Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1893-03-09
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yourself. In commercial life you havs
rot had the promotion and the increase
in salary you anticipated, or the place
you expected to occupy in the firm has
not been vacated. TIE produce Of the
farm, with which you expected to sup
port yourself and those depending On
YOU, and to pay the interest on the
mortgage. has been far less thap you ar
ticipated, or the prices were down, or
special expenses for sickness made
drafts on your resources that you
could not have expected
In some respects the hardest decade OF
life is the thirties, because the results
are generally so far behind the antlclpa-
tions 1t is very rare indeed that a
Young man does as did the young man
last Sunday night when he came to me
and said. Il have been so marvelously
prospered since came to this country
that feel, as a matter of gratitude, mat
| ought to dedicate myself to God.
Nine-tenths of the poetry of life has
been knocked ou, of you since you came
into the thirties. Men in the different
professions and occupations saw that
you were rising and they must ppt an
estoppel on you OF you might somehow
stand in the way They think yon must
be suppressed.
Fro,s, so 70 30 IL Is an especially hard
time for young doctors, young lawyers
Young merchants. young farmers. young
mechanics, young ministers. The ssrug-
Gle of the thirtieS is for honest and help
ful and remunerative recognition. But
few old people know how to treat young
people without patronizing them on the
one hand or sap5hing them on the other
Oh the thirl;es. Joseph stood before
Pharaoh at 30 David was 80 years old
when he began TO reign The height OF
So!omons temple was 50 cubits Christ
entered upon his active ministry at 81
wears OF age Judas sold him fer 80
pieces of silver
Oh. the thirdes What a word. SIG
eestive Of triumph or disaster, Your dec.
ade is the one that will probably afford
the greatest opportunity for victory, be
cause there is the greatest necessity io'
struggle Read the wo-ld's history an"
know what are the thir,ies for good OF
bad Alexander the Great closed his ca
ree- at SO Frederick the Great mace
Europe trembe with his armies at %.
Cortes conquered Mexico at so Ora ~
fought Shiloh and Donelson when -.
Raphael died at % Luther WAS the hHr1
OF the reformation at 35. Sir Philip sgd
ney got through by 32
The greatest deeds for God and against
him were Gone within the thirtles. aaG
your greatest battles are now and be
tween the time when you cease express
ing Your age by putting first figure -
and the time when you will cease ex-
pressing il by puttins first figure ''3-
As it is the greatest time of the struggle
adjure you. in Gods name and by God
grace. make it the greatest achievement
Nv PRAYER is for all those IN the ;reinen
dous crises of the thlrties. The fact is
that by the WAY YOU decide the present
decade of your history you decide all the
following decades
When was in Russia. was disap
pointed in not seeing the battlefield OF
Borodino Why was there fought such
battle at that small village: Il was :,
miles FROM Moscow Why that dea. er
ate strug@le. in which l25,0o0 French
men grappied with 100000 Russians ana
80 600 dead Frenchmen and $1,000 dead
Russians were left on tie field: It was
because the fate of Moscow the sacred
CITY of Russia was decided there--Ge-
cided 20 miles away And let ne tell
vou. people OF the th!rtles you are now
at the Borodlno whence Will reSound
its successes or It's moral disasters clear
on into the seventies if You live 10 the
threescore and ten of the text.
AT FORTY ,.4S KNOWS HIS WEAKNESS.
Next / accost the forties Yours is the
decade of discovery do not mean the
discovery Of the outside. bat the dl:'cpv-
cry Of Yourself No man knows hlIase!i
until he is 10 he overescmates or un
deresu1nares himself By that time ne
bas learned VIVA. he can do or what ne
canno. 90 He thought he had CONNER
ci..l genus enough to become nliillon-
aire. but now he is satisfied to maze a
living He thought he had
rhetorical power that would bring him
into the Cnited States senate: now he is
content If he can successfully argue a
common case before petit jury.
He thought he had medical skill that
would make him a Mott or a Crosse or 4
Willard Parker or Sims. now he finds
his sphere is that Of family physician.
prescribing tor the ordinary ailments
that a:flict our race He was sailing Oh
in a fog and could not take rcck )l.aS
but now Ii clears up enough to allow
him 10 find out his real latitude and
longitude. He has been climbing, but
now he has got TO the top of the hill, and
he takes long breath. BE is ha.f way
through the journey at least. and ne Is
in position 70 look backward or for
ward lie has more good sense than he
ever had He knows human nature. for
ne has been cheated often enough 10 see
the bad side Of i. and he has met 81
many gracious and kindly ana splendid
souls he also knows the good side Of il.
Now calm yourself Thank God foy
the past and deliberately set your com
pass for another voyage You have
chased enough thistledown You have
blown enough soap bubbles You have
seen the uns.tisfying nature of all earth
ly things. Open a new chapter with
God and the world This decade Of the
fortles ougb, 70 eclipse ali its predeces
sors in worship, in usefulness and in
happiness Forty is a great word in
the Bible Gods ancient people We're
40 years in the wilderness. Eli judged
Israel 40 years David and Solomon and
Jehoash reigned 40,years. When Joseph
visited his brethren, he was 10 years old.
Oh, this mountain top of the forties.
YOU have now The character yo@ VIII
probably have for all time and al eter.
ni;y God. by his grace, sometimes
changes man after the fotties. but aft
er that man never changes himself
Tell me. o men and women who are IN
the fortes. Your habits of thought and
life. and will tell you what you will
fo-ever be might make 4 mistake one,
IN I lsand times. but not more than
in tha. proportion.
Ny sermon next accosts the ffties.
How queer Ii looks when in writing your