Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1865-01-27

I When the soul is perplexed with doubts it is
stranger to cheerfulness. They cause uucertaint,
as 10 our change of heart and acceptance with God
or to our belief in the truths of Divine Reyela
ton. They are cobwebs which Satan weaves t,
obscure the vision Of Faith. A breath of Heaven
i ly Spirit can clear them all away Prayer sets il
4 motion this invisible Power. Sometimes doubt
are frightful specers which haunt the shades of ig
noranee. A few bright rays from the lamp Of God
World will cause them speedily to disappear Mos
frequently, doubts are the vile progeny of disease
The remedy which restores health to the body vii
rid the soul Of their annoying presence.
Memory often causes detection 1t reminds Us
Of our neglected duties and misimproved privileges
our opinion and secret sins, our unkind words anc
aetions our mistakes and disappointnents, our tri
ais and temptations, our disputes ana enmifes oul
suferings and Losses We grow cherries looking
at such gloomy panorama of our hives. But if we
were to revert to our past enjoyments and mercies
and successes, u the good that we have done, to
the wisdom which we have gained in the schools Of
misfortune to the full forgiveness which Christ has
bestowed, ,4if We were to look more at the bright
side at our experience and less at the dark, we
would rise soon, and be completely, ont Of our des
pondency
Forebodiaes of era rob the mind of eheerfulness.
Ills that hare eneverhappened haEem mostly made men
wretched, says Tupper. Casting our glance ahead,
we see ''liohs' in the waydiiicuties which we are
sure we can never overcome :-griefs under whose
heavy weight, we shall be utterly erushedl Not
satisfied with our present troubles, we borrow mis-
cry from the future. The Holy Scripture instructs
us to do otherwise .sThou knowest not what day
may bring forth. Prov. 27: l. sIake therefore
no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall
take thought for the things of itself Sufficient IN
to the day is the evil thereof" Matt. 6: 81. And
then it gives us golden promise, EAs thy days so
shall thy strength be''
But after all, Affections are the chief and most
unavoidable cause of dependency. It may seem
very unreasonable, Ike mockery indeed, to ask him
to be cheerful, who has become the victim of dis
ease, or who has seen his ship wrecked, his crops
blasted his cattle perish his debtors fail, his prop
erty consumed or swept away with food, and sad
dest of ALL who has seen his beloved ones sicken
and die, and bnried in the earth And yet if he is
true child Of God. it is his right yea it is his du
ty, amidst all these sore troubles, to be of good
cheer. He may then regard his Affections not as
punishments for his SINS but only as Fatherly
chastisemenis intended for his good, d,-making him
humble, making him sensible of his weakness and
unworthiness, and causing him to look to the Al
mighty for aid and comfort, and so well fitting him
for his heavenly citizenship and his heavenly crown
Surely God does not delight in lamentations and
tears and t. tiv,5eu hi-.esir sneH tlings are use
less 4hey cannot repar his losses, nor Tighten his
suferings and if proof were required, they are
evidence enough that his heart was too much we'd
ded to the world, and hence he had need to be af
ficted More pleasing to God is the cheerful and
submissive spirit that can sing songs in the night
that can say, Ii is good for me that have been
afflicted. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken
away; blessed be the name of the bordi" The
Christians worldly losses are his heavenly gains
Like ship upon the stocks he is ready, when the |
last of his earthly supports is knocked away, to
launch forth into the widely extended sphere of
new life
The hindrances in the way of cheerfulness seem |
many but it is encouraging to know that they are
not alike to all and they are not 50 great but that
they can be overcome The end to be gained IS |
worthy of the best means, and the mightiest and |
most persistent endeavor. And duty urges every
one to make an effort to rid his face of frowns his
manners Of crabbedness, his heart Of gloom This |
obligation rests with peculiar force upon the Lords
followers.
Truly, o Christian you above all men have rea-
son to acquire and retain cheerful disposition /
No longer an alien from the commonwealth of Is,
rae stranger to the covenants of promise, but
regenerated, forgiven, made a child of
God, protected and nourished by your Almighty
Father, trained instructed, lovsd, having mansion
in your Fathers house, made an heir to a heavenly
and expecting soon to receive crown
of glory that fadeth not away-o why should you,
why should any one in such case, give way to de-
lection? Gods own temple purified, strengthen
ed, adorned with beauty furnished with every good
ly and gladstone thing, filed with sacred light and
peace, having within the glory of the shekinah-
your devotions sweet incense, your heart burning
and acceptable sacrifce-0 have you not great rea
son for abiding cheerfulness! If in this life only
you had hope in Christ, then, indeed, yon might be
miserable; but having IA hope which is an anchor
Of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which en-
tereh into that within the vail, how inexcusable
does it SEEM that you should be habituay downcast
and sorrowfa
Arise, 0 Desponding Onel Quit your fearful
abode in the valley of gloom, and come and make
your dwelling on the bright hilltop of eheerfuness.
Look up look up! and behold the sun shining
thlough the Clouds and the stars through the dark
nessl
CORRUPTIONI In POLITICS.
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