The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-06-09


fallen. Oh, these beautiful sunflOwers
that spread out their color in the morn
ing hour; but they are always asleep
when the sun is going down. Job had
plenty of friends when he was the rich
est man In Uz; but when his property
went, when trials came, then there were
none so much that pestered as Eliphaz,
the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite,
and ZOphar the Naamathite. Lie
often seems to be a Mere game, where
the successful player pulls down all the
other men into his own lap. In this
world, so full of heartlessness and hy-
pOcrisy, how thrilling it is to find some
friends as faithful in days of adversity
as in days Of prosperity David had
such friend in Hushal. The Jews had
such friend in MOTdecai, who never
forgot their cause. Paul had such a
friend In OnesiphOrus, who visited him
in Jail. Christ had such in the Marys,
who adhered to him on the cross. Ma
out: "Entreat me not to leave thee, or
to return from following after thee, for
where thou gOest will go, and where
thou lOdgest will lodge; thy people
shall be my people, and thy God my God;
where thou diest I will die, and there
will be buried. The Lord do so tome,
and more also, If aught but death part
thee and me-"
Again l learn from this subject that
paths which open in hardship and dark
ness often come out In places Of Joy.
When Ruth started from Moab toward
Jerusalem, to go along with her mother
1n-law, suppose the people said: "Oh,
what foolish creature, to go away from
her fathers house, to go off with poor,
old woman toward the land of JUDAH
They won't live to get across the desert.
They will be drowned in the Dead Sea,
or the jackals Of the wilderness will de-
strOy them. 1t was very dark morn
Ing when Ruth started off with Naomi;
but behold her this evening in my text
In the harvest field of BOaZ, to be affian-
ced to one of the lords of the land, and
become one of the grandmOthers of the
Lord Jesus, the Lord of glory. And so
1t often Is, a path which often starts out
very darkly ends very brightly. When
you started out for heaven, oh, how dark
was the hour OF cOnVictiOn--hOw Sinai
thundered and devils tOTmented and the
darkness thiekenedI All the sins of
your life pOunced upon you, and it was
the darkest hour you ever saw when you
first found out your sins. After awhile
you went into the harvest field of Gods
mercy; you began to CLEAN In the fields
OF divine promise, and you had more
sheaVes than you could carry, as the
voice OF God addressed you, saying:
BLESSED is the man whose transgres-
siOns are forgiven, and whose sins are
covered" A very dark starting In con-
VictiOn; very bright ending in the par
don and hope and triumph Of the Cos
pei.
SO very often In our worldly business
| or In our spiritual career, we start off
ON very dark path. We must go. The
| flesh may shrink back, but there Is a
voice within or voice from above, say
ing, "YOu must gO;" and we have to
drink the gall, and carry the Cross, and
traverse the desert, and break through
the thOrnhedge, and we are pounded
fand failed by misrepresentation and
abuse, and we have to urge our way
through ten thousand obstacles that
have been slain by our own right arm.
We have to ford the river, we have to
| climb the mountain, we have to storm
the castle; but, blessed be God, the day
| of rest and reward will come. On the
/ tiptOp of the captured battlements we
/ will shout the VictOry-if not in this
world, In that world where there Is no
gall to drink, no burdens to carry, no
battles to fight. How do know itP
Know It'll know 1t because God says
so: "They shall hunger no more, nei-
ther thirst any more; neither shall the
4
lamb which Is in the midst of the throne
shall lead them to living fountains of
water, and God shall wipe all tears from
their eyes," 1t was very hard for Noah
to endure the scOffing of the people In
his day, while he was trying to build
| the ark; and was every morning quizzed
about his old boat that would never
be of any practical use; but when the
deluge came, and the tops of the noun
Il k,N. 81. -
monsters, and the elements, lashed up
| in fury, clapped their hands in fury
over a drowned world, then Noah in the
ark rejOiced at his own safety and the
safety of his family, and looked out on
the wreck of q ruined earth. Behold
Christ, bounded by prosecutors, denied
a pillow, worse maltreated than the
thieves on either side of the cross; hu-
man hate smacking its lips in satisfac
tiOn after 1t had been draining his last
drop of blood, the sheeted dead bursting
their sepulchers at his crucihxiOn. Tel
me, oh, Gethsemane and GolgOthR, were
there ever darker times than these
Like the booming Of the midnight sef
against the rock, the surges of Christ'E
agony burst against the gates of eter
nifty, to he echoed back by all the thrones
Of heaven and all the dungeons of hell
But the day of reward comes for Christ
all the pOmp communion OF JnlS W0rlC
are to be hung on his throne. UncrOwn
ed heads are TO bow before him on whose
head are many crowns, and all the ce
lestial worship is to come up at his fee
like the humming of the forest, like tht
rushing of the waters, like the thunder
ing Of the seas; while all heaven, rising
on their thrones, beattime withthei
sceptres: "Hallelujah. for the Lord '1O'
OmnipOtent reignethl Hallelujah, tn
Kingdoms of this world have becOm
the Kingdoms of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Again, have to learn from my sub
ject that events which seem to be tn
most insignificant may be mOmentOus
; Can you imagine anything more unim
pOrtant than the coming of poor WON
, an from Moab to Judah2 Can you i'm
, aRine anything more trivial than tn
, fact that this Ruth just happened t
, alight on that field of B0azp Yet al
ages, all generations, have an interes
In the fact that she was to become al
ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ, an
! all nations and kingdoms must look a
that one little incident with thrill o
unspeakable and eternal satisfaction
SO it is in your history and mine. Event
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