Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1893-02-02


five years of age, and here is Christian
father. faithful in every department of
life. at thirty-fve years taken away by
death, his family left helpless. Explain
that. Oh. there is no sentence that Of
tener drops from Your lips than this: Il
cannot understand it. l cannot under
stand it.
THE JOYS OF RELIGION.
Well. now, religion comes in just at
that point with its illumination and its
explanation. There is business man
who has lost his entire fortune. The
week before he lost his fortune there
were twenty carriages that stopped at
the door of his mansion. The week after
ne lost his fortune al the carriages You
could count on one finger. The week be-
fore financial trouble began people al
took off their hats TO him as he passed
down the street. The week his financial
prospects We're under discussion people
Just touched their hats without anywise
bending the rim. The week that he was
pronounced insolvent people just Joited
their heads as they passed, not tipping
their hats al al. and the week the sherltl
sold him ont all his friends We're looking
in the store windows as they Went down
past him.
Now, while the world gees away from
a man whea he Is in financial distress,
the religion of Christ comes to him and
saws: You are sick and your sickness
is to be moral purihcation; yon are be-
reaved; God wanted in some way to
take your family to heaven. and he must
begin somewhere. and so he took the one
that was most beautiful and was most
ready TO 90. do not say that religion
explains everything in this life. bat do
say 1t lays down certain principles which
are 2randlv ccnsolatory. You know
business men often telegraph in ciphers.
The merchant in San Francisco tele-
graphs to the merchant in New York
certain information in ciphers which no
other man in that line Of business can
understand. but the merchant in San
Francisco has the key to the cipher, and
the merchant in New York has the key
to the cipher, and on that information
transmitted there are enterprises lnvolv-
ing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Now The providences of life sometimes
seem to be a senseless rignarole. a mys-
terious cipher, but God has a key 10 that
cipher, and the Christian a key TO that
cipher and, though ne may hardly be
allie 10 sl.4l out the meaning. he gets
enough OF the meaning to understand
that it is for the best. Now is there not
sunshine in that: Is there not pleasure
in that: Far beyond laughter, it is near
er the fountain of tears than boisterous
demonstration. Have you never cried
for Joy: There are tears which are eter-
nal rapture in distillation.
TIE soRRowEUL MYSTERIES.
There are hundreds of people in this
rouse who are walking day by day III
the sublime satisfaction that all is for
the best. all things working together for
good for the;r soul. How man can
get along through this life without the
explanation is to me mystery. What,
is that child gone forever? Are yor
never TO get it back? Is your property
gone forever? Is your soul to be bruised
I and to be tried forever? Have you 10
explanation. TO Christian explanation,
I and vet not a maniac: But when YOU
have the religion of Jesus Christ IN Your
soul. it explains everything SO far as it
is best for you 10 understand. You look
of in life. and Your SOIL IS full of thanks
giving to God that you are SO much bet
Ter off than you might BE-.
a man passed down lae street without
any shoes and said: i have no Shoes.
Isn't it hardship that have no shoes:
Other people have shoes; no shoes, nc
shoes" until he saw man who had nc
feet. Then ne learned a lesson. You
ought 10 thank God for what he does
instead of grumbling for what Ae does
not. God arranges all the weather II
this world-the spiritual weather, the
moral weather as we'll as the natural
weather. What kind of weather viii
it be today said some one to farmer
The farmer replied. 1T will be such
weather as like" What do you mear
by that asked the other well, salc
the farmer. 1T will be such weather as
pleases the Lord, and what pleases the
Lord pleases me
Oh, the sunshine. the sunshine o:
Christian explanation. Here is some
one bending over the grave of the dead
What is going to be the consolation
The flowers you strew upon the tomb
Oh, no, The services read at the grave
Oh, no. The chief consolation on thai
grave is what falls from the throne O.
God. Sunshine, glorious sunshine. Res
! direction sunshine.
Again, ind great deal of the sun
shine of this Bible and Of our religion II
the climacteric joys that are 70 come. z
man who gets up and goes out from
concert right after the opening volun
tary has been played, and before th'
prima donna sings, or before the orches
ira begins, has better idea Of that con
cert than that man has who suppose
that the chief joys Of religion are in thu
world. We here have only the first not
of the eternal orchestra. We shall Il
that world have the JOY of discovery
Il