un-
necessarily dependent on others. Independ-
ence OF business character. Independence OF
religious character. Have your own well
of grace. your own well Of courage. your
own well of divine supply. If you are an
invalid you have right to he dependent
on others. But If God has given You good
health, common sense, and two eyes, aud
two ears. and two hands, and
two fest, he equipped you for
Independence of all the universe except
himself. If he had meant you TO be depend
ent upon Others YOU would have been built
with cord around your waist to tie fast 20
somebody else. No; you are built with
common sense to fashion your own opin-
ions, with eyes to find your own way, with
ears TO select your own music, with hands
To fight your own battles There Is only
one being in the universe whose advice you
need and that is God. Have your own well
and the Lord will fill it. Dig it If need be
throcgh 200 feet of solid rock. Dig il with
your pen, or dig it with your yard-stick, or
dig it VITA your shovel, or dig 1t with your
Bible.
| In my small way / never accomplished
anything for God or the church, or the
world, or my family, or myself except in
contradiction to human advice and in
obe1ielcs 70 divine counsel. God knows
everything. and what is the uss of going for
dQNlCb u IuUldu DGAuEo VIM huDW ~ itIi4c
that no one but the au-seeing God can realizs
how little it is. 1 suppose that when Jacob
began to dig this well on which We are sit
ting this noontide, people gathered
around and said: "What a useless
expense you are going to. when roll
ing down from yonder Mount Geri-
zim aud down from yonder Mount Eoal,
and out yonder In the valley is plenty OF
water" On replied Jacob, that is all
firm M my bor Shnulh rrat
angered against me and cut off nv supply
of mountain beverage. what would l do,
ana what would my family do, aud what
would my fiocks and herds doc Forward,
We brigade OF pickaxes and crowbars, and
60 down into the depths OF these rocks and
make me independent of all except him,
who fills the bottles of the clouds | must
have my own wellm
Young man. drop cigars, and cigarettes,
and wine cups, and the sunday excursions,
and build your own house and have your
own wardrobe and be your own capitalist!
why, have only five hundred dollars
income a Year, says some one. Then
spend four hundred dollars of it in living
and ten per cent. of it or fifty dollars in
benevolence and the other fifty in begin
ming to dig your own we'll. Or, if you have
a thousand dollars year, spend eight
hundred dollars of it in lving-ten per
cent. or one hundred dollars in benevolence
and the remaining one hundred in begin
ming to dig your own well. The largest
bird that ever flew through the air was
Matched out of one egg, and the greatest
estate was brooded out OF one dollar.
| suppose when Jacob began to dig
this well on whose curb we are now seated
this December noon, it was dry season then
as now, and some one comes up and says:
Now, Jacob, suppose you get the well fifty
feet deep, or 200 feet deep, and there should
be no water to fill it, would you not feel
sillyT People passing along the road and
looking down from Mount Gerizim or Mount
Ebal, near by, would laugh and say: THAT
is Jacobs well, great hole in the rock,
illustrating the mans folly" Jacob
replied: There never has been a
we'll IN Palestine. or any other
was not sooner or later filled from the
clouds, and this will be no exception" For
months after Jacob had completed the we'll
people went by. and, out of respect for the
deluded old man, put their hand over their
mouth to hide smoker, and the well re-
manned as dry as the bottom Of a kettle
that has been hanging over a fire for three
hours. But one day the sun was drawing
water and the wind got round to the east
and 1t began to drizzle, and then great drops
splashed all over tie well-curb, and the heav-
ems opened their reservoir and the rainy
season poured its foods for six weeks, and
there came maidens TO the we'll with empty
pals and carried them away full, and the
camels thrust their mouths into the troughs
and were satisfied, and the water was in the
well three feet deep. and fifty feet deep, and
200 feet deep, and all the Bedouins Of the
neighborhoOd, and all the passers-bv real
lied that Jacob was wise in having his own
we'll Ny hearer, it is your part to dig
your own well. ard it is Gods part to fill
it. You do your part and he will do his
part.
Much is said about "good luck" but peo-
pie who are industrious and self-denying
almost always have good luck You can
afford to be laughed at because of your
application and economy, for when YOU get
your well dug, and filed, it will be your
turn to laugh.
But look up from this famous we'll and
see two mountains and the plain between
them on which was gathered the largest
religious audience that ever assembled on
earth, about five hundred thousand people
Mount Gerizim, about eight hundred feet
high, on one side, and on the other Mount
Ebal, the former called the Mount of Bless
ing aud the latter called the Mount of Ours
ing. AT Joshua's command six tribes stood
on Mount Gerizim and read the blessings
for keeping the law, and six tribes
stood on Mount Ebal reading the curses for
breaking the law, while the five hundred
thousand people on the plain cried amen
with an emphasis that must have made the
earth tremble II do not believe that. u
says some one, "for those mountain tops
are two miles apart, and how could voice
be heard from top to topF NV answer is
that while the tops are two miles apart, the
bases Of the mountains are only half a mile
apart, and the tribes stood on the sides of
the mountains, and the air is so clear, and
the acoustic qualities of this great natural
amphitheater so perfect that voices can be
distinctly heard from mountain to noun
tain as has been demonstrated by travellers
| fifty times in the last fifty years.
Can you imagine anything more thrilling
and sublime aud overw helming than wha
| trsnspired on those two mountain sides apc
| in the plain between, when the responsive
| service went on, aud thousands of voices or
| Mount Gerizim cried: BLESSED shalt taor
| be In the city, and blessed shalt thou be il
the fields, blessed shall be thy basket and
| thy storew and then from Mount Ebal
| thousands of voices responded, CRYING
| Cursed be he that removeth his neighbor.
| landmark! Cursed be he that maketh thC
blind to wander out of the way" and ther
| there rolled up from all the spaces
| between the mountains that one
word, with which the devout of earth
| close their prayers, and the glorifed OF
| heaven finish their doxologies: Amen
| AmenW-that scene only to be surpassed
| by the times which are coming, when the
| fh4 arntA I'D 10