Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-09-17
A MASTERLY SERMON.


tor, discussed upon the bounty of the har
vest at the Hebrew synagogue yesterday
morning, and the subject matter being OF
great Importance and general public in
terest, the GLOBE takes occasion to repro
duce the sermon in epitome.
The day was harvest Sunday and the
handsome edifce was profusely and Hastily
decorated in commemoration of the coca
sion by the ladies of the society. The dec
orations consisted principally of the
cereals and of horticultural products, j. e.,
fruits and grains. These were handsome
~ entwined with vines and with beautiful
flowers, eminently appropriate to the &C.
casion. "Two arches" of wheat and flow
ers decorated either side of the altar. In
the display were grapes, melons, apples,
and other luscious fruits, the products of
the north star state. The decorations ex-
tended to all parts of the synagogue,
and the whole presented spectacle not
soon to be forgotten by those fortunate
enough to be in attendance yesterday.
| The sermon was a mastery effort and
commanded the strictest attention of the
large congregation throughout it's de-
| livery.
There is a thought which intrudes into
our harvest rejoicing this year in partlcu-
lar, which has probably already suggested
| itself to many, and which seem to
make these thanksgiving services
mockery. 1t was suggested several
weeks ago that we celebrate the harvest
| Sunday. but since then we have heard
! hardly so much of harvest as of hurricanes.
| Storm after storm has killed the grain be-
| fore il ripened, and wasted it when it was
ripe. Last Sunday morning the harvest
| kilograms were telling how little harvest
there was to be thankful for, and that The
frosts had killed what the
storms had spared. There seems
another side to the harvest song; while we
give thanks for the earlier and later rams,
we can not forget the fatal floods, and while
we sing, Glow the Corn Ears Full" we
have TO remember how widely they have
frozen instead OF filled; and the yield has
not only wrecked men in the fields, but at
the firesides far and wide, from tcrnadoes
| in Minnesota to earthquakes in the Medit-
erranean.The storm.has played with homes
as if they were of no more account than
mere wheat heads, aud killed brave men
and beautiful women as if they were no
she is cruel too. The fragment breeze
Which refreshes rs is often but
| THE SIDE ISSUE
of furious blast which is sinking ships
and often her seeming mercy to some
means misery 10 others. Diseases which
torment in silence, spiritual wants
which torment worse huugsrs the
soul which cannot be Satisfied.
We wear oar sorrows with q smile and
try to turn the tragedy of life Into comedy,
bat beneath the smile ths tragedy goes OF.
| Too often jssts come from NO deeper than
toe tongue, and smiles reach hardly
through the skin. Life is not quite 80
purple and golden rs these grapes and
| grain, and it sometimes seems q nockery.
The force is ever" said the lying Robelis.
But trust that
THIS DARK PICTURE
is seeming rather than a reality, and
that with all the criticisms which first
arise the true song for the day is such as
we have heard, and the true honest dis play
should keep the marks of storm and frost
! out of sight. With regard to The special
calamities which mar this years rejoic-
ings, We probably exeggerate them. A few
| of us who have been whisked about in a
! tornado would understand the story. We
| should tell the worst that we saw, and N
the excitement see things worse than they
! were. The blacklist column in a news
/ paper does not look so bad when spread
! out over few miles of territory. Con
! siderable of the wheat, which Is ruined IN
the storing is spared after all, and q good
deal OF the corn which was utterly ruined
last Sunday morning, will prob
ably be harvested IN good order
this year as in all years.
The world in general remains rich with
ripened harvests; besides all the evils are
tho result Of laws which are nos evil, bat
which bring all our blessings. Storms
are Il part OF the system that brings the
breez9s aud diffuses the dews and gives
the rains and the rivers, and We do not
wish providence which should suspend
the system. Whatever different Views
men may have of the power we call
God, that is better and divine government
which makes laws sure, SO that they can be
trusted. than any providence which should
suspend or spoil laws to pet one man or to
punish another. The calamities are part
of the benefcent system, and serve to
| HlOW bno Uio5olbRo OOlGOl' As 10 OhaJ
crops fail that we realize how much the
crops are worth. So disease shows the
worth of health, and through it we learn to
prize sound body and to keep it sound.
The hardships met in nature have goaoed
man on and given him the mental great
ness to triumph over nature, and the hard
ships in life have given him his moral and
spiritual greatness. Here lies a still deep
or truth which the cslamities suggest, for
these crops which they cannot spoil but
even help to cultivate. When to district
where disaster has brought desolation
and need, help is generously sent from
neighbors and from nations far away, we
see a richer growth than any field
yields. The corn fails, but its very failure
brings harvest of charity beside which
corn seems cheap. Chicago grows out OF
the fire better than before, and the fire
shines around the world and kindles a
charity more beautiful than any blocks in
Chicago. Suffering wakes sympathy. The
very trouble keeps the worlds heart warm
Curse calamity as we will, it now and
then seems sometimes to ripen
men and make souls sweeter.
Just rs the frost last Sunday morning has
ripsned the wild grapes and turned the
sumac leaves to so rich scarlet. In view
OF
THIS R-oH HARVEST