The ledger. [volume] (Gaffney City, S.C.) 1896-1907, March 24, 1898, Image 5

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1 THE LEDGER: GAFFNEY, 8. C., MARCH 24. 1898. WEARY WAYFARERS. <™' V/ULLS OF COMFORT IN UNEXPECTED PLACES. Dr. Talniacr Draws Some Stirring Lessons From the Story of Uugar autl Ishtnael In the Desert—FiuilliiK and Koeplut; Onr 1‘roper Stations lu Life. ^Copyright. 1833, by American Prcea Asso ciation.] Washington, March 20.—This di. - course of Dr. Taliua^u draws from an oriental sc-tio some stirriuy lessous nud poiut.s to wells of conilcrt iu uucxpected places: test, Genesis xxi, 19, “AndGod opened her eyes, and sho saw a well of water, and she went and filled the bot tle with water and gave the lad drink. ” Morning breaks upon Deershcba. There is an early stir iu the house of old Abraham. There has been trouble among the domestics. Hagar, an assist ant in the household, and her sou, a brisk lad of 1G years, have become im pudent and insolent, and Sarah, the mistress of the household, puts her foot down very hard and says that they will have to leave the premises. They are packing up now. Abraham, knowing that tbo journey before his scivaut and her son will to very long and acrof c desolate places, in the kindness of his heart sets about putting up some bread and a bottle with water in it. It is a very plain lunch that Abraham pro vides, but I warrant you there would have been enough of it had they not lost their way. “God bo with you, ” said old Abraham as ho gave the lunch to Hagar and a good many charges as to how she should conduct the journey. Ishmael, the boy, I suppose, bounded away iu the morning light. Boys al ways like a change. Poor Ishmael! Ho has no idea of the disasters that are ahead of him. Hagar gives one long, lingering look on tho familiar place where sho had spent so many happy days, each scene associated with the pride and joy of her heart, young Ish mael. The scorching noon comes on. The air is stifling and moves ncross the desert with insufferable suffocation. Ishmael, the boy, begins to complain and lies down, but Hagar rouses him up, saying nothing about her own weariness or the sweltering heat, for mothers can endure anything. Trudge, trudge, trudge. Crossing the dead level of the desert, how wearily and slowly tho miles slip! A tamarind that seemed hours ago to stand ouly just a little ahead, inviting the travelers to come under its shadow’, now is as far off as ever, or seemingly so. Night drops upon tho desert, and tho travelers are pillowloss. Ishmael, very weary, I suppose, instantly falls asleep. Hagar os tho shadows of tho night begin to lap over each other— Hagar hugs her weary boy to her bosom and thinks of tho fact that it is her fault that they are in the desert. A star looks out, and every falling tear it kisses with a sparkle. A wing of wind comes over the hot earth and lifts tho locks from tho fevered brow of the boy. Hagar sleeps fitfully and i her dreams travels over tho weary lay and half awakes her sou by cryii g out in her sleep: “Ishmael! Ismael! ’ Lust In the Desert. And so they go on day after day and night after night, for they have lost their way. No path in the shifting sands, no sign in tho burning sky. Tho sack empty of the flour, tho water gone from tho bottle. What shall she do? As sho puts her fainting Ishmatd under a stunted shrub of tbo arid plain she sees the bloodshot eye and feels the hot hand and watches the blood bursting from tho cracked tongue, and there is a shriek in the desert of Becrsheba: “Wo shall diet Wo shall die!” Now, no mother was ever made strong enough to hear her con cry in vain for a drink. Heretofore sho had cheered her boy by promising a speedy Cui of tho journey even smiled upon Uni when she felt desperately enough. Now there is nothing to do but place him under a shrub and let him die. Khe had thought that she would sit there and watch til the spirit of her boy would gd away forever, and then she WVUld breathe out her own life oil bis fcDtut heart But us the boy brtilntt tn claw his tougue in agony of thirst and struggle iu distor tion and begs bis mother to slay him sho cannot endure the spectacle. She puts him uuder a shrub and goes off a bowshot aud begins to weep until all the desert seems sobbing, and her cry strikes clear through the heavens, an^ an angel of God comes out on a cl ^od and looks down upon tho spelling grief and cries, “Hagar, wb 4 t aileth thee?” Sho looks up aud tb R ge ,. s tba angel pointing to a well *,r water, where she fills the bottle for tho lad. Tkank God! Thank God! I learn froi^ this oriental scenb, in the first plr.oe, what a sad thing it is when per pie do not know their placo tui'l '^et too proud for their business. Hr.gar was an assistant in that house hold, but she wanted to rule there. Sho ridiculed aud jeered until her sou Ish mael got tho same tricks. She dashed out her own happiness and threw Sarah Into a great fret, and if she hud staid much longer iu that household sho would have upset calm Abraham’s equilibrium. My friends, one-half of the trouble in the world today comes from the fact that people do not know their place, or, finding their place, will not stay iu it. When we come into the world, tlrcre is always a place ready for us. A place for Abraham. A place for Sarah. A placo for Hagar. A place for Isbmuel. A place for you and a place for mo. Find Vonr Sphere. Our first duty is to find oqr sphere, our sccoud is to keep it. \Vo may be born in a sphere far off from the one for which God finally intends us. Six tus V was born on the low ground and was a swineherd; God culled him up to wave a scepter. Ferguson spent his early days iu looking after sheep; God culled him up to look after stars and be a shepherd watching th« flocks of lights on the hillsides of heavea Hogarth be- engraving prwtcr pots; God to stand in tho enchanted realm of a painter. The shoemaker’s bench held Bloomfield for a little while, but God raised him to sit iu tho chair of a philosopher aud Christian scholar. ; Tho seup boiler of Loudon could net | keep his son iu that business, for God hud decided that Hawley was to be one of the greatest astronomers of England. On tho other baud, wo may bo born in a sphere a little higher than that for which God intends us. We may bo boru iu a castle, aud play in a costly con servatory, aud fee 1 hirjh bred pointers, aud angle for goldfish iu artificial ponds, and be familiar with princes, yet God may Letter have fitted us for a carpen ter’s shop, or dentist’s forceps, or a weaver’s shuttle, or a blacksmith's forge. The groat thing is to find just the sphere for which God intended us, and thou to occupy that sphere aud oc cupy it forever. Hero is a man God fashioned to make a plow. There is a man God fashioned to make a constitu tion. Tho man who makes tho plow is just as honorable as tho man who makes the constitution. There is a woman who was made to fashion a robe, and yonder is one intended to be a queen and wear it. It seems to me that in the one case as iu the other God appoints the sphere, ■'■■■* *’-7 ♦tec’l" is just as respectable iu bis sight us the su pier. I do not kuovv but that the world would lour ago have been saved if some of the out of the miuistry were iu it and some cf those who a.-o in it were out of it. I really think that one-half the world may bo divided into two quarters—these who have not found their sphere and those who having feund it are net will ing to stay there. How many are strug gling f< r a position a little higher than that which God intended them! The bondswoman wants to bo mistress. Ha gar keeps crowding Sarah. The small wheel of a watch which beautifully went treading its golden pathway wants to bo tho balance wheel, aud the spar row with chagrin drops into tho brook b< cause it cannot, like the eagle, cut a circle uuder tho sun. Too Many Leader*. In tbo Lord’s army wo all want to be brigadier generals. Tho sloop says: “More mast, more tonnage, more can vas. Oh, that I were a topsail schooner cr a full rigged brig or nCuuard steam er!’’ And so tho world is filled with cries of discontent, because wo aro not willing to stay iu tbo place where God put us and intended us to be. My friends, bo noc too proud to do anything God ti 11s you to do. For the lack of a right disposition iu this respect tho world is s.rewu with wandering Hagers aud Isbiuaels. God has given each one of us a work to do. Yon carry a scuttle of coal up that dark alley. You distrib ute that Christian tract. You give - 000 to the missionary cause. You for la years sit with chronic rheumatism, dis playing the beauty of Christian submis sion. WhateverGod callsyouto, wheth er it win hissing or huzza, whether to walk under triumphal arch or lift the sot out of tho ditch, whether it bo to preach on a Pentecost or tell some wan derer of the street of the mercy of tho Christ of Mary Magdalene, whether it be to weave a garland for a laughing child on n spring morning and call her a May queen or to comb out tho tangled locks of a waif of the street and cut up one of your old dresses to fit her out for the sanctuary, do it, and do it right away. Whether it be a crown or yoke, do not fidget. Everlasting honors upon those who do their work aud do their whole work and are contented in the sphere iu which God has put them, while there are wandering and exile aud desolation and wilderness for discon tented Hagar and Ishmael! Again, I find in this oriental scene a lesson of sympathy with woman when sho goes forth trudging iu the desert. What a great change it was far this Hagar! There were the teat and all tho —r uudings rf AV”" 1 :'’”’’ 1 ’’ beau* and luxurious, Lo doubt. Now sliO is g< iug out into the hot sands of the deseit. Oh, what a change it was! And in ocr dc.y we oGeu tee tbe wheel of iani. Hero is some one who lived iff the very bright ho^e W * jjpj. ft* nad every thing po*fciWfj to administer to her happiuece*~.J*|i*ljty at tbo trblo, music in the dvAWYng room, welcome at the door. MW led forth Into life by fcome cWt* 'who c-onot ap preciate her. A d^Ss-ipatcd soul comes and tries Imr Wt in the desert. Cruel ties plot nut ail the lights of that homo f ,itcl<j. Harsh words wear out her spir its. The high hope that shone out over tbe marriage altar while tho riir< was being set aud tho vows given and the benediction pronounced have all faded with the orange blossoms, and there sho is today, broken hearted, thinking of past joys and present desolation and coming anguish. Hagar in tho wilder ness! Here is a beautiful home. You cannot think of anything that cun bo added to it. For years there has not been the suggestion of a single trouble. Bright and happy children fill the house with laughter and song. Books to read. Pic tures to look at. Lounges to rest on. Cup of domestic joy full and running over. Dark night drops. Pillow hot. Pulses flutter. Eyes close. Aud tho foot whoso well known steps on tho doorsill brought tho whole household out at eventide crying, “Father’s coming 1“ will never sound on tho doorsill again. A long, deep grief plowed through all that brightness of domestic life. Para dise lost. Widowhood. Uugur in the wilderness. How often is it we see tho weak arm of woman conscripted for this battle with the rough world. Who is she, go ing down the street in tho early light of tho morning, pale with exhausting work not half slept out with tho slum bers of last night, tragedies of suffering written all over her face, her lusterless eyes looking fur ahead, as though tor the coming of some other trouble? Her parents called her Mary, or Bertha, or Agues on tho day when they held her up to the font aud the Christian minis ter sprinkled on tho infant’s faco tho washings of a holy baptism. Her name ! is changed now. I hear it in the sbuffe of tho weruout ^hocs. 1 see it in the figure of tbo faded calico. I find it in the lineaments of the woo begone coun tenance. Not Mary, nor Bertha, nor Agues, but Hagar iu tbe wilderness. May God have m rcy upon woman lu her toils, her struggles, her hardships, her desolation, and may the great heart of divine sympathy inclose her forever! Ki-HpouiobilU)' of M other hood. Again, I find iu this oriental scene the fact that every mother leads forth tremendous destinies. You say, “That isn't an unusual scene—a mother leading h> r child by tho baud." Who is it that she is lead ing? Ishmael, you say. Who is Ish mael? A great nation is to bo founded —a cation so strong that it is to stand for thousands of years against all tho armies of the world. Egypt aud Assyria thunder against it, but iuvain. Gaulus brings up his army, and his army is smitten. Alexander decides upon a cam paign, brings up his hosts and dies. For a loug while that nation monopo lizes the learning of the world. It is the nation of the Arabs. Who founded it? Ishmael, the lad that Hagar led into tho wilderness. She had no idea sho was leading forth such destinies. Neither does any mother. You pass aloug tho street and see aud pass boys and girls who wilj ^rct make tho earth quake with their influence. Who is that boy at Sutton pool, Plym outh, England, barefooted, wading down into tho slush aud slime until his bare foot comes upon a piece of glass, and ho lifts it blccdiug aud paiu struck: That wound in the foot decides that Le be sedentary in bis life; decides that he be a student. That wound by the glass iu the foot decides that he .sh -.!) bo John Kitto, who shall piovido tho best reli gious encyclopedia the world has ever bad provided aud, with his other writ ings as well, throwing a light upon tho word of God such ls has come from no other man in this century. Uh. mother, mother, that littlf hand that wanders over your face may yet he lifted to hurl thunderbolts of war or drop benedic tions! That little voice may blaspheme God in tho grogshop or cry “For ward!’’to the Lord’s hosts as they go out for their last victory. My mind this morning leaps 30 years ahead, and I see a merchant prince of New York. One stroke of his pen brings a ship out of Cauton. Another stroke of his pen brings a ship into Madras. Ho is mighty iu all the money markets of tho world. Who is he? Ho sits on Sabbaths beside you in church. My mind leaps 30 years forward from this time, aud I find my self iu a relief association. A great mul titude of Christian women have met to gether for a generous purpose. There is ouo woman iu that crowd who seems to have the confidence of all tho others, aud they all look up to her for her counsel and for her prayers. Who is she? This afternoon you will find her in tho Sabbath school, while the teacher tells her of that Christ who clothed the naked and fed the hungry aud healed the sick. My mind leaps forward 30 years from now, and I find myself in an African jungle, and there is a mis sionary of the cross addressing tbo na tives, and their duwky countenances are irradiated with the glad tidings of great joy and salvation. Who is he? Did you not bear his voice today in tho opening song of your church service? My mind leaps forward 30 years from now, and I find myself looking through the wickets of a prison. I see a face scarred with every crime. His chin ou his open palm, his elbow ou his knee, a picture of despair. As I open the wicket be starts, and I hear his chain clank. The juilkeeper tells me that be has been iu there now three times—first for theft, then for arson, now for murder. He steps ujion the trapdoor, tho rone Is fastened to his neck, tho plunk falls, his body swings into the air, his soul swings off into eternity. Who is ho and where i« h<-? This afternoon playing kite ou the city common. Mother, you are now hoisting a throne or forging a chain, you are kindling a 8“'^ a rtnn jeon! A Ohristlan biotke? a good P'uny years ago sat teaching lessons of Teligion to her chiM, and ho drank Hi those les sons. She toever knew Vbat Lampbier would coFiC forth aud establish the Ful ton street prayer meeting, aud by ouo meeting revolutionize tbe devotions of the whole earth aud thrill tho eternities with his Christian influence. Lamphier said it was his mother who brought him to Jesus Christ. She never had an idea that she was leading forth such destinies. Hut, oh, wiien I see a mother reckless of her influence, rattling ou toward destruction, garlanded for tbo sacrifice with unseemly mirth and god- lessneus, dancing on down to perdition, taking her children in tho same direc tion, preparing them for a life of frivoli ty, a death of shame aud an eternity of disaster, I cannot help but say: “There they go! There they go; Hagar aud Ish mael !’ I tell you there are wilder des erts than Beersheba iu many of the fashionable circles of this day. Dissi pated parents leading dissipated chil dren. Avaricious parents leading avari cious children. Prayerless parents lead ing prayorluss children. They go through every street, up every dark alley, into every cellar, along every highway. Ha gar and Ishmael! Aud while I pronounce their names it seems like the moaning of the desert wind, “Hagar and Ish mael 1” A Well la Every Wllderneae. I learn one more lesson from this oriental scene, and that is that every wilderness has a well iu it. Hagar and Ishmael gave up to die. Hagar’s heart sunk within her us she heard her child crying: “Water! Water! Water!” “Ah," sho says, “my darling, there is no water. This is a desert. “ And then God’snngul said from thecload, “What aileth thee, Hagur?" And she looked up aud saw him pointing to a well of water, where she filled tho bottle for tbe lad. Blessed be God, that there is lu every wilderness a well, if you only know how to find it—fountains for all these thirsty souls. On that last day, on that great day of the feast. Jesus stood and cried, "If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink. ” All these other fountains yon find are mere mirages of tho desert. Paracelsus, you kuow, spent his time in trying to find out tho elixir of life—a liquid which if taken would keep one perpetually young in this world aud would change the aged back again to yovrth. Of course he was dis appointed. Ho found not tho elixir But here I tell yon of tho elixir of ever lasting life bursting from tho "Rock of Ages,” and that drinking that water you shall never get old, aud you will never be sick, and you will never die. “Ho, every one that thirstetb, come yo to the waters.” Ah, here is a man who says, “I have been looking for that fountain a great while, but can’t find it.” And here is some one else who says, “I believe all you say, but I have been trudging along iu the wilderness and can’t find tho fountain.” Do you know the reason? I will tell yon. You never looked in tho right direction. "Oh,” you say, “I have looked every where. I have looked north, south, cast and west, and I haven’t found tbe foun tain.” Why, yoaar? not looking in tho right directiofl at all. Look up, where Hagar looked. She never would have found the fountain at all, but when sho heard tbe voice of the angel sho looked up, aud she saw the finger pointing to tbe supply. Aud, O soul, if today with one earnest, intense prayer you would only look up to Christ ho would point you down to tbo supply iu the wilderness. “Look unto me, all yo cuds of tbe earth, nud bo yo saved, for I am God, aud there is none els,y!” Look! Look, as Hagar looked! Yes, there is a well for every desert of bereavement. Looking over any audi ence I notice signs of mourning and woe. Have you found consolation? Oh, man bereft, ob, woman bereft, have you found consolation? Hearso after hearse. Wo step from ouo grave hillock to an other grave hillock. We follow corpses, ourselves soon to be like them. The world is in mourniug for its dead. Every heart has become the sepulcher of some buried joy. But siug ye to God! Every wilderness bus a well iu it, aud I come to that well today, ami I begin to draw water for you from that well. If you have lived in tho country you have sometimes taken hold of tho rope of tho old well sweep, aud you know how the bucket came up dripping with bright, cool water. Aud I lay hold of tho ropo of God’s mercy, and I begin to draw on that gospel well sweep, and I see the backets coming op. Thirsty sonl, here is one bucket of life! Como and drink of it. “Whosoever will, let him come and take of tho water of life free ly. ” I pull away again at the ropo, and another bucket conies up. It is this prom ise, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy coineth in tbe morning.” I lay hold of tho rope again, aud I pull away with all my strength, and the bucket comes up bright aud beautiful and cool. Hero is tho promise, “Come unto me, all ye who are weary aud heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” A New Antrolo^y. The old astrologers used to cheat the people with the idea that they could tell from the position of tho stars what would occur iu tho future, aud if a cluster of slurs stood iu one relation, why, that would bo a prophecy of evil. If a cluster of stars stood iu auother re lation, that would be a prophecy of good. What superstition ! But here is a new astrology iu which I put all my faith. By looking up to tho star of Ja cob. tbe morning star of the Redeemer, I can make this prophecy iu regard to those who put their trust iu God, “All things work together for good to those who love God.” Do you love him? Have you seen the uyetauthes? It is ^ beautiful flower, but it gives very lit tle fragrance until after subset. Then it pours its riebuess ou the air. And this grace of the gospel that J commu)t& to you now, while it ’; <a y be my sweet during the of prosperity, it pours * or *.l4 tta richest arou;i* after sundown, star or di(^. i it will be sundowtt with you aud mo after avfliilo. Wizen you come to go out of tho world, Will it be a desert march or will it bo drinking at a fountain? A converted Hindoo was dyiug, and bis heathen comrades came around him aud tried to comfort him by reading some of the pages of their theology, but he waved bis hand, as much as to say, “I don’t want to hear it.” Then they culled iu a heathen priest, and he said, “If you will ouly recite the uumtra, it will deliver you from hell.” He waved his hand, us much us to say, “I don’t waut to hear that.” Then they said, “Call ou Juggernaut.” He shook his head, as much as to say, “Icau’tdo that.” Then they thought perhaps he was too weary to speak, and they said, “Now, if you can’t say ’Juggernaut' think of him.” He shook his head again, as much as to say, "No, no, no.” Then they bent dowu to bis pillow, aud they said, “In what will you trust?” His face lighted up with tho very glo ries of the celestial sphere, us ho cried out, rallying all his dying energies, "Jesus!” Ob, come this hour to the fountain! I will tell you the whole story iu two or three sentences. Pardon for all sin. Comfort for all trouble. Light for all darkness. Aud every wilderness has a well iu it. ♦ ASH BITTER'S.! iP u IVCrf?' H ± CLEAKSES THE LIVER AND BOWELS “W ► ard fortifies the system to resist prevailing diseases. X ^ i’KICK 81.00 I’EU HOTTLK. S0L q gy DRUGGISTS. - X f^“Cherokee Drug Co. Special Agents. you need A Buggy? A Wagon? A Set of Harness? If so, we are the people you want to see. We handle the celebra ted Babcock and Tyson & Jones buggies, also many other leading brands, and make close prices on them all. 'Wagons. Our “Owensboro” wagons are the best made and if you need a wagon you can’t do better than to buy one of these. Harness. We have the largest and mo't complete stock of h irness iu the city and every set in our store i?; made U* our order. Call and see this line before you buy and we will sell you. We have them from to $ir> per set. Jfi^’Wc are also headquarters for heating and cooking stoves, ranges, etc. Buy one of our vapor stoves this summer and keep cool. CARROLL, CARPENTER & HUMPHRIES, Clogged Bowels. CnnHtlputlon meuiiM notonlv urihonltliy ne- runiulatIoiim In llie ImiwHk. lull a condition IxiUonnuN to the «*nllrc Ixidy It irencratCN foul iritxi-M wlili li ixilvtn tin- stonmcli. liver, liciirt. kidney* and IdiNMl, tliusderunitlni; the whole ny»lem. Meieover. It eauM-sit uuriily- *!• In the iiitiM'uliir xlrm ture of the imwefs. hence chronle coiiKMiiittIon eiiMie* with all it* HccoinpaiiyliiK evil*. A tlmnle cathartic U only u temporary lieneflt. What Is needed to permanently cure Is a tonic that will Utreturthcn the Ixiwel struct jre and restore natural peristaltic movements. I’HICKI.Y Ash Bittekh has an estiib Uhcd reputation of many years standing as a system tonic and laxative. It does not purxe or nrlp the (towels, leuvintr them weak and helpless, as do the drastic eatliartlev l« action Is ite ti tle yet effectual. It stimulates and strenirtli ens the ImiwiTs. regulates the liver, tones up the stomach and when there Is any kidney derangement It properly extends Its curative Influence to those organs. Hold hy Cherokee Drug Co. •- -• *- — We sell and guarantee Itlci’sCioose Grease Llnumeut no cure no nay. CUEUOItEE Dnuu Co. The modern Pain Annihilator, will positively cure Rheumatism, Neuralgia, Sprains, Bruises, Cuts, Sores, Earache, Backache and all other aches. SALVATION OIL is sold everywhere for 25 cents. Only the genuine will do the work. Chew LANGE’S PLUGS, The Great Tobacco Antidote,10c. Dealers or mail,A.C.Meyer & Co., Balto.JUL CANDY CATHARTIC V ^ CATHARTIC ^ CURE CONSTIPATION ALL DRUGGISTS —M. G. MONTGOMERY, SNDERTA3C AjX1> FURNITURE DEALER. Plain and Fancy Furniture at Rock Bottom Prices for Cadi or on Installment Plan. Our Undertaking Department is the Most Complete in the City. Orders will Receive Prompt and Gourleoua Attention. Mr. A. B. Oaines is still with me and will continue to s-i-nre hi* patrons in the future as iu the past. M. G. MONTGOMERY. 1 THE 1 A * >- <r rvf I W Phone 2I. Day or Night. Orders Promptly Filled. IF YOU WANT TO BUY Aliiles-*, O vuino i inti Wo it! I Miosplititos Cheap CAM, ON J. I. SWIiRWT'TA N. B.—Oak wood delivered at 75c per load. Building and Plastering Lime, Coal, Shingles, Latb* and Plaster Hair, [Dynamite, Blasting Powder, Tmm and Dynamite Cups, call on THE LIMESTONE SPRINGS LIME WORKS, 'Telephone 37. CARROLL A CO., Leaeeea