Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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I Dr. Talmage’s Sermon. |TOl>A7*b DISCOURSE BY THM »BOOEDYB PREACEEB. Subject: “Gospel of the Weather.” Tixt: "Hath the rain a fatherf"—Job xxxviii28. This Book of Job has been the subject of unbounded theological wrangle. Men have made it the ring in which to display their ecclesiastical pugilism. Borne say that the Book of Job is a true history; others, that it is an allegory; others, that it is an epic poem: others, that it is a drama. Some say that Job lived eighteen hundred years be fore Christ, others say that he never lived at all. Some say that the author of this book was Job; others, David; others, Solomon. The discussion has landed some in blank in fidelity. Now, I have no trouble with the Books of Job or Revelation—the two most mysterious books in the Bible—because of a rule I adopted some years ago. I wade down into a Scripture passage as long as I can touch bottom, and when I can not then I wade out. I used to wade in until It was over my head and then I got drowned. I study a passage of Scripture so long as it is a comfort and help to my soul, but when tt becomes a perplexity and a spiritual up turning I quit. In other words, we ought to wade in up to our heart, but never wade in until it is over our head. No man should ever expect to swim across this great ocean of divine truth. I go down into that ocean as I go down into the Atlantic Ocean at East Hampton, Long Island, just far enough to bathe; then I come out. I nevei' had any idea that with my weak hand and foot I oould strike my way clear over to Liverpool. I suppose you understand your family genealogy. You know someting about your you ever studied the parentage of the show er, “Hath not the rain a father?” This ques tion is not asked by a poetaster or a scien tist, but by the head of the universe. To hum ble and to save Job God asks him fourteen questions: About the world’s architecture, about the refraction of the sun’s rays, about the tides, about the snow crystal, about the lightnings, and then He arraigns him with the interrogation of the text, “Hath the rain a father?’ "VV ith the scientific wonders of the rain I have nothing to do. A minister gets through with that kind of sermons within the first three years, and if he has piety enough he gets through with it in the first three months. A sermon has come to me to mean one word of four letters, “help!” You all kknow that the rain is not an orphan. You “"■|ow it is not cast out of the gates of heaven pundling. You would answer the ques- of my text in the affirmative, fely housed during the storm, you hear beating against the window pane. * ^}d it searching all the crevices of It first comes down in soli- B Y>g the dust, and then it . - r and angers the mountain opfWlttfees the traveler implore sneiter. know thau the rain is not an accident of H^ '-'^-ld's economy. You know itwas bora ot thecio^i Y ou know it was rocked in the cradle of the -^i nt i You know it was sung to sleep by the sto^-, Yoa-lm^h*. that it is a flying evangel from tr . earth. You know it is the gospefo*' weather. You know that God is its father. , If this be true, then how wicked is our murmuring about climatic changes. The first eleven Sabbaths after I entered the ministry it stormed. Through the week it was clear weather, but ou the Sabbaths the old country meetinghouse looked like Noah’s ark before it landed. A few drenched peo ple sat before a drenched pastor; but most of the farmers stayed at home and thanked Goi that what was bad for the church was good for the crops. I committed a good deal of sin in those days in denouncing the weather. Ministers of the Gospel sometimes fret about stormy Sabbaths or hot Sabbaths, or inclement Sabbaths. They forget the fact that the same God who ordained the Sabbath and sent forth his ministers to an nounce salvation also ordained the weather. “Hath the rain a father?’ which he could bring his army up soon enough to decide Waterloo for England, was it a mere accident? When Lord Byron took a piece of money and tossed it up to decide whether or not he should be affiance! to Miss Millbank, was it a mere accident which side of the money was up and which was down? When the Christian army was besiged at Baziers, and a drunken drummer came in at midnight and rang the alarm bell, not know ing what he was doing, but waking up the host in time to fight their enemies that mo ment arriving, was it was accident? When in cue of the Irish wars a starving mother, flying with her starving child, sank down and fainted on the rocks in the night and her hand fell on a warm bottle of milk, did that just happen so? God is either in the affairs ot men or our religion is worth noth ing at all, and you had better take it away from us, and instead of this Bible, which teaches the doctrine, give us a secular book, and let us, as the famous Mr. Fox, the mem ber of parliament, in his last hour, cry out: “Read me the eighth book of Virgil.” Oh! my frienos, let us rouse up to an ap preciation of the fact that all the affairs of our life are under a king’s command and un der a father’s watch. Alexander’s war horse, Bucephalus, would allow anybody to mount him when he was unharnessed, but as soon as they pat on that war horse, Bucepha lus, the saddle and trappings of the con queror he would allow no one but Alexander to touch him. And if a soulless horse could have so much pride in his owner, shall not we immortals exult in the fact that we are owned by a king? “Hath the rain a father?” Again my subject teaches me that God’s dealings with us are inexplicable. That was the original force of my text. The rain was a great mystery to the ancients. They could not understand how the water should get into the cloud, and getting there, how it should be suspended, or falling, why it should come down in drops. Modern science comes along and says there are two portions of air of different temperature, and they are charged with moisture, and the one portion of air decreases in temperature so the water may no longer be held m vapor, and it falls. AnS they tells us that some of the clouds that look to be only as large as a man’s hand, and to be almost quiet in the heavens, are S eat mountains of mist four thousand feet om base to top, and that they rush miles a minute. But after all the brilliant experiments of Dr. James Hutton, and Saussure, and other scientists, there is an infinite mystery about the rain. There is an ocean of the unfath omable in every raindrop, and God says to day as He said in the time of Job, “If you cannot understand one drop of rain, do not be surprised if My dealings with you are u»- expncaoie. crei ‘ am here is a man in mid life, consecrated to God, hard working, useful in every respect; who dies? Why does that old gossip, gad ding along the street about everybody’s busi ness but her own, have such good health, while the Christian mother, with a flock of little ones about her whom she is preparing for usefulness and for heaven—the mother who you think could n®t be spared au hour from that household—why does she lie down ana die with a cancer? Why does that man, selfish to the core, go on adding fortune to fortune, consuming everything on himself, continue to prosper, while that man, who has been giving ten per cent, of all his income to God and the church, goes into bankruptcy? Before we make stark fools of ourselves, let us stop pressing everlasting “whv.” Let us worship where'WP cannot understand. Let a man take thatStw^jnestion, “Why?” and follow iv. *^ r enough, anekmush it, and he will land in wretchedness ana perdition. We want in I our theology fewer interrogation marks an«J 1 more exclamation points. Heaven is the I place for explanation. Earth is Ihe place for ! ♦rust. If you cannot understand so minute a thing as a rainirop, how can you expect to understand God’s dealing's^ “Hath the rain a father?’ v ^ Again, my text makes me think thafs^ho rain of tears is of divine origin. Grei ^ clouds of trouble sometimes hover over us. They are black, and they are gorged, and they are thunderous. They are more por- tentious than Salvator or Claude ever painted—clouds of poverty, or persecution, or breavement. Tney hover over us, and they-get darker and blacker, and after awhile a ' - - - round, ana mere is a commingling oi tears, and God is the Father of the rain, the Lord, long suffering, merciful and gracious. In a religious assemblage a man arose and said: “I have been a very wicked man; I ’ broke my mother’s heart. I became an infi del, but I have seen my evil way, and I have ! surrendered my heart to God, but it is a grief that I never can get over that mv parent* should never have heard of my sal- . vation; I don’t know whether they are living or dead.” While he was yet standing in the audience a voice from the gallery said, “Oh. my sob, my son!” He looked up and he rec ognized her. It was Uis old mother. She had been praying for him a great many years, and when at the foot of the cross the prodigal son and the praying mother em braced each other, there was a rain, a tre mendous rain, of tears, and God was the Father of those tears. Oh, that God would break us down with a sense of our sin, and then lift us up with an appreciation of His mercy. Tears over our wasted life. Tears over a greived spirit. Tears over au in jured father. Oh, that God would move upon this audience with a great wave of re ligious emotion 1 ihe king of Carthage was dethroned. His people rebelled against him. He was driven into banishment. His wife and children were outrageously abused. Years went by, and the king of Carthage made many friends. He gathered up a great army. He marched again toward Car thage. Reaching the gates of Carthage the best men of the piace came out bare- footei and bareheaded and with ropes around their necks, crying for mercy. They said, “IVe abused you and we abused your family, but we cry for mercy.” The king of Carthage looked down upon the people from his chariot and said: “I came bl SABBATH SCHOOL. to bless, I didn’t come to destroy. You drove me out, but this day I pronounce pardon for all the people. Open the gates and let the army come in.” The king marched in and took the throne, and the people all shouted, “Long live the King!” My friends, you have driven the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of the church, away from your heart; you have been maltreating Him all these years; but He comes back to day. He stands in front of the gates of your soul. If you will only pray for His pardon He will meet you with His gracious spirit and He will say: “Thy sins and thine iniquities I will remember no more. Open wide the gate I will take the throne. My peace I give unto you.” And then, all through this audience, from the young and from the old, there will be a rain of tears, and God will be the fataer of that rair 1 TEMPERANCE. LITTLE BY LITTLE. Little by little all things grow. Plants and trees from the seed we sow; The beginning of life is under the ground. In darkness and silence all profound; Then a tiny shoot comes up to the light And the plant increases in beauty and might. Little by little bad habits grow; How they begin we scarcely know; A little wrong act, just one falsa word. One pleasant drink in the wine-cup stirred. Repeated once in a while and again, And lo! we are fast in a cruel caaln. Little by little good principles grow, Steady and sure, though sometimes slow; A little act done because it is right Soon comes to be choice—a real delight— Till our second nature it grows to be. And we walk in its light and liberty. Little by little our life wears on; Days, weeks and years, and the whole has _ u gone; The days are made up of minutes so small, To do our time work we have nead of all. Then carefully fill each tiny space, If you would have joy at the end of the race. —Temperance Banner^ ESFOIICED TiSHPERA.XC.3. Tli^gency of the railroad, companies in promotingf-t^niperance Is not generally ap preciated. Tftay employ 6S9,9121 persons, not counting those whomiine the coall and iron, make the rails or locomotives, o|- build the cars and carriages used By^the ( road. The INTERNATIONAL LESSON ! FOR JULY 20. Lesson Text: “Christ anti Nicotic, mus, John ill., 1-17— Golden Text: John Hi., lO— I Commentary. I 1. “There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the JewsT” Af ter the miracle at Cana Jesus tarried jn Ca pernaum a few days, and then went mp to Jerusalem to the Passover (chapter ii., 12, 13/; and there wrought miracles whichjcaused many in some sense to believe in Hiita; but Jesus did not readily believe in them, 'c r com mit Himself unto to them, for He kn< iw all men, and knew what was in man (c! lauter ii., 23-25). “Now there was a man’’ (I L. \ r .), and Jesus knew him and what was ir him! is “in- s in tpters most may ;crip- lii., a. ■sth lay be or in- — »» c*o XJ Mis name (according to Young) signifi nocent blood.” It is found three tir our lesson, and elsewhere only in cl vii., 50; xix., 39. He belonged to th religious sect among the Jews, and w hope that he was an exception to the tion given by the Saviour in Math. ^ 28. He was highly esteemed among man, for he was a member of their great council. 2. “The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto Him, Rabbi, we know that i Thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that 1 hou doest except God be with him.” See him now in the pres ence of Jesus, probably a sincere, u ' r ‘ ' religious man, but a man without John v., 12). As to nis body, he physically perfect; and as to his sou tellectual part, he may be compar perfect also; but as to his spirit, <Jr that which knows and enjoys and com muntf? with God, he is dead. But he is interested, and he is thoughtful and inquiring. He has seen some of the wonders wrought by Jesus, and he is persuadod that Jesus is no ordinary man. In fact he believes that God is with Him and has sent Him, and he wants to know Him better. 3. “Jesus answered and said unto him. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'’ Here is the second double verily, which we find twenty-five times in this gos^ pel, and only here. It is in chapter i., 51, and three times in our lesson (verses 3, 5, 11). It is literally “Amen, amen,” or “Truly, truly,” mid gives the greatest possible emphasis to the words spoken. “I say unto you” iaequal to the Old Testament expression “Thus saith the Lord,” for it is the same person who then spoke through the prophets that now speaks face to face with Nicodemus (see Rev. xxii., 6-16). Regardless of Nicodemus s flat tering words He sees the need of his heart, and at once tells him the only way b v which it can be met; he must be born from above (margin), or anew (R. V.). 4. “Nicodemus saith unto Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” This reply proves that Nicode mus is only a natural inf n; he does not un derstand spiritual things, they are foiishness unto him (I Cor. ii., 14). He has hot yet learned the A, B, C of true religion. 5. “Jesus answered. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born''of water and of the Spirit, he cannot en^or into the Kingdom of God.” Jesus no«' r ®[peat5 what He had said before, but enM’8 es Jhy explain ing that the new birth is 0 7 wa Ver and the Spirit. 6. “That which is -Jorn of the and that which born of tl Spirit.” If a rerson could be bj a natural way a dozen times he] near the kingdom, for ever sinned all, without exception sin, and are by nature chili’ (Rom. v., 12; Eph. ii., 3). 7. “Marvel not that 1 said must be born again.” WJ “must” there can be no othi therefore forever settled it not born from above is ex< kingdom. 8. “The wind bloweth and thou hearesfc the soui const not teil whence it con it goeth; so is every one t! Snirit.” The wind is His lesh is flesh, ne Spirit is ‘■fa again in vould be no ace Adam born in of wrath thee. Ye trod says He has bvery soul Ifrom the Qnick Lnnch and Sunstroke. American? in general are noted for the habit of fast eating, and New Yorkers in particular spare but a few minutes foi their midday meal. While this practice of quick lunches usually ends in some form of dyspepsia, there is another re sult far more serious. The best medical authorities agree that sunstroke is fai more frequent alter than before noon, and there are two good reasons for this. In the first place, the heat is most in tense during the early part of the after noon; and, secondly, after a meal the stomach and other organs of digestion are very much congested with blood. The internal organs being congested, the surface blood vessels are compara tively empty and the function of perspi ration is considerably interfered with. Sunstrock is apt to follow any interference with free perspiration, and th© process of digestion interferes by drawing ofl the blood from the skin to the stomach. A light lunch properly masticated and slowly eaten has but little effect in dis turbing the circulation, but a hasty meal, bolted and washed down by large draughts of water or coffee, necessitates increased exertion on the part of the di gestive apparatus, and a much larger supply of blood is needed to do the work. Business men are often heard to complain that in the afternoon they have a headache, that they cannot work so well, and that the heat seems to affect them more. The statement is correct; they do feel the heat more, and the rea son is because of the hurried, half-eaten lunch taken at noon. If business men would only learn that this pernicious hab it of rapid eating, especially in the mid dle of a hot day, exhausts their energi es and makes them liable to sunstroke or heat prostration in some form, they would save themselves money, comfort and health.—New York Mail and Express. me ^listeth, but laither tf tll3 floing The New South. Northern farmers were once apt to pity their Southern brethren for their neglect of good work, diversity of crops and other needs of good farming. But all this has changed materially. There are some of the finest, pure-bred herds of cattle in the South; fodder crops are be- ing grown; dairying is rapidly develop ing; the average product of crops is doubling and trebling; Southern farmers are out of debt to a large extent, and wealth is accumulating in the farmers’ hands. The New South is seen not only in the factories, the mines and the workshop but in the blooming cotton fields; the green clover meadows, pure bred cows, silos, and the greatly in creased products of the fields. —Ameri can Agriculturist. Wheat Growing From a Boy’s Head. A grain of wheat has sprouted iu the forehead of a five-year-old boy. On May 15, little Thomas Stretch, the son of miller Reeve A. Stretch, of Lower Alloway Creek township, was quite seriously injured by being caught in a belt at the mill, and would have been killed but for the promptness of his father in stopping the machinery. He has now almost recovered from the effects of the accident, but a few days ago a dark spot w’as noticed over his eye. It was carefully opened with a lance and found to be a grain of wheat which Four-Footed Guerillas. The Spanish conquest of Central America was achieved largely by dog- power. Balboa, the butcher Davila and all their successors kept brigades of trained mastiffs which more than once decided a battle by their ferocious cour age. The best breed came from Aragon, in old Spain, and the efficiency of that four-footed militia may be inferred from a recent episode in the Oklahoma prair ies. The Dalton brothers, after their robbery of the Santa Fe express, took refuge in the gullies of the Fox Indian Reservation aud would have escaped but for the pluck of three Spanish blood hounds who followed the track of the bandits across creeks and sandhills, and at last forced them to try conclusions with their pursuers. When the dogs had approached within eighty yards, the brigands opened fire, but the four-footed bailiffs contirued to advance, and, in their desperately wounded condition, kept the outlaws at bay till the contest was decided by the arrival of the mounted rangers.—New York Voice. Catarrh Can’t be Cured With local applications, as they cannot reach the seat of tne disease. Catarrh a blood or constitional disease, and in order to cure it you have to take internal remedies. Hall’s Catarrh Cure IS taken internally .and acts directly on the blood and mucous surfaces. Hall’s Catarrh Cure Is no quack medicine. It was prescribed by one of the best physicians in this country for years, aud is a regular prescription. It la composed of the best tonics known, combined with the best blood puritiers, acting directly on the mucous surfaces. The perfect combination of the two Ingredients is what produces such wonderful results in curing catarrh. Send for testimonials free. F. J. Cheney & Co., Props., Toedo, O. Bold by druggists, price <5c. FITS stopped free by Dr. Kunb’3 Great Nerve Hestorek. No fits after first day’s use. Marvelous cures. Treatise and trial bottle tree. Dr. Kline, D31 Arch St., Phiia., Pa. If afflicted with sore eyes use Dr.Isaac Thomp son’s Eye-water.Druggists sell at 25c.per bottle CWvaiutt ia*o - On the move —-Liver, Stomach, and Bowels, after Dr. Pierce’s Pleasant Pellets have done their work. It’s a healthy movement, too —a natural one. The organs are not forced into activity one day, to sink back into a worse state the next. They’re cleansed and regulated—mild ly and quietly, without wrench ing or griping. One tiny, sugar-coated Pellet is all that’s needed as a gentle laxative; three to four act as a cathar- the -w 1 Both the method and results when Syrup of Figs is taken; it is pleasant and refreshing to the taste, and acts gently yet promptly on the Kidneys^ Liver and Bowels, cleanses the sy» tem effectually, dispels colds, head, aches and fevers and cures habnunl constipation. Syrup of Figs is he only remedy of its kind ever ottv duced, pleasing to the taste and u> cep table to the stomach, pron.p'm its action and truly beneUcia. in ts effects, prepared only from the oust healthy and agreeable substance^ its many excellent qualities com mend it to all and have made it the most popular remedy known. Syrup ot Figs is for sale in 50b and SI bottles by all leading drug gists. Any reliable druggist who may not have it on hand will pro cure it promptly for any one 4>ho wishes to try it. Do not accept any substitute. . CALIFORNIA FIG SYRUP CO. SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. N0¥tSV/LL£, KV. NEW fOHK. #. t. ii 99 Mr. Lorenzo F. Sleeper is very well known to the citizens of Apple- ton, Me., and neighborhood. He says: “ Eight years ago I was taken “ sick, and suffered as no one but a “ dyspeptic can. I then began tak* “ ing August Flower. At that time “ I was a great sufferer. Every- “ thing I ate distressed me so that I “had to throw it up. Then in q “ few moments that horrid distress “ would come on and I would have “to eat and suffei For that Horrid Stomach Feeling. “again. I took a * ‘ little of your med- ‘ ‘ icine, and felt much “better, aud after “ taking a little more “ August Flower my “Dyspepsia disap- “peared, and since that time I “ nave never had the first sign of it. “lean eat anything without the “ least fear of distress. I wish all “ that are afflicted with that terrible “disease or the troubles caused by it would try August Flower, as 1