The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-04-29

PresbvteraniSm. 1t was persecution tnat
gave our land first to civil liberty and after
ward to religious freedom. Yea. might go
farther back and say it was persecution that
gave the world the great salvation OF tne
gospel. The ribald mockery, the hungerlng
and thirsting, the unjust charge, the
icnominieus death, when all the force OF
hell's fury was hurled against the cross, was
the introduction of that religion which Is
vet to he the earth's deliverance and our
eternal salvation. The State sometimes said
TO the church, "COme. take my hand. and
will help you." What was the result? The
church went hack, and 1t lost its estate Of
holiness, and it became ineffective. At other
times the State said to the church, 81 will
crush you" What has been the result?
After the storms have spent their fury the
church, so far from having lost any OF Its
force, has increased and is worth infinitely
more after the assault than before. Read
all historv aud you will find that true. The
church is far more indebted to the opposition
Of civil government than to its approval.
The fires of the stake have only been the
torches which Christ held In His hand. oy
the light OF which the church has marched
to her present glorious position. In the
sound of racks and implements OF torture
hear the rumbfing of the gospel charlot.
The scaffolds of martyr,lom have been the
stairs by which the church mounted -,
Learn also from our subject that sin Will
come to exposure. Long. long ago had those
brothers sold Joseph into Egypt. They had
made the old father believe that his iayorite
child was dead. They had suppressed the
crime. and 1t was profound secret we'll kept
by the brothers. But suddenly the secret is
out. The old father hears that his son Is IN
Egypt, having been sold there by the malice
of his own brothers. How their cheeks must
have burned and their hearts sunk at the
flaming out of this long suppressed crime:
The smallest iniquity has thousand
tongues, and they will blab out exposure.
Saul was sent to destroy the Canaanites,
their sheep and their oxen, but when he got
down there among the pastures ne saw some
fine sheep and oxen too fat to Kill, SO ne
thought he would steal them. Nobody
would know It. BE drove these stolen
sheep and oxen toward home, put stopped
to report to the prophet how he had exc
cuted his mission when in the distance the
sheep began to bleat and the oxen to below.
The secret was out. and Samuel said to the
blushing and confused Saul: "What mean
eth the bleating of the sheep that hear and
the believing OF the cattle?" Ah, my hearer,
you cannot keep an iniquity still. At just
the wrong time the sheep will bleat and the
oxen will below. Achan cannot steal the
Babylonish garment without being stoned
to death, nor Arnold betray his country
without having his neck stretched. LOOK
over the police arrests. These thieves.
these burglars. these counterfeiters, these
highwaymen, these assass1ns, they all
thought they could bury their intquity
so deep down it would never come to res
direction. but there was some shoe that au-
swered to the print in the soil, some false
keys found in their possession, some bloody
knife that whispered Of the death. and the
public indignation and the anathema OF
outraged law hurled them into the dungeon
or hoisted them on the gallows.
Learn also from this subject that there is
An inseparable connection between all
events, however remote. The universe ls
only one thought Of God. Those things
which seemed fragmentary and isolated are
only different parts OF that great thought.
How far apart seemed these two eyents-Jo'
seph sold to the Arabian merchants and his
rulership OF Egypt-yet you see in what
mysterious way God connected the two into
one plan. So the events are linked together.
You who are aged men look back and group
together a thousand things in your life that
occe seemed isolated. One undivided chain
of events reaches from the garden OF Eden
to the cross Of Calvary, and thus up to the
kingdom Of heaven. There Is relation be-
tween the smallest insect that huns in the
summer air and the archangel on his throne.
God can trace direct ancestral line
from the blue jay that this spring will
build its nest in the tree behind the
house to some one of the flock OF birds
which. when Noah hoisted the ark's window,
with a whir and dash Of bright wings,
went out to sing over Mount Ararat The
tulips that bloom in the garden this spring
we're nursed by the snowf1akes. The farthest
star on one side OF the universe could not
look toward the farthest star on the other
side OF the universe and say, "You are no
relation to me-" for from that bright orb q
voice of light would ring across the heavens
responding, "Yes, yes, we are sisters Moth
ing in Gods universe swings at loose ends.
Accidents are only Gods way OF turning a
leaf in the book OF His eternal DEGREES. From
our cradleto our grave thcre Is q path all
marked out. Each event in our life Is con-
nected with every other event In our life.
Our losses NAV be the most direct road to
our gain. Our defeat and our victory are
twin brothers.
We also learn from this story the propriety
OF laying up for the future. During the
seven wears of plenty Joseph prepared for
the famine, and when 1t came he had a
crowded storehouse. The life Of most men
in worldly respect is divided into years OF
plenty and famine. 1t is seldom that any
man passes through life without at least
seven years Of plenty. During those seven
years your business bears rich harvest.
You scarcely know where all the money
comes from, 1t comes so fast. Every bargain
you make seems to turn into gold. You
contract few bad debts. You are astonished
more capital You wonder how men can be
content with a small business, gathering In
only few hundred dollars while you reap
your thousands. Those are the seven years
of plenty. Now Joseph has time to prepare
for the threatened famine, for to almost every
man there do come seven years OF famine
You will be sick, you will be unfortunate,
you will be defrauded, there will DO hard
times, you will be disappointed, and II you
have no storehouse upon which to fall
back you may be famine struck, We have
no admiration for this denying oneself all
personal comfort and luxury for tho mere
pleasure OF boarding up, this grasping,
grasping for the mere pleasure OF seeinl how
large pile you can get, this always being
poor because as soon as dollar comes In 1t
is sent out to see if 1t can find another dol
lar. so that it can carry 1t home on its back
We have contempt for all those things, but
there Is an intelligent and noble minded fore.
cast which we love to see in meE who have
families and kindred depending upon them
for the blessings of education and home.
God sends us to the insects for a lesson
which, while they do not stint themselves II
the present. do not forget their dutyt to fore
cast the future. go 20 the ant, thou slug
gard. Consider her ways, and be wise
which, having no guide, overseer or ruler.
provldeth her meat in the summer and gath
ereth her food in the harvest"
| Now tharn ara tw0 Uavs Of LAYING IN
| MONEY. One OF these Is to put 1t in stock
and deposit it in bank and invest 1t on bond
and mortgage. The other way to lay ul
money is giving 1t away. he Is the safest
who makes both OF these investments. There
are in this house men who II they lose every
dollar they have in the world would be mill.
ionaires for eternity. They made the spirit