The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-01-27
God controls the east wind as well as the

on that retrograde shadow OF Ahazs dial
without learning that God controls the shad-
ows and that lesson we need all to learn.
That He controls the sunshine Is not 30 nee
essary a lesson, for anybody can be happy
when things 90 right. When you sleep
eight hours q night and rise with an appetite
that cannot easily wait for breakfast and
you go over to the store and open your mail
to read more orders than you can I'LL, and in
the next letter you find a dividend far larger
than o q been promised, and your
neighbor comes in to tell you some hatter-
ing thing he has just heard said about you,
and you find that all the styles Of goods in
which you deal have advanced fifteen per
cent. In value, and on your way
romp and there are roses on the center OF
the tea table and roses of health in cheeks
all round the table what more do you want
of consolation? I don't pity you a bit. You
feel as II you could boss the world. But for
those In just opposite circumstances my text
comes in with an o~mnipotence of meaning.
The shadow Oh, the shadow Shadow Of
bereavement Shadow of sicknessl Shadow
Of bankruptcy Shadow Of mental de-
pressionl Shadow Of persecution! Shadow
Of death! Speak out, oh sundial of Ahaz,
and tell the people that God manages the
shadow As Hezekiah sat In his palace
wrapped in invalidism and surrounded by
~anodynes and cstaplasms and looked
out upon the black hand Of the
only clock known at that time and saw
it move back ten degrees, he learned a
lesson that q majority Of the human race
need this hour to learn-that the bsst friend
a man ever had controls the shadow. The
setbacks are sometimes the best things that
can happen. The great German author,
Schiller, could not work unless he had In his
room the scent Of rotten apples, and the de-
cay Of the fruits of earthly prosperity may
become an inspiration instead OF a depres-
sion. Robert Chambers's anne feet shut him
up from other work, and he became the
world renowned publisher, and helped fash
ion the best literature Of the ages. Tbs
painful disorder like that Of Hezekiah called
a carbuncle is spelled exactly the same as
buncle, and the pang. Of suffering
may become the jewel Of immortal value.
Your setback, like that Of Ahaz's sundial,
may be recovery and triumph. never had
a setback but it turned out to be q set for
ward. You never would have become a
Christian if you had not had q setback. The
highest thrones in heaven are for the set
backs. In 1861 the shadow Of the sundial OF
this nation was set lack, and all things
seemed going to ruin, and 1t was set back
further in 1882, and further in 1883, and still
luz UllcE ~ 4COO, pup .VnCl0 u uOU oil luUSl-
ligent and we'll balanced man-north or
south, east or west-but feels it was set back
toward the sunrise.
But I promise to show you how the shaw
ows might be turned back. First, by going
much among the young people. In most
family circles there are grandchildren. By
this divine arrangement most Of the people
who have passed the meridian Of life can
compass themselves by juvenility. 1t isa
bad thing for an old man or old woman to
sit looking at the ~vivacity Of their grand.
Better join in the fun. Let the eighty:year.
old grandfather join the e~ight-year-old
grandson or granddaughter. My father and
mother lived to see over eighty children and
grandchildren and great grandchildren, and
q more boisterous crew were never turned
out on this ~sublunary sphere, and they all
seemed to cry to the old folks, "Keep
young" and they did keep young. Don't
walk with a cane unless you have to or only
as q defence in a city afflicted with
too many CANNES. Don't wear glasses
stronger than necessary, putting IN num-
Der tens when eighteens will do as well.
always talking about rheumatism and lum.
bago and shortness Of breath and the brevity
of human life. It Is too much for my gravity
to hear an octogenarian talking about the
shortness of human life. From all I can find
out he has always been here and from present
prospects he is always going to stay. Remain
young. Hang up your stockings In Christmas
time. Help the boys fly the kite. Teach the
girls how to dress their dolls. Better than
arnica for your stir joints I'M catnip tea
for your sleepless nights will be large dose.
OF youthful companionship.
Set back the clock Of human life. Make
the shadow Of the sundial Of Ahaz retreat
tan degrees. People make themselves old
by always talking about being old and
wishing for the good old days, which were
never as good as these days. From all can
hear the grandchildren are not half as bad
as the grandparents were. Matters have
been hushed. up. But If you have ever been
in a room adjoining arocm where some very
old times, you will find that this age does not
monopolizs all the young rascals. It may
now be hard to get young people up early
enough In the morning, but their grandpa
rents always had to be pulled out Of bed.
Il is wrong now to play mischevious tricks on
the unsuspecting. but eighty years ago at
school that now venerable man sat down on
a crooked pin not accidentIy placed there,
and purposaly drove the sleigh riding party
too near the edge Of the embankment that
he might see how they would look when
tumbled into the snow. And That man who
has 80 little patience with childish exuber-
ance was in olden times up to pranka one-
half of which II practiced by the eight-year.
OLD of to-day would set grandfather and
grandmother crazy. Revive your remem.
brance of what you were between five and
ten wears Of age, and with patience capable
of everything Join with the young. Put back
the shadow Of the dial not ten degrees. but
fifty and sixty and seventy degrees.
Set back your clocks also by entering ON
new and absorbing Christian work. In our
desire to inspire the young We have in our
essays had much to say about what has
been accomplished by the young; OF Ro.
mulus, who founded Rome when he was
twenty years Of age; Of Cortes, who had con-
quered Mexico at thirty years: Of Pitt,
twenty-four years; Of Raphael, who died
at thirty seven years; Of Calvin, who wrote
his Institutes" at twenty-six; Of Melanc-
thon, who took q learned professors chair
at twenty-one yearS OF Luther. who had
conquered Ger many for the Reformation
by the time he was tnirty-ive years. And
it is all very we'll for US to show how early
in life one can do very great things for God
and the welfare Of the world, but some OF
the mightiest work for God has been done
by .septuagenarians and octogenarians and
which none cut such can do. They pre-
serve the equipoiss of senates, Of religious
denominations, Of reformatory movements,
Young men for action, old mel for coun-
sci. Instead of any of you beginning to
fold up your energies, arouse anew your
energies. With the experience you have
obtained and the opportunities Of observa-
ton you havs had curing a long life, you
ought to be able to do in one year now
more than you did in ten years right after
you nave passed out Of your teens. Physical
power less, your spiritual power ought to
Be more un to the last hour OF their lives