The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-02-10

amount to anything unless they sing all ths
week. A sermon is u'e!ess unless we c IN
take t. with us behind the plow and ths
counter. The Sabbath day Is worthless it
last only twenty-four hours.
There are many Christians who say: "We
are willing to serve God. but we do not
want to do it in these spheres about which
we are talking; and it see ms so insipid aud
monotonous. Ii wa had some great o.
casion, If We had lived in the time OF Luther,
IL we had been Paul's travelling companion,
IL we could serve God on a great scale, we
would do it. but we can't in tats everyday
HE" admit that great deal OF the ro-
nance and knight errantry Of life have dis
appeared before the advance OF this practi-
cal age. The ancient temples Of Rouen have
been changed into storehousss and snithies.
i'ne residences or poets and prlncss nave
been turned into brokers' shops. The classic
walking sticks. The groves where the poets
said the gods dwelt have been cartsd out
for flrevood. Ths muses. that we used to
read about have disappeared bsfore the emil
grants ak and the trappsrs gun, and that
man who is waiting for life bswitched Of
wonders will never find it,
There is, however, field for endurance
and great achievement. but It is in every
day life. There are Alps to scale there are
Tablespoons to swim, there are fires to brave;
but they are all around US now. This Is
the hardest kind Of msrtyrdom to bear. It
took grace to lead Latimer and Ridley
through the fire triumphantiy when their
armed enemies and their friends were looking
on; but 1t requires more grace now to bring
men through persecution, when nobody Is
looking on. could snow you in this
city q woman who has had rheum atism for
twenty years. who has endured more suffer-
ing and exhausted more gracs than would
have made twenty martyrs pass triumph
antly through the fire. II you are not faith
full in an Insignificant position in life, you
would not be in grand mission. II you can
not stand the bite Of a midge, how could you
endure the breath Of basilisk?
Do not think that any work God gives
you to do in the world is on too small a scale
for you to do. The whole universe is not
ashamed to take care Of one little flower.
say: "What are you doing down here in
the grass, you poor little flower? Are you
not afraid nights? You will be neglected,
you will die Of thirst, you will not be- fed.
Poor little howsrp mo" says star, "pll
watch over it tonight" "No." says q
cloud, "pll give it drink" mo" says the
sun, 'Pll warm it in my BOSOM" Then
see the pulleys going, and the clouds are
drawing water, and I say, "What are you
doing there, o cloudsr' And they reply,
"We are giving drink to that flower"
Then the wind rises and comes bending
down the wheat and sounding its psalm
through the forest, and I cry. "Whither
away on such swift wing, o windT And
it replies I'VE are going to cool the cheek
OF that flower" And then bow down and
the feldr' And q flower at my foot re-
spends, eyes; He clothes the lilies OF the
field, and never yet has forgotten ma, q
poor little flower" Oh, when see the great
heavens bending themselves to what seems
insignificant ministrations when find out
that God does not forget any blossom Of the
spring or any snowflake Of the winter,
come to the conclusion that we can afford to
attend to the minute things in life, and that
what we do we ought to do well, since there
is as much perfection In the construction Of
a spiders eye as In the conformation OF fam
ing galaxies.
Plato had fable which have now nearly
forgotten, but it ran something like this:
he said spirits Of the other world came back
to this world to find body and find q
sphere Of work. One spirit came and took
the body Of king and did his work. An.
and did his work. After awhile Ulysses
bodies are taken, AND all the grand
work Is taken. There is nothing left
for me-" And some one rsrl:sd, "Ahl thu
best one has bean left fc1 you" Ulysses
said, .sWhat's that" And the reply was,
"The body Of a common man, doing a COM
mon work and for q common reward" A
good fable for the world and just as good
fable for the church. Whether we eat or
drink, or whatsoever we do, let US do it to
the glory OF Cos.
Again, we need to bring the religion .,
we're losses, for Bereavement, for trouble
that shocks like an earthquake aud that
blasts like a storm, we prescribe religious
consolation; but, business man, for the small
annoyances OF last week, how much OF the
grace OF God did you apply? "Oa," you
say, "these trials are too small for such ap-
plicstionm My brother, they are shaping
your character, they ara souring your tenn.
per, they are wearing out your patience
and they are making you less and less OF
man. go into sculpsor's studio and
seq him shaping statue. He has chissl IN
one hand and q mallet in the osner, and he
Garderw "Olb," be replies, that would
shatter the statue. can't do it that way;
I must do it this way"
So he works on, and after awhile the feat
urss come out, and everybody that enters
the studio is charmed and fascinated. Well,
God has your soul under process Of develop
ment, aud It is the little annoyances and
vexations Of life that are chiseling out your
immortal nature. 1t is click, clicS, clckI I
wonder why some great providence does not
come, and with one stroke prepare you for
heaven. Ah, no. God says chat Is
not the wav. And 80 He keeps
on by strokes o. little aunoyauces,
title sorrows, little vexat:ons, until at last
you shall be glad spectacle for angels and
Tor men. You know rnar a large fortune
may be spent in small change and a vast
amount Of moral character may 60 away in
small depletion. 15 is the little troubles Of
life that are having more effect upon you
than great ones. A swarm OF locusts will
three or four cattle.
You say, .'Since lost my child, since
lost my property, have been a different
man." But you 90 not recognize the archi-
lecture OF little annoyances that are hewing,
digging, cutting, shaping, splitting and in.
terjoihing your moral qualities Rats may
sink a ship. One lucifer match may
send destruction through a block of store
houses. Catherine de Medicis got her death
from smelling poisonous rose. Columbus,
by stopping and asking for piece of bread
and a erinG of water at Franciscan con-
vent was led to the discovery Of the New
World. And there is an intimate connection
between trifles and i'm lensities, between
nothings and everythings.
Now. be careful to let none Of those an.
noyances 20 through your soul unarraigned.
Compel them to administer to your
spiritual wealth. The scratch of a si1penny
nail sometimes produces lock-jaw and the
clip of a most intnitesimal annoyance may
damage you forever. DO not let any annoy
ance or perp!exity come across your soul
without its making you better.
Our national government does not think