The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-10-21

Ties uylQS, ana Gne wnOlo scene OeW1lQer1nR
with activities, driven by water, or steam
or electric power, you conclude that the fac
tory was put up. to do great work and on q
vast scale. Now, look at you, and If
should find that you had only one faculty OF
| body, only one muscle, only one nerve, il
! you could see but could not hear, or could
hear and not see. II you had the use Of only
one foot or one hand, and, as to your higher
| nature, If you had only one mental faculty,
and you had memory but no Judgment or
judgment but no will, and if you had soul
with only one capacity, would say not
much is expected Of you.
But stand up, o man, let me look you
squarely in the face! Eyes capable Of see
ing everything. Ears capable Of hearing
everything. Hands capable Of grasping
everything. Mind with more wheels than
any FACTORY ever turned, more power than
Corliss engine ever moved. A soul that will
outlive all the universe, except heaven, and
would outlive all heaven II the life Of other
lmmortals were a moment short of the
eternal. Now, what has the world right
to expect from you? What has God right
to demand of you? God is the greatest Of
economists in the universe, and He makes
nothing uselessly, and for what purpose did
He build your body, mind and soul as they
are built?
who can answer that question. The angels
do not know. The schools do not know.
Your kindred cannot certainly know. God
knows, and you ought to know. A factory
running at an expense Of $500, 900 year,
and turning out goods worth seventy cents
a year would not be such an incongruity
as you, o man, with such semi-in6nite
equipment doing nothing, or next to moth.
ing, in the way OF usefulness. What shall
do?' you ask. Ny brethren, my sisters, do
not ask me. Ask God.
There's some path Of Christian usefulness
open. It may be rough path, or it may be
a smooth path, a long path or a short path.
It may be on mount Of conspicuity OF in a
valley unobserved, but it is a path on
which you can start with such faith and
such satisfaction and such. certainty that
you can cry out in the face Of
earth and hell and heaven, ITO this end was
T born" Do not wait for extraordinary
qualifications. Philip the Conqueror gained
his greatest victories seated on a mule, and
If you wait for some caparisoned Bucephalus
to ride into the conflict you will never get
into the world wide fight at all. Sampson
slew the Lords enemies with she jawbone Of
the stupidest beast created. Shamgar slew
SIX hundred OF the Lorus enemies with an
OK goad. Under God spittle cured the blind
mans eyes in the New Testament story. Take
all the faculty you have and say: ~ Lord.
here is what have Show me the field and
back me up by omnipotent power. Any
where, anyhow, any time for God"
Two men riding on horseback came to a
trough to water the horses. While the
horses were drinking one Of the men said to
the other few words about the value of the
soul, and then they rode away, and in oppo-
site directions. But the words uttered were
the salvation Of the one to whom they were
uttered, and he became the Rev. Mr.. Cham
pion, one of the most distinguished mission
aries in heather lands, for years wondering
who did for him the Christian kindness, and
not finding out until. in bundle Of books
sent him to Africa, he found the biography
of Brainerd Taylor and picture Of him, and
the missionary recognized the face in that
book as the man who, st the watering trough
for horses, had said the thing that saved his
soul. What opportunities you have had in
the past. What opportunities you have
now. What opportunities you will have in
the days to comel
Put on your hat, oh, woman, this after
noon, and 60 in and comfort that young
mother who lost her babe last summer. Put
on your hat, oh, man, and go over and see
that merchant who was compelled yesterday
to make an assignment, and tell him OF the
everlasting riches remaining for all those
who serve the Lord. Can you sing2 Go and
sing for that man who cannot get we'll, and
you will help him into heaven. Let it be
your brain, your tongue, your eyes, your
ears. your heart your lungs, your hands,
your feet, your body, your mind, your soul,
your life, your death, your time, your eter-
nifty for God, feeling in your soul, TO this
end was born"
It may be helpful to some if I recite my
own experience in this regard. I started for
-.
I consulted my own tastes. Hke1 lawyers
and courtrooms and judges and juries, and
l reveled in hearing the Frelinghuysens and
the Bradleys Of the New Jersey bar, and as
assistant Of the county clerk, at sixteen
years of age, searched titles, naturalizsd
foreigners, recorded deeds, received the con-
fession of judgments, swore witnesses and
juries and grand juries. But after awhile
felt call to the Gospel ministry and entered
it, and felt some satisfaction in the work.
But one summer, when l was resting at
Sharon Springs, and while seated in the park
of that village, / said to myself, ''If I have
an especial WorS to do in the world ought
to find it out now," and with that determin-
alton prayed as had never before prayed,
and got the divine direction, aad wrote it
down in my memorandum book, and saw
my life work then as plainly as see 1t now.
Oh, do not be satisfied with general direc-
tions. Get specific directions. Do not shoot
at ran1om Take aim and fire. Concen.
trate. Napoleon's success in battle came
from his theory OF breaking through the
enemy's ranks at one point, not trying to
meet the whole line of the ensmy's force by
a similar force. One reason why he lost
Waterloo was because he did not work his
usual theory, and spread his force out over
wide range. Oh, Christian man, oh, Chris
tian woman, break through SO newnere.
Not general engagement for God, but o
particular engagement, and made in answer
to prayer. 1t there ore sixteen hundred
million people in the world. then there are
sixtaen hundred million different missions to
fulfill, different styles of work to do, differ
ent orbits in which to revolve, andif you do
not get the divine direction there are at least
fifteen hundred and ninety-nine million pos.
sibiities that you will make. mistake. On
your knees before God get the matter settled
so that you can firmly say, "To this end was
born"
And now I come to the elimacteric con-
sideration. As near as I can tall you were
built for happy eternity, all the disasters
overcome by the blood Of the Lamb IL you
will heartily accept that Christly arrange
ment. We are all rejoiced at the increase
of human longevity. People live, as near as
I can observe, about ten years longer than
they used to. The modern doctors do not
bleed their patients on all occasions as did
the former doctors. In those times If man
had fever they bled him, if he had con-
sumption they bled him, il be had rheuma-
tism they blei him, and il they could not
make out exactly what was the matter they
bled him. Olden time phlebotomy was
deaths coadjutor All this has changed.
From the way see people skipping about
at eighty years of age. I conclude that life
insurance companies will have to change
their table Of risks, and charge a man no