The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1890-06-05

| ~ ShS"tloIdhCSS bIldU were not
worthy of notice. ii you want to be
happy you must not care for trihes.
| DO not be too minute in your mspec-
ton Of the treatment you receive
from others. Who cares whether
Mordecai bows when you pass, or
stands erect and stiff us cedar? That
woodman would not make much
clearing in the forest, who should
stop to bind up every little bruise
and scratch he received in the thick
ct; nor will that man accomplish
much for the world OF the church,
who is too watchful and apprcciativo
| OF petty nmoyances. There aromul-
tltudcs of people i'll the world, con-
stantly narrowed because they pass
| their lives not ill searching out those
| things which are attractive and de-
serving, but III spying out with all
| their powers of vision to SEQ whethcr
| they cannot find Il MOrdccai.
Again, [ learn from the lifo of the
man umdcr our notice that worldly
vanity and sin are very anxious to
have picty bow before them. Ha-
man was fair emblem of entire world
| lnesS, and Mordecai the representa-
| tive OF untlinching godlinoss. Such
were the usages of society i'll ancient
| times that, has. this Israclito bowed
to the prime minister, it would have
been Nn acknowledgement of respect
tor his character and nation. Mor-
decai would, therefore, have sinnod
against his religion had he made any
obelsance or dropped his chin half an
nch before Hannah. Whom, there
fore, proud Hannah attempted to
compel an homage which was not
tclt, he only did what the world ever
since has tried to do, when it would
force our holy religion in any way
to yield to its dictatcs Daniel,
] II he had been man of religious
| compromises, would never have been
| thrown INTO the den of lions. Ho
| might have made GOme arrangement
] with ling Darius whereby ho could
| have retained part of his form of re-
Iglon without making himself SO
| completely obnoxious to the idolaters
Paul might have retained the favor of
his rulers and escaped martyrdom if
ne had only been willing to mix up
his Christian faith with u few errors
His mbcnding Christian character
was taken as an insult.
Fagot and rack and haltor In all
ages have bccn only the different
ways i'll which the world has deman-
dcd obcisance. It was once, away up
on tho top Of the temple, that Satan
commanded the Holy One of Naza
reth to knoel before him. But it is
NOT ho L.. r
churches as down in the aisle and the
pew and the pulpit that Satan tempts
tho espousers of the Christian faith to
kneol before him. Why was it that
the Platonic philosophers of early
times, as well as Toland, Spineza,
and Bolingbroke of later days, wore
SO madly opposed to Christianity?
Certainly not because it favored i'm
moInlltles, or arrested civilization,
or dwarfed the intellect. Tho son
ulne reason, whether admitted or not,
was because the religion of Christ
pald no respect to their intellectual
vanltios. Blomt and Boyle, and the
host of intidels hatched out by the
vile reign of Charles tho Second, as
reptiles crawl out of marsh of slime,
could not keep their patience, be.
cause, as thoy passed along, there
wcro sitting in the gate of the church
such men us Matthew, and Mark, and
Luke, and John, who would not bond
an inch in respect to their philoso-
phies.
-, Satan told our first parents that
they would become as gods If thew
would onl y reach up and tako q taste
OF the fruit, They tried it and failed
but their descendants are not vet
satisfied with the experiment. I'VE
nave now many desiring to be as
gods, reaching up after yet another
apple. Human reason, scornful of
GODS word, may foam and strut with
the proud wrath Of Hannah. and at
tempt to compel the homage Of the
gods, but III the presence of mon
and angels 1T shall be confounded.
"G0d shall smitc thee, thou whitcd
wall. When science began to make
It's brilliant discoveries there were
facts brought to light that seemed to
overthrow tho truth of the Bible.
The 0rchWolOgist with his crowbar.
and tho geologist with his hammer,
and the chemist with his batteries
charged ugOn the Bible. Moses'sac-
count OF the creation seemed denied
by the very structure of tho earth.
The astronomer wheeled rounn his
telescope until tho heavenly bodies
seemed tomarshal themselves against
the Bible, as the stars in their cour-
scs fought against Sisera. Obscrya-
tories and universities reioiccd at
what they considered the extinction
OF Christianity. They gathered new
courage at what they considered past
victory, and pressed on their con
quest into the kingdom Of nature un-
till, alas for them! they discovered I!
too much. Gods word had only boon |
ymg i'll ambush chat, in some un-
guarded momcnt> with a sudden
bound, it paight tear in1idelity to
pieces.
1t was 0s whom Joshua attacked
he city Of Al. He selected thirty
thousand men, and concealed most
If thom; then with Few mon he as-
sailed the city, which poured out its
iumbers and strength upon Joshua's
title band. According to previous
L