Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1901-01-05

great cost to somebody. These bless
ings and comforts nave come to us
through the tolls and tears, through the
sorrows and sacrifices, through the ef-
forts and energies Of those who have
lived before us. This is seen in every
department of life.
In the Material and Industrial World.
I'm the houses we live in, In the sane
tuaries we worship in, in the clothes
we wear, in the food we eat.
Our forefathers had to contend with
the forests and the deserts; but they
have left us our fruitful fields and our
comfortable homes. How they had to
struggle to secure what we now possess
and enjoy! They toiled hard when they
laid the foundation for our modern civ
ilization. Every achievement in sci
ence, every invention and discovery in
the material world Is a monument to
the faithful labors Of those who have
lived in the past.
In the Civil and Political World.--As
we rest serenely under the American
flag; enjoying the blessings of liberty
and good government, our minds ought
to go back, occasionally, at least, to the
trials and conflicts through which our
forefathers had to pass in achieving
these blessings for US. How they had
liarly trying circumstances! How they
had to contend with the elements in ma
ture! How they left their humble
homes, their loved ones exposed fire.
qIently to the enemy and the hard
ships which were characteristic Of those
times! How many Of them poured out
their life-blood on the battlefield,
How they all consecrated themselv-
es and all they had upon their
country's altar! They had to do all
this. in order that their posterity and
succeeding generations in this country
might inherit the blessings of COOL
government and be free from the tyr
any which had so oppressed them.
In the Educational World.-The log
school house which served it's purpose
nobly in it's day and generation has
been replaced by the beautiful acad-
emy, or graded school building; and
colleges and universities are scattered
all over our country. The blue-back
spelling book which in its day was one
Of the greatest blessings ever bestowed
on the human race, after holding Its
grasp on the human mind for so long
time, has paved the way for some
thing better.
See how the appliances in the school,
room have been improveda and multiplied;
How the methods Of teaching have
been advanced! How the opportunities
for getting an education have been in
creased! How the facilities for diffus-
ing good literature have been multi
plied
Every school house, every good book,
every appliance in the school room, ev-
cry printing press,-they all remind US
Of our Indebtedness to the past; for
they all come to us as rich blessings
from those who have labored in the
past.
Especially in the Religious World
All the accumulated blessings Of relig-
ion which we enjoy, come down to US
through the tolls and sacrifices of those
who have lived in the past. We have
in our possession all the achievements
Of past generations. We are enjoying
today the fruits of the labors of all the
good people who have lived before US.
Their works do follow them" Bless
ed are the sainted dead: They are
blessed in that they have blessed us
through their faithful labors. They
sowed the good seed, and we are reap
ing the harvest Of their wise and judi
cious sowing.
How precious these treasures are
which have come down to us through
the past! How costly they are! Oh,
how those faithful ones who have gone
before us had to strive and struggle in
order to achieve, conserve, and trans
NIT to us the blessings we now enjoy
in the Kingdom Of God! They were
prosecuted; they were tortured; they
were imprisoned; theywere slain. They
had to pass through all Of these expert
ences in order to hand down to us the
priceless blessings which we possess
and enjoy.
And when we survey the life and
work Of our divine Lord and Savior,
we see this truth reaching the very cli-
max Of its realization. See how he
had to pas1 through the exhaustive
sufferings OF the garden and the cross;
how he sweat great drops Of blood; how
he drank the very dregs of that cup Of
intense suffering! He endured all this
in order to secure for us and transmit
to us the inestimable blessings Of the
gospel. Oh, how Jesus toiled and suf-
fered for us! And it was willing sac
riflce on his part. He preferred the
garden of Gethsemane to the paradise
of God he preferred the cross of CAL
vary to the throne of heaven he pre-
ferred the SCOTS and maledictions of a
wicked and gain-saying world to the
admiration and homage of the intelli-
gent hosts of heaven. For it was only
in this way that he could secure for US
the blessings Of eternal life. These
blessings come to us at infinite cost.
When we contemplate these priceless
treasures which come to us at such
great cost and sacrifice; which have
come to us through the sufferings and
death of our blessed Redeemer, and
through the lives and death of his dis
ciples; which are baptized with the
80 !, ov-ff IIya
something like David did when the
three brave men brought him water
from the we'll by the gate Of Bethlehem,
having cut through the line Of the Phil
istines in order to get the water to him.
David was so impressed with the
bravery Of these men and the danger
to which they had exposed themselves,
that he would not drink the water
which they had brought; but he pour
ed it forth as an offering to the Lord.
He said: BE 1t far from me, o Lord.
that I should do this. Shall drink the
blood Of the men that went In jeopardy
Of their lives?" Even though he was
so thirsty, this water was too sacred
and it came at too great cost for him
to drink it. 1t could be properly used
only as an Offering to the Lord.
AS we sit here today and contem-
plate the unnumbered and priceless
blessings which have come to us as an
heritage through the tolls and tears,
the sacrifices and sufferings Of our faith
ers. may the Lord help us to appreciate
properly these blessings, and, at the
Saline time, to realize our indebtedness
to the past. "Thou mayest add there
to-"
II. THE WORK OF OUR FATHERS COME
TO US AS A SACRED TRUST.
Our fathers toiled and struggled
they laid the foundation for our work
and made it possible. We are not only
to conserve what has already been
achieved; but we are to add TO II.
And thou mayest add thereto" This
is to be done in view of our connection
with the future. THE only sure way
Of getting rid of past is by getting
future out of it," We are to turn our
eyes to the future as we'll as to the