The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1891-08-13

oaiHcS hcuWCk, ana Andrew M6lVllle,
= and Hugh Mccall, the glorious MARTYRS
OF Scotch history. 1t took the stormy
sea, aud the December blast, and the
desolate New England coast, and the
war-hoop of savages. to show forth the
prowess of the Pilgrim fathers
When amid the storms they sang,
And the stars heard and the sea;
And the sounding ases of the dim wood
Rang to the anthems Of the free.
1t took all our past national dstresses,
and it takes all our present national sor-
rows, to lit up our nation on that high
career where it will march along after
the foreign despotisms that have Knocked
and the tyrannics that have jecred. shall
be swept down under the Omnipotent
wrath of God. who hates. oppression
and who, by the strength of his own req
right arm. will make all men free. And
80 1t Is individually, and in the family,
and III the church, and in the world that
throughHarkness and storm and trouble
men, women, churches, natio ls. are de-
vcloped.
Again, learn from my subject that
events which seem 10 be most insignifi-
cant may be momentous. Can you inn
aglne anything more unimportant than
the coming OF poor woman from Moab
TO Judna? Can you imagine anything
more trivial than the tact that this Ruth
just happened to alght-as they say
just happened to alight on that field of
Boaz? Yet all ages. all generations,
have an interest in the fact that she was
to become an ancestress of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and all nations and king
doms must look at that one little Incl
dent with thrill OF unmistakable and
eternal satisfaction. So tits in your his
tory and in mine; events that you
thought OF no Importance at all have
been of very great moment. The cas-.
ual conversation, that accidental meet
ing-you did not think of it again for a
long while; but how it changed all the
current Of your life!
Again, see in my text the beauty of
unfaltering friendship. L suppose ther e
were plenty of friends tor Naomi while
she was in prosperity: but of all her =
Qusintances, how many were willing to
trudge Off with her toward Ju6ra, when
she had to make that lonely journey?
One-the heroine Of my text. One
absolutely one. l suppose when Mao.
MRS husband WIS living. and they had
plenty OF money, and all things went
well, they had great many callers; but
I suppose that after her husband died,
and her property went, and she got old
and poor, she was not troubled very
much with callers. All the birds that
sang In the bower while the sun shonc
have gone to their nests, now the night
has fallen.
Oh, these beautiful sun flowers tha
spread out their color in the mofnins
hour! but they are always asleep wher
the sun is going down! Job had plenty
Of friends when he was the richest mar
: in Uz; but when his property went ant
the trials came, theh there were none sc
much that pestered as Eliphaz the Te
mantle, and Bildad the Shuhite, and 70
phar the Naamathite.
Life often seems to he nero game
where the successful player pulls dowr
all the other men into his own lap. lie
suspicious arise about mans charrac.
ter and he becomes like bank in q
l'anic and all the lmputations rush or
him and break down in day tha
character which IN due time would have
had strength to defend itself. There are
regulations that have been halt a cen
tury in building, which go under some
moral exposure, as a vast temple is con-
sumed by the touch of sulphurous
match. A hog can uproot centur,
plant. In this world, 80 full of heart.
lessness and hypocrisy, how thrilling il
is to find some friend as faithful in days
of adversely rs in days of prosperity
David had such friend IN Hushat; the
Jews had such friend in Mordecai
who never forgot their cause; Paul had
such friend in Onesiphorus. who vlsteC
hin, IN, ioil. (Nhrjuf hoI oh ;,,t
who adhered to hum on the cross; Naomi
had such a one in Ruth, who cried out
"Entreat me not to leave thee, or to re-
turn from following after thee; fol
whittier thou goest l will go, and where
thou lodgest L will lodge; thy people,
shall be. my people and thy God my God;
whore thou dlest will die, and there
will be buried the Lord do 80 to me,
and more also, if auyht but death part
thee and me-"
Again, learn from this subject that
paths which open i'll hardship and dark
ness often come out III places Of JOY
When Ruth started from Moab toward
Jerusalem, to go along with her mother.
in.law, l suppose the people said: Oh
what Il foolish creature to 60 away from
her fathers house, to 90 OF with poor
old wOmOn toward the land OF Jud;ra
They won't live to get across the desert
They will be drowned in the sea. OF the
jackals OF the wlldernesa will destro,
Lhem." 1t was very dark morning
when Ruth started Gil with Naomi; bu
behold her in my text in The harvest-fielC
OF Boaz, to be atlianced to one of the lords
OF the land, and become one of the
grandmothcrs of Jesus Christ. the Lore
Of glory. And so it often ID that path
which starts very darkly ends very
brightly.
When YOU started out for heaven, OH
how dark was the hour Of conviction
,, how Sinai thuudered, and devils tor.
: mcntod. and the darkness thickencd! AL
the sins OF your life pounced upon you
and it WAS the darkest hour you ever
saw when you first found out your SINS
After awhile you went into the harvest.
: iield of Gods mercy; you began to CLEAN
in tho field of divine promise, and yor
had more shcaves than you could carry
as the voice OF God addressed you, say