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THE WEEKLY LEDGER; GAFFNEY, S. C., OCTOBER 3, 1895.1 COD'S WAY OF WORK. IT l& NOT MAN S WAY, E'JT IT IS ^ THii 0»ST WAY. I»r Tn'iPftcr** Cloqaent I'lfa Foi Clirtfltldn S<rf»tr^ein He Ustn Gi»Ieon*t Unttle m% a Lcrsou—I'olnted tjuttiions ter Meu ami Women. Niw York, Sciit. 20.—In his sermou for todny Kov. Dr. Taluiiigo discusses u subject which is of special interest tc Sunday school teachers and scholars at Ihe present time, being Gideon's battle With the Midiamtes near Mount Gilbna. The text chosen was •ludgos vii, 20, 21: "And the three companies blow the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and h«ld the lam^s in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands to blow Withal. And they stood every man in his place round about the camp, and all flie host rau and cried and tied.” That is the strangest battle over fought. God had told Gideon to go down and thrush tho Midiauitos, but his army ia too large, for the glory must be given to God and not toman. And so proclamation is made that all those of ♦hi troops who are cowardly and want to go homo may go, and 22,000 of them Scampered away, leaving only 10,000 men. But God says tho army is too large yet, and so ho orders these 10,000 ramaiaiug to march down through a Stream and commands Gideon to notice Is what manner these men drink of the Watir au they pass through it. If they git down on all fours and drink, then +•7 ire to be pronounced lazy and iu- eompatent for the campaign, but if, in giMing through the stream, they scoop *p the water in tho palm of their hand And drink and pass on they aro to be the men selected for tho battle. Well, tbe 10,000 men marched down in the stream, and the most of thorn •ome down on all fours and plnngo their fcicutks like a horse or an ox into tho Water and drink, but there are 300 men Who, imfead of stooping, just dip the t lw of their hands in the water and ing it to their lips, “lapping it as n #C|g lappeth. ” Those 300 brisk, rapid, •athusiastic men aro chosen for tho gsoupaign. They aro each to take a trumpet in tho right hand, and a pitcher in the left hand, and a lamp inside the pitebtr, and tin u at a given signal they we to blow the trumpets, and throw down the pitchers, and hold up the kuniw. fc?o it was done. It is night. I see a groat host of Mid- ianites sound asleep in the valley of Jescree 1. Gideon comes up with his 300 pick*d men, and when everything is ready tho signal is given, and they blow the trumpets, and they throw down the pitchers, and hold up the lamps, and Ihe great host of Midiauites, waking •tt of a sound sleep, take tho crash of the crockery and tho glare of the lamps for the coming on of an overwhelming foe, and they mu and cut themselves lo pieces and horribly perish. The lessons of this subject are very spirited and impressive. This seeming ly valueless lump of quartz has the pure gold in it. The smallest dewdrop on the meadow at night has a star sleejiing in its bosom, and the most in significant passage of Scripture baa in it a shining truth. God’s mint coins no small change. I learn in the first place from this sub- Bct the lawfulness of Christian strata- joiu. You know very well that the i ireatest victories ever gained by Wash- ; mgtou or Napoleon were gained through the fact that they came when and in a way they were ot expected—sometimes Call ing back to draw out tho foe, some times breaking out from ambush, some time:* crossing a river on unheard of rafts, all the time keeping the opposing forces in wundemieut as to what would be' done next. You all know what strategy is in mil itary affairs. Now I think it is high time we had this art sanctified and spir itualized. In the church, when wo aro ■bout to muko a Christian assault, wo ■end word to the opposing force when we expect to come, how many troops we have, and how many rounds of shot, and whether wo will come with artil lery, infantry or cavalry, and of course We aro defeated. There aro thousands of men who niiulit be surprised iuto the kingdom of God. Wo need more tact and ingenuity in Christian work. It is in spiritual affairs as in military, that luccess depends in attacking that part of the castlo which is not armed and intrenched. Draw the Bolt. For instance, hero is a man all armed on the doctrine of election. All hie troops of argument and prejudice are at that particular gate. You may batter away at that side of tho castle for 6f> years, and you will net take it, bnt Just Wheel your troops to the side gate of the heart’s affections, and in five min- ntee you capture him. I never knew a man to be saved through a brilliant ar- E uncut. Yon cannot hook men into the ngdom of God by the horns of a di lemma. There is no grace in syllogisms. Here is a man aimed on tho subject of berseverauce of tho saints. Ho does not believe in it Attack bimat that point, and he will persevero to the very last in hot bcliovmg it. Hero is a man armed on the subject of baptism. He believe! h> sprinkling or immersion. All your Wwusaiou of ecclesiastical hydropathy Vill not change him. 1 remember when I was a boy that with other boys 1 went Into the river on u summer day to bathe, Rnd we used to dash water on each oth* Hr, bnt never got any result except that bur eyes were blinded, and all tbil Ipiasbiug of water between Baptists tod Pedobaptists never results In any thing but the blorrirg of the spiritual eyesight. In other words, yon cun uevar capture a tnuu’u soul at tho point at Which he is especially intrenched. But there is in every man's heart a bolt that Uan to ooa.ly shoved. A little child 4 years old may touch that bolt, and It Will spring back, and the dour will ■Wing ojicii, ami Christ will come in. 1 think that the Uuest of all tbe hue art* is the art of doing good, and yet rnm «ui ia tua mmmi wunuiwu. Yt« L»vs In the kingdom of God today enough troops lo conquer tho whole earth for Christ if weonly hud skillful maneuver ing. I would rather have tho 300 lamps and pitchers of Christian stratagem than 100,000 drawn swords of literary and ccolesiastGal combat. Hope In a Few. I learn from this subject also that a small part of the army of God will have to do all the hard lighting, (aid- eon’s army was originally composed of 82,000 meu, but they went off until there were only 10,000 left, and that was subtracted from until there were only 300. It is the same in all ages of the Clnistian church. A few men have ! to do the hard lighting. Take a mem bership of 1,000, and you generally find that 60 people do the work. Take a membership of 600, and you generally find that ten people do the work. There aro scores of churches where two or three people do tho work. Wo mourn that there is so much use less lumber in the mountains of Leban on. 1 think of the 10,000,000 member ship of tho Christian church today if 6,000,000 of tho names were off tho books the church would ho stronger. You know that tho more cowards and drones there aro in any army tho weaker it is. I would rather have tho 300 picked meu of Gideon than the 32,000 unsifted host. How many Christians there are standing in the way of all progress! I think it is the duty of thochurchof God to ride over them, and tho quicker it does it the quicker it does its duty. Do not worry, O Christian, if you have to do more than your share of tho work. You had better thunk God that he has called you to bo one of t' n picked men rather than to belong to the host of stragglers. Would not yon rather be one of the 300 that fight than the 22,- OOOl that run? I suppose those cowardly Gideonites who went off congratulated themselves. They said: “We got rid of all that fighting, did not wo? How lucky wo have been ! That baltlo costs us nothing at all.” But they got none of tho spoils of the victory. After tho battle the 300 men went down and took tbe wealth of the Midianites, and out of the cups and platters of their enemies they feasted. And the time will come, my dear brethren, when tho hosts of darkness will bo routed, and Christ will say to his troops: “Well done, my bravo men. Go up and take tho spoils. Do more than conquerors forever.” And in that day nil deserters will bo shot. Again, I learn from this subject that God’s way is different from man’s, bnt is always tbe best way. If wo bad tho planning of that battle, wo would have taken those 82,000 men that originally belonged to tho army, and wo would have drilled them and marched them up and down by the day and week and ! month, and we would have bud them ' equipped with swords or spears, accord ing to tho way of arming in those times, and then we would have marched them down in solid column upon tho foe. But that is not tbe way. God depletes tho army, and takes away all their weapons, and gives them a lamp, and a pitcher, and a trumpet, and tells them to go down and drive out the Midian ites. I suppose some Wiseacres were there who said: “That is not military tactics. The idea of 300 men unarmed conquering such u gre .t host of Midian ites!” It was tho best way. Wh: sword, spear or cannon ever accomplish ed such a victory as the lamp, pitcher and trumpet? God’s way is different from man’s way, but it is always best. Take, for instance, the composition of tbe Bible. If we bad had tho writing of tho Bible, we would have said: “Let one man write it. If you have 20 or 30 meu to write a poem, or make a statute, or write a history, or make an argument, there will bo flaws and contradictions.” But God says, “Let not one man do it, but. 40 men shall do it. ” And they did, differing (iiough to show there bad been no collusion between them, but not contradicting each other on any impor tant point, while they all wrote from their own standpoint and temperament, so that tho matter of fact man has his Moses, the romantic nature his Ezekiel, tho epigrammatic his Solomon, the war rior his Jos un, the sailor his Jonah, the loving ! ns John, tho logician his Paul. Inste id of this Biblo, which now I can lift in my hand—instead of tho Biblo the child can carry to Sunday school, instead of tho little Bible tho sailor can put in his jacket when ho goes to sea—if it had been left to men to write it would have been a thousand volumes, judging from tho amount of ecclesiastical controversy which has arisen. God’s way is different from man’s, but it is best, infinitely best. No CroM, No Crown. So it is in regard to the Christian’s life. If we had hud the planning of ft Christian’s life, we would have said: "Lot him have 80 years of sunshine, a fine house to live in. Let his surround ings all bo agreeable. Let him have sound health. Let no chill shiver through his limbs, no pain ache his brow or trouble shadow his soul.” I enjoy tho prosperity of others so much 1 would let every man have us much money ns he wants and roses for his children’s cheeks and fountains of gladness glancing in their large round eyes. But that is not God’s way. It seem* ns if man must be cut and hit and pounded Just in proportion us ho is use ful. His child falls from a third story window and has its life dashed out. His tnost coufidout investment tumbles him into bankruptcy. His friends, on whom ho depended, aid the natural force of r xnvitutiou in taking him down. His ife is n Bull Run defeat. Instead of 88,000 advantages ho has only 10,000. Aye, only BOO—nyo, none nt all. How many good people there are at their wits’ end about their livelihood, about their reputation? Bnt they will find out it is tho beet way after while. God will show them that he deplete# tfenir advantages just for tho same reason he depleted tho army of Gideon—that they may lie induced to throw themselves on his mercy. A grapevine says in the early spring: "Sww gitut I Miu iw gvt liuvugi* Ui# winter 1 I shall have no more trouble now. Summer weather will come, and the garden will be veiy beautiful. ” But tho gardener cnincs and cuts the vine hero and there with his knife. Tho twigs begin to fall, and the grapevine cries out: “Murder! What aro you cut ting me for?” “Ah,” says the garden er, “I don't mean to kill you. If I did not do (bis, you would bo the laughing stock of all the other vines before the season is over.” Months go on, and one day the gardener comes under the trel lis, where great clusters of grapes hang, and the grapevine says: “Thank you, sir. You could not have dnue anything so kind as to have cut mo with that knife.” “Whom tho Lord loveth ho chastenoth.” No pruning, no grapes; no grinding mill, no flour; no battle, no victory; no cross, no crown. So God’s way, in tho redemption of tho world, is different fiom ours. If we had our way, wo would have had Jesus stand in tho door of heaven and beckon tbe nations up to light, or wo would have lied angels flying around the earth proclaiming the unsearchable riches of Christ. Why is it that the cause goes ou so slowly? Why is it that the chains stay on when God could knock them off ? Why do thrones of despotism stand when God could so easily demolish them? It is bis way in onler that all generations may co-operate and that all men may know they cannot do tho work thenieelves. Just in proportion as these pyramids of sin go up in height will they come down in ghastliness of ruin. O thou father of all iniquity! If thou canst hear my voice above the crackling of the flames, drive on - thy projects, dispatch thy emissaries, build thy temples aud forge thy chains, but kuow that thy fall from heaven was noi greater than thy final overthrow shall bo when thou shalt bo driven disarmed into thy fieiy den, and for every lie thou hast framed upon earth thou shalt have un additional hell of fury poured into thiuo anguish by the vengeance of our God, and all heaven shall shout at tho overthrow, as from tbe ransomed earth the song breaks through the skies: “Halleluiah, for the Lord God omnipo tent reigneth ! Halleluiah, for tho king doms of tins world have become the kingdoms of our Lord Jesus Christ!” God’s way in the composition of tbe Bible, God’s way in the Christian’s life, God’s way in tbe redemption of the w orld, God’s way in everything—differ ent from man’s way, but tho best. I learn from this subject that the overthrow of God’s enemies will be sudden and terrific. There is the army of tho Midianites down in the valley of Jczreel. I suppose their mighty men are dreaming of victory. Mount Gilboa never stood sentinel for so large a host. Tho spears and tho shields of the Mid ianites gleam in the moonlight and glance on the eye of tho Israelites, who hover like a battle of eagles, ready to swoop from the cliff. Sleep on, O army of the Midianites! With the night to hide thorn and the mountain to guard them and strong arms to defend them, let no slumbering fooman dream of dis aster. Peace to the captains and the spearmen. Crash go the pitchers! Up flare tho i lamps! To he mountains! Fly, fly! Troop rnnni”g against troop, thousands ' trampling upon thousands. Hark to the j scream and groan of tho routed foe, ! with the Lad God Almighty after them! How sudden tho onset! How wild the con teruation! How utter the defeat! I do not care so much what is against mo if God is not. You want a better sword or carbine than I have ever seen to go out aud fight against the Lord Omnipotent. Give me God for my ally, and yon may have all the battle ments and battalions. Ho|i«l«ss Fighters. I saw tbe defrauder in his splendid house. It seemed as if be bud conquered God as be stood amid tho blaze of chandeliers and pier mirrors. In the diamonds of the wardrobe I saw the tears of the widows whom be had rob bed and in the snowy satin tho pallor of the white cheeked orphans whom he had wronged. The blood of the oppressed glowed in the deep crimson of the im ported chair. The music trembled with the sorrow of unrequited toil. But the wave of mirth dashed higher on reefs of coral and pearl. The days aud the nights went merrily. No sick child dared pull that silver doorbell. No beg gar dared sit ou that marble step. No voice of prayer floated amid that ta pestry. No shadow of a judgment day darkened that fresco. No tear of human sympathy dropped upon that upholstery. Pomp strutted the hull, and dissipation filled her cup, aud all seemed safe as tho Midianites in the valley of Jezreel. But God came. Calamity smote the money market. The partridge left its eggs unhatched. Crush went all the porcelain pitchers! Ruin, rout, dismay and woe in tho valley of Jezreel! Alas for those who fight against God I Only two sides. Man immortal, which side aro you on? Woman •immortal, which side are you on? Do you belong to tho 300 that are going to win the day or to the great host of Midianites asleep in tho ralloy, only to be roused up in consternation and miu? Suddenly the golden bowl of life will be broken and the trumpet blown that will startle our •onl into eternity. Tho day of the l^ord comoth ns a thief in the night and us Ihe God armed Israelites upon the sleeping foe. Ha! Cuust thou pluck up Courage for the day when the trumpet which hath never teen blown shall epeak the roll cull of the dead, and the earth, dashing against a lost meteor, have its mountains scattered to tiitf Itars aud oceans emptied In the airf Oh, then whut will become of you? Wbut will become of me? If those Midianites had only given up their swords the day before the disaster, all would bare been well, and if you Will now surrender the sins with which yon have been lighting against God you Will bo rufe. Oh, make peace with him now, tbiough Jesus Christ the Lord! With tin clutch of a drowning man mize the cross. Oh, surrender I Surren der! Christ, with his hand on his ymived 1 iiu*, MMa jruii Uk Maltlre's Idea of Fan. The boyish delight of the Prussian generals at reaching P ris is shown in the story of a carouse lie I at Forr eres, near Me; nx, told in a b whicl r of Gctieial was wiMteu in Verdydu Vcrnoi 18 TO*: “Yet onlay was such a fatiguing day, but lively and agreeable. At 4 King William gave a grand banquet. His majesty know that we bad to dine nt (1 with tho head of the staff aud congratu lated ns on our grandiose appetite. At 0 sharp I got away from the royal dinner to be punctual to tho miuute at the other ono. Given the circumstances, it was a feast fur Lucullus. Bismarck, Roon and their suites had already come. Westaid at table from 0 till 10. Moltke then set up whist tables. As the punch was delicious, we all staid till 1 in tho morning. Bismarck told a lot of funny stories, and none funnier than his account of Jules Favre’s interview aud the intormiuablo speeches of that French envoy. One might fancy oneself, Bis marck said, at a public meeting when ho talked. “They read us some verses that he was sending to Germany. In conse quence of his dropping a line, the ef fect was fo tho last degreo comic. We all went off into roars of laughter—one of us lay flat on tho table, another skip ped round it, and Multke showed his sense of comicality by steeping bits of bread in bis full wineglass and throw ing them in our faces. This dinuer took place in a small chateau belonging to an aristocratic old French lady, fche did the honors of her house in a courtly, old fashioned style, bnt slio spoke uo other language but French. The dinuer went off so well that our'host felt ho must thank the old lady. Unfortunately he knew no French. His enthusiasm was aroused by the moonlight that poured down on a terrace whore wo took coffee. He went to the marquise, and mustering what words of French ho knew took her tenderly by tbe hand, and pointing to tho waning moon said, ‘Foyez, mudaine, quel joli denii monde. ’ ” A Sauioycd Feast. When I returned in the afternoon to the ehoom in a driving storm of sleet. I found Vassili aud his wife in great fettle. Ho had killed a deer in the morn ing, and they had been indulging in on« of their big feeds. In fact, as I sledged up to the ehoom ho and bis wife were only just concluding u three hours’ feast. Squatting on skins, they had a rough piece of plank in front of them on which lay the stomach of a reindeer. This was almost full of blood, drained from the deer—in fact, it formed their soup tu reen. They each had a hind leg, ou which some of the hide still remained, and cutting off chunks of the meat were dipping them in the crimson soup and then greedily swallowing tho bonne bouche. As a fitting background to the pic ture pieces of the carcass, still dripping with blood, bung all round tho interior of tho ehoom. Ou tho ground were small, dark*' pools of b'o id, and my sleeping bag, though as well out t f tho way as tho size of tho interior would al low, was well sprinkled with tho same natural dye. As they sat there grinning a welcome to me, with their cheeks and brows all smeared with goie, they look ed for all tho world like tho blood eat ing ghouls of one’s childish fancy.— F. G. Jackson’s “Tho Groat Frozen Laud.” Lived Under Every Freidricnt. An event of great interest was cele brated in the village of Fayetteville Friday, when Peter Johnson reached tho one hundredth anniversary of his birth. Mr. Johnson has lived under all the presidents of the United States, be ing born when Washington had served six years in that office. His first vote was cast fur James Monroe, and he has voted tor every president since thou. Mr. Johnson’s mind is clear, and ho is in good health, fcixty descendants as sembled on Aug. 10 in his honor. His wife is 8? years of ago, and they liavo been married 04 years. Mr. Johnson’s first Wife died, and in 1831 ho married Eliza A. Perry of Rome, who was born in 1809. There aro five children living, and tho grandchildren aro 22 in nuui her, and the great-grandchildren aro 26, tho eldest being 4 years old. Mr. John son is able to walk supported by two cuues. His recollections of early times mo very interesting, and bo remembers historical events of 80 years ago easily. —Utica Press. The Discovery Saved His Life. Mr. G. Gaillouette, Druggist, Bcnversville, III., says; “To Dr. King’s New discovery I owe my life. Was taken with I.a Grippe and tried all the physicians for miles about, but of no avail and was given up and told I could not live. Having Dr. King’s New Discovery in my store I sent for a bottle and begun its use and from the first dose began to get better, and after using three bottles I was up and about again. II is worth its weight in gold. We won’t keep store or bouse without it." Get a Et iz Known Cy I ts Cures It b r.:t what V2 say. tut what Hood s Sarsaparilla docs, that tchs the story of Its merit. Tlio thousands of ; vopl# whom it b** ra.ied from dlecaaaa d despair to happi* no•.« and health, are the suong-ct and best adverlleementa Hood’a Sarsaparilla baa. No other preparation in axlatence hsi inch a record of wonderful curea. Thi’ !i why Hood’a Sarsaparilla has th« lr."seat sale, and requires for Ita produc- ihe largest laboratory in the world. Now if you need a good medicine, why not try that which hna dona othcra bo much good. Remember snood’s £ u saparilSa 8s the Only Tm® B!oe£ Purifier Prominently In the pnb’de eye. $1; six for|6 r. s. Insurance and Real Estate Aft, Merchandise Broker And Dealer ia The Celebrated No. 9 Weheler & Wilson Sewing flachin#*. Needles and attachments for all different makes of machined. MP^Offiee over R. A. Jones’ «tor*. licud's Piib net Vamonluusly wVb Hood'fc It’s the Talk Based on facts that your dollar will buy more Groceries at Webster’s than at any other store in town. My stock of Fine Candies is up-to-date. Yours for business. W. M. Weoster, Jr. July 19, 1895. A Wise Investment. A policy of insurance in such com panies as the .Etna, Home, Hartford, American Fire and FennaylvanU protect your home and busiuesa from loss and damage by fire is a wiao 1»- vestment. I shall be glad to furnish such pro tection at any time. Call before la« suring. o. «rrAc:v. PROOF Com Whiskey, )0( I WILL furnish 100 proof Cox» * Whiskey in quantities of 4 gallons and 3 quarts at $1.40 per gallon and upwards. Address, J. P. DELLINGER, Dellingers, N. C. Turnip Seed*! Fine Assortment!!! W. B. DuPRE, Plione 21, CLilI 47—2 IdinifM. VV O RT« Looking into V f J. N. LIPSCOMB WILL SHOW YOY THE SHOe**™* Policy. A*iG IY C Y0 U AN OPP0l\TUN> Tty ot looking im I* ■ ■■ , f ■ 4%. m ■ uw m9 ® » uTtfJCt. I WILL CLOSE OUT THE ENTIR* remnant of my stock of Straw Hats, Ladies’ Oxford ties and Summer Dress Goods an pricoe lower than you have ever had. The best line of saddles in town, just opened up, at pricoe from $3.50 to $15. A big lot of double and single barrel Shot Guns, Pistols of all makes. Cartridges of all kinds and calibres always on hand. Respectfully, J. N. Lipscomb. All goods delivered in town. i free trial bottles at W. B. Dul’re’s Drug Store*. L. BAKER. COnMCM AND BUILDER. \\ ill (lo any class ot carpen- ter work promptly and at prices to suit the <|wality, and always keeps on hand flooring, ceiling, siding, sash, doors, etc. A Iso a good supply of heart pine shin gles at market price. \\ ill also make out bills for building ma terial for parties who desire it d till the same for a small per it. (livo me a trial. Respect fully, I-,. IliiIter, LIMESTONE * SPRINGS * LIME * I0RI1, CARROLL & CO., Lessees. Manufacturers of—— BUILDING, *.... * AND * AGRICULTURAL * And Dealers In Coal, Shingles, Laths and Plaster Hair. Dymamite, Blasting Powder, Fuse and Dynamite Caps. LIU, Cut Prices At J. I. Sarratts. I .\M now offering my entire stock at prices that will sell to anyon* wanting goods. Gents' low cut shoes SOe, Ladies (>0c, ( hilds eO# and up. Men’s suits, now goods and up, 1 ’ants 4oc and up. (••f- fee Gibs for fl. Sugar Rice, Tea, Lard, Meat. Flour, and Tobacee M BOTTOM PRICES. California Hams Sc. Dove brand He. Monwil* tools, such as Shovels, Spades, Mattocks. Ricks, Ac., cheaper than one in town. A few Straw Hats left at New York cost. Gent # •hill* IGjjc and up, Suspenders 5c and up. Give me a call when in U>w*. Respectfully, J-