CAST DOWN, BUT NOT FORSAKEN! 
 
 A^ S E K ]sj: O N 
 
 DELIVERED IN 
 
 ^t. Ililip's €hnth, Cbrleston, 
 
 December 15th, 1861, 
 
 BEING THE SUNDAY AFTER THE GREAT FIRE, 
 
 BY REV. VV. B. W. HOWE, 
 
 ASSISTANT MINISTER OP ST. PHILIP'S. 
 
 PRINTED BY REQUEST. 
 
 CHARLESTON: 
 
 STEAM-POWER PRESSES OF EVANS &COGSWELL, 
 3 Broad and 103 East Bay Streets. 
 
 1861. 
 
George Washington Flowers 
 Memorial Collection 
 
 DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
 ESTABLISHED BY THE 
 FAMILY OF 
 
 COLONEL FLOWERS 
 
1 
 
 CAST DOWN, BUT NOT FORSAKEN! 
 
 V. 
 
 A. s E R m: O N 
 
 DELIVERED IK 
 
 .t. ^lilij's €|urc|, Charleston, 
 
 December 15th, 1861, ^' 
 
 r 
 
 BEING THE SUNDAY AFTER THE aREAT FIRE. 
 
 r 
 BY REV. W. B. W. HOWE, 
 
 ASSISTANT MINISTER OF ST. PHILIP S. 
 
 K 
 
 PUINTED BY REQUEST. 
 
 CHARLESTON: 
 
 STEAM-POWER PRESSES OF EVANS & COGSWELL 
 
 3 Broad and 103 East Bay Streets. 
 
 1861. 
 
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 all we not reocivej 
 
 Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall 
 evil? — Job ii, 10. 
 
 The book of »Tol), my beloved bretliron, is Ibo book of 
 divine rrovideiice, and exliibits the method according to 
 which the divine puq)oses manifest themselves in relation 
 to men. The key which unlocks this method, and which 
 gives ns to know the teaching of this sublime book, is 
 found in this simjile (inestion : Do great temporal calami- 
 tics, which are jn'miitted to befall a })erson or an entire 
 community, necessarily imply some great and crying sin an 
 their root and cause, out of whicli they grow, and u})on 
 which they are visited as a punisliment? Or, in other 
 words, do great trials poi)it infallibly to great crimes, 
 which have invited the severe vengeance, of an' offended 
 God ? ^ 
 
 If we keep this in mind, as we read the complainings of 
 Job and the reproaches of liis friends, we shall be guidcjd 
 to a satisfiictory intei'jtretation of their rcascjiiings. Let us 
 briefly glance at the condition of things as set before us. 
 "VVe are first of all introduced, ill the opening verse, to the 
 principal personage himself^ — the patriarch, who was soon 
 to be so sorely tried both lor liis own and for others' profit. 
 
 "There was a man," it says, " in the land of Uz, whose 
 
name was Jol): and tliat man was }»erfbc-t and ui)riglit. and 
 one tliat feared God and oRcliewed evil. " His worldly 
 prosperity is also set Jortli. and lie is pi-onc^uni-ed to be 
 "the greatest of all tlic men in the East." A sudden and 
 overwhelming reverse, however, overtakes iiim and Masts 
 all his pleasant prospects, and lays him low in the dnst. 
 Stroke ujton stroke, and hoh npon holt, follow in <iuiek 
 and awfnl succession, to his own ania/cnicnt and tliat of 
 /iieighhors and friends, till what was once a iair and 
 "blooming tree, laden also with tVuit, is now dead and 
 withcre(h "There was a day," so says the inspired record, 
 "when his sons and daughters were eating and di'inking 
 wine ill their eldest hrothei-'s house; and there came a 
 messenger unto Job and said. The oxen were ploughing, 
 and the asses feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell 
 upon them, and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 
 
 While /)>' was yet si)eaking, there came also another and 
 said. The tire of God is fallen from Heaven, and hath 
 burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed 
 them, and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 
 
 While he was yet s})eaking, there came also anotlur and 
 said. The Chaldeans made out three l>ands and fell upon 
 the camels, and ha\e carried them awa}-; yea, and slain 
 the servants with the edge of the swortl. 
 
 While hi' was yet speakiiTg, there came also another and 
 said. Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drink- 
 ing wine in their chlcst brother's house; and behold, there 
 came a*great wind tVom the wilderness, and snu)te up(^n 
 the foiii- corners of the house, and it fell upon the young 
 men and they are dead." Nor was this the full extent of 
 the awful visitation. To crown the whole. Job himself, in 
 the depths of all his sorrows, is smitten with a loathsome 
 
disease, so tliat now niaddoinng pliysieal pain is added to 
 all liis mental disquiet. 
 
 In a transport ot despair, ])i-ongbt on by sucli an accii- 
 mnlation of bitter woes, bis wife bids bim curse God and 
 die: for it was to no purpose tbat be served a Being wbo 
 bad proved so indifferent to a faitliful servant. But Job's 
 reply is tbat sublime one in our text, "Wbat! sball we re^ 
 ceive good at tbe band of God, and sball we not receive! 
 evil?" By crif^ of course, we are not to understand moral ' 
 evil ; for witb such, God does not tempt or try any man: 
 but outward evil, sucb as consists in adverse circumstances 
 and misfortunes. ^ 
 
 In tbis state of ap}>arcnt abandonment, for it was only 
 apparent, bis bosom friends find liim. 
 
 ]Iis wealtb bas all fled and bis cbildren perisbed, and 
 be bimself so smitten witb disease tliat tlity-e is no 
 wbole part in bis body. So cbanged is be, and so 
 marred is bis countenance b}- mental anguisb, and by 
 the liand of God, tbat tbey are unable to recognise bim; 
 and tliey lift up their voice and weep in lamentation 
 over one once so exalted, but now, alas, brought so low. 
 Job is tbe first to break tbe silence of seven days and 
 seven nights, which auuizement and sympatbyt for bis 
 distressed condition had imposed upon the friends: and 
 he docs it to lament tbe day of his birth. 
 
 He looks to another existence for solace, and to a 
 world where tbe wicked cease from trou))liiig as the 
 haven where be would ]>e ; '■'■ tlnrc the weary be at rest; 
 there tlie prisoners rest togetbci- ; they bear not the 
 voice of the oppressor." 
 
 But bis friends by no means strike upon tbe same 
 key. They, too, have been revolving in their minds the 
 
probable caufio of Job's ealaniitics, aii<l tlicv liavc conic 
 to tlic conclusion tbat some sins or sin wbicb he lias 
 been secretly acblictcd lo, and wliicb have escaped obser- 
 vation, have at last Ibund biin out, and that he is now 
 ijnder<rointr tli«' «liu' reward of liis evil deeds. Thi-v 
 more llian iiitiinatc tliat bis former j^icty was only a 
 ricre show, put on to conceal his real character; and 
 y^iheir exhortation is. to confess his hypocrisy and show 
 this crimes, which, though hitherto kept carefully con- 
 Xealed, have now at length brought down u[)(Mi him the 
 just vengeance of Jebovali. They assume it as an axiom, 
 and us a truth which can admit of no disputing, that 
 God's afflictive dispensations are purely and simply pc.ni- 
 fioe, and that they are invariably meted out to transgres- 
 sors of Divine Laws. Their words, and still harsher 
 insinuations of criminal conduct, of which Job's con- 
 science acquitted liim, are gall and wormwood to the 
 tortured and agonized soul of the patriarch. 
 
 They try him so as by fire. They show that the 
 friends in whom he trusted deem him unworthy, and a 
 hypocrite. 
 
 The sympathy which should have l)een his, and which 
 ought to have aided his faith to bear up under the clouds 
 and darkness whie-h now encompassed him, is nowhere 
 made jmanifest ; but, on the contrary, his wounded s}»ii-it 
 is treated with the frosty pi'ecepts of false wisdom and 
 I'oaiy traditions. Feeling in his inmost soul how much 
 and how cruelly his former friends misunderstood him, 
 and seeing how all their former faith in his integrity' 
 was shaken and overthrown, so tbat in their eyes he was 
 now not oidy sti'icken with exteriud poverty, but also had 
 lost what was iar hetter — a chai-aeter for integrity and 
 
\ ' 
 
 piety. He exclaims: "How long will ye vex my soul, 
 and break me in pieces with words ?" 
 
 "I have heard many such things, miserable comforters 
 are ye all. Shall vain Avords have au end ? I also could 
 speak as ye do ; if your soul were in my soul's stead, 1 
 could heap up words against you, and shake mine head at 
 you. But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and 
 the moving of my lips should assuage your grief." He 
 appeals unto God. He denies not that he is a sinner, 
 because there is no man that liveth and sinneth not; but 
 he denies being such an one as their arguments would go 
 to show. He denies having been a hypocrite, on account 
 of which they maintained he was now being visited with 
 sore judgments from God. He felt assured, from his own 
 experience, that they had failed utterly and miserably, and 
 harshly in their interpretations of God's providences with 
 regard to him. AVheu he examined himselt he felt as- 
 sured that, say what they would, and insinuate what they 
 would, he was still not guilty of any special crimes which 
 had brought down these judgments upoix him. There 
 must be some other way of accounting for his great trials. 
 What this was he was not at all certain, and in vindicating 
 himself from their charges, he said many things concern- 
 ing God which, no doubt, were rash and ill-advised; but 
 still, on the whole, Job came much nearer the truth than 
 those who were his exhorters. Ws fault was charging 
 God foolishly; but theirs wholly to distort the truth. He, 
 in his anguish, forgot at times that God was in heaven 
 and he upon earth, and he may have challenged the Divine 
 Counsels with too great freedom, so as to have approached 
 tlie borders of irreverence; but ihei/ were guilty of lying 
 tbr God. 
 
All is decided in tlie conclusion of this book. There 
 God enters into judgment wiili his servants, and settles 
 the controversy between Job and his frien»ls. He first 
 rebuked Job, but with the utmost gentleness. "Then the 
 Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said : Who 
 is this that darkeneth counsel hv words without knowl- 
 edge? Gird up thy loiiis now like a man, ior 1 will de- 
 mand of thee and answer thou me, Where wast (hou when 
 I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hii.st 
 understanding." 
 
 And, thereupon, the Lord graciously takes his afflicted 
 servant through the various kingdoms of luitiirc, :iiid l)ids 
 him observe their variety and sublime order, and the mys- 
 teriousnoss of the laws which govern them, and how im- 
 possible it is that he should comprehend thein. "JIast 
 thou entered into the springs of the sea?" "Ivnowest thou 
 the ordinances of heaven ?" " Canst thou bind the sweet 
 influences of Tlciades, or loose the bands of Orion ? 
 Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season ? Or canst 
 thou guide Arcturus with his sons?" "Ilast thou given 
 the horse strengtli ? J last thou clothed his neck with 
 thunder?" "Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom and stretch 
 her wings to the south ?" 
 
 The argument comes home to Job with crushing eflect. 
 If, as God has shown him, he cannot overtake the divine 
 purposes in all theii" sublime and majestic scope, as re- 
 vealed in outwai-d nature, with his linite undcTslnndiiig ; 
 if the stars in theii- courses, and the flowers in their 
 beauty, and the instincts of animals, in their unei-riiig wis- 
 dom, set him at deflance, and teach him to admire their 
 Creator's wisdom, cannot he, also, rel}' upon that same 
 wisdom in his pro\ideiili;il dealings with nun, and even 
 
9 
 
 wlien they seem most dark and obscure, believe that divine 
 thought and care preside over them all ? Shall wisdom 
 and order be everywhere else, save in God's dealings with 
 man ? 
 
 Job bows to the truth, and says: "I know that thou 
 canst do everything, therefore have I uttered that I under- 
 stood not: things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. 
 I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear, l)ut now 
 mine eye seeth Thee." The Lord turns next to Job's 
 friends, and puts the question, which they had discussed 
 with so much vehemence, forever at rest. 
 
 While suffering comes originally from sin, inasmuch as 
 had there been no sin in the world there would have been 
 no suffering ; still this general truth is not to be distorted, 
 as they had done who had made Job's afflictions the pun- 
 ishment of his individual crimes, and had overlooked alto- 
 gether the fact that they were tests of faith, to residt in blessing 
 if rightly improved. And tlie Lord said to Eliphar the 
 Temanite, my wrath is kindled against thee and against 
 thy two friends, for ye have not spoken of me the thing 
 that is right, as my servant Job hath. '' Therefore, take 
 unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to 
 ray servant Job and offer up for yourselves a Inirnt-offering, 
 and my servant Job shall pray for you ; for him will I 
 accept; lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye 
 have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my 
 servant Job." Such is very briefly and imperfectly the 
 leading thought and design in this wonderful book. It 
 is addressed to meet the ever-recurring question, as to 
 why God afflicts, and to warn us that we may not reason, 
 from individual suffering, to the conclusion that the suf- 
 ferer is a greater sinner than one who escapes. 
 
10 
 
 God's judgments arc not thus liniitc'(l to t}iis world. 
 And yet it is harder to cast out this demon tlian ahnost 
 any other. Christ at liis advent lound liini in i'ull posses- 
 sion of the Jews. "Master," say they, " who did sin, this 
 man or his parents, tliat he was born blind?" On another 
 occasion we read tliat some told liim of the Galileans, 
 whose blood had been mingUMl with their sacrifices; and 
 that Jesus, in answer, denied that they were sinners above 
 all the Galileans, because they suftered such things; as 
 likewise, that those upon whom the tower in Silvam fell, 
 were worse than all others who dwelt in Jerusalem. 
 
 As*^ have already said, suft'ering would not have been 
 present in the world at all l)ut for sin ; but then this is not 
 the connection usually thought of, but a purely personal 
 connectioii, such as Job's friends imagined. The fact is, 
 in all human suffering we ought to see, as its cause, that 
 human ill-desert in which we have a part, as well as the 
 individual sufferer. Looking upon suffering thus, not as a 
 private relation, but as one which evidences to a universal 
 fallen condition, and which might have found place in our 
 own persons as well as in others, we can entertain a genu- 
 ine sympathy; for there is no reason, other than God's 
 pleasure, why what has befallen them should not have 
 come upon us; we are no better than they. And so, 
 doubtless, my beloved brethren, there have been great 
 searchings of heart among us all, in reference to the 
 awful conjiar/ration of the past week, whereby so large and 
 so fail" a jiorlion of our city has l)eeu laid in ashes. We 
 can only lilt our hands and say: What has (iod wi'ought 
 or permitted to be wrought ? 
 
 With the Redeemer in Jerusalem, we could weep over 
 the city. The heart aches as it thinks of the houseless 
 
\ 11 
 
 poor, the dcstrnction of mansions associated -with the sa- 
 cred past, the desohition of noble halls, the ruin of 
 ehnrchos, and of the beautiful cathedral which filled jou, 
 by its fair proportions, with a pure delight every time you 
 passed it. We say, with Jeremiah, as we wend our way 
 through the desolated streets, and in view of so many 
 homes now, alas I in ruins: "Mine eye vunncth down 
 with watoi' for the destruction of the daughter of m}- 
 people." " The Lord hath trodden the virgin, the daugh- 
 ter of .Judah, as in a wine-press. For these things I weep; 
 mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the 
 C-omforter that should relieve my soul is far fron^ mo — my 
 children arc desolate" — "all mine enemies have heard of 
 my trouble ; they are glad that thou hast done it." 
 
 " It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, 
 because His compassions fail not ;" and, therefore, here, 
 amid the sorrows which encompass us all, ^ and amid the 
 h)sses of which so many families in this congregation arc 
 very largely partakers, I desire, my beloved brethren, as 
 your mouthpiece, to acknowledge God's mercy in the 
 midst of judgment, and to give Ilim thanks for the pres- 
 ervation of this His sacred edifice, and for sparing you 
 from beholding, a second (imc, your " holy and beautiful 
 house, where yonv fathers praised God, burned up with 
 fire, and all your pleasant things laid waste." Yes, we 
 have our soul's house, Avhere we may fall down and 
 kneel before our Maker. I thank Him now and here, 
 and in your name, that its Cross is not at this moment 
 in tbe dust, but that it still shines in the morning sun, 
 and points us away from the smouldering embers and 
 ruins beneath, to those brighter worlds above, where Christ 
 sittcth at the rigbt hand of the Father, and to treasures 
 
12 
 
 more precious tlmn of s^old tried seven times in tlie fire. 
 Yea, God has mingled mercy witli His judgments. But 
 I am conscious of anotlier cirenmstancc. and one wliicli 
 lias been present to all luarts. doubtless, wliieli srcms to 
 make this calamity assume still graver proportions. At 
 any tunc it would have weighed us down with sympathy 
 lor those who liave l)een so .suddenly dejtrived of rher- 
 islied homes and of their houses of God; l)ut coming at 
 this particular time, when we are threatened by an in- 
 vasion from I'Utbless foes, and wlu n our every iutnc and 
 muscle was strained to make a gallant defence — when, 
 too, tlicrc was more or less of despondency prevailing in 
 many minds in anticipation of the coming struggle — 
 when all the necessaries and comforts of life were more 
 than usually dUHcuIt to procure, and all were more or 
 less straitened in their ability to attbrd the requisite relief 
 — when for weeks and months past we had been earnestly 
 engaged in ministering to the sick and wounded soldiers, 
 and in contributing to the comfort and efliciency of those 
 in tlie iield — when in every family the ruling ([uestion 
 with the oldest and the youngest seemed to be, What can 
 / do for the good cause unto wliich all hearts stand 
 pledged? Oh, then, at such a time of all others, for this 
 destruction to be pei'mitted to take place, ajipeared strange, 
 yea, passing sti'ange, if (iod was indei'd with us and upon 
 our side. For a little moment, perha[)s, our hearts failed 
 us, as we thought that God Inid forsaken us, in ])ennii- 
 ting the devouring tire to ravage and lay waste what we 
 had detei'iiiincd to defend with our lix'es. We fancied 
 we heard the taunt of the foe: " They trusted in (lod 
 that He Avould (h.'iivei- them; let Him deliver them if 
 Jfe will have them." 
 
13 
 
 We had claimed that the manifestations of Providence 
 had been signall}^ in onr favor ever since the commence- 
 ment of tliis struggle ; hut had not God now turned 
 against us ? This is the thought, I doubt not, which 
 entered many a heart; which had tried to stay itself upon 
 (irod, as he ga?:ed upon the desolation around him, and 
 then thought upon the enemy at our doors. We fear not 
 man, but if God 1)0 (/gainst us, wlio shall be onr friend? 
 
 But this hour and power of darkness was soon passed, 
 and faith, emerging from her brief eclipse, once more 
 asserted her supremacy. It is written, " Clouds and dark- 
 ness arc round about Him, but righteousness and judg- 
 ment are the habitations of His seat." We have entered 
 the clouds, and like Moses have feared and trembled : but 
 as sure as God liveth, if we but maintain our faith, we 
 shall see the righteousness and judgment of His seat. 
 "'For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with 
 great mercies will I gather thee. 
 
 In a little wrath, I hid my face from thee for a mo- 
 ment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy 
 on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer." 
 
 We think upon him who gave utterance to our text. 
 We see him fried, not punished. We see him cast down, 
 but not forsaken. N'ever was God so near to him as 
 when, to mortal ken, God had deserted him. The eye of 
 the Omnipotent was upon him in all his sorrows, mark- 
 ing the trial of his laith; and the everlasting arms were 
 beneath him, making it laudable, glorious and honora- 
 ble. 
 
 And so with us at present — we are being tiicd, not 
 punished. God would prove what our faith is made of: 
 whether it is a mere holiday-faith, which lasts only when 
 
14 
 
 the sun shines, and wlien all things are prosperous, or 
 whether it is of that rohust nature, which will endure a 
 great fight of afflictions — which is the suhstanee of things 
 hoped for, iuid the evidence of things not si'cn. And 
 all that tries faitli most, necessarily takes on the form oi 
 our being forsaken of God. 
 
 This is the very essence of the trial, to btlicvc that (Jod 
 is with us when, to all appearance, He has deserted us. 
 Examine the cases of Scripture saints, and you will iind 
 this to be so, "My God, why hast thou forsaken mel" 
 they exclaim; Init the withdrawal was rather in appear- 
 ance than otherwise. And the truth is, we ought to be 
 like children, who cling to the parent all the more tena- 
 ciously by so much as he endeavors to put them out of 
 his arms. 
 
 We will say: ''Though ITe slay me, yet w^ill I trust in 
 Him." It is a time for humility, but not for despair, 
 Not thus did they despond in the day of gloominess, 
 "who through faith subdued kingdoms; out of weakness 
 were made strong; waxed valiant in fight; turned to 
 flight the armies of the aliens." Let us, therefore, breth- 
 ren, in this exigency of our aifairs, "humble ourselves 
 under the mighty liand of God, that lie nuiy exalt us in 
 due time, casting all our care upt)n God, and believing 
 that lie caretli for us." And lie will exalt us, if we 
 trust and faint not. Who knows for what (iod is pre- 
 paring us? Often and often he sriiools and tutors those 
 for whom lie has high things in store by the taste of 
 the woi'unvood and the gall, that they niay learn IVom 
 whence comes their future high estate. 
 
 And so, perchance, this, our city — our beloved city — 
 now so depressed and stricken, shall in "due time be 
 
15 
 
 exalted." Beauty shall be given it for its ashes, and the 
 oil of joy for mourning: and the garment of praise for 
 the spirit of heaviness. 
 
 "0, thou afflicted, tossed -with tempest and not com- 
 forted, behold I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and 
 thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy 
 windows agates and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy 
 borders of pleasant stones. And all thy children shall 
 be taught of the Lord, and great sliall bo the peace of 
 thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established; 
 thou shalt be far from oppression, for thou shalt not 
 fear; and from terror, for it shall not come nea|.' thee. 
 This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and 
 their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord." 
 
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