The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-12-13

Lord God Almighty for that emergency. oh,
IN thus tremendous pass of your earthly exist
ence cry unto God and ask His direction Make
a mistake here and you make it forever. Wal
ter Scott wrote something, half of which / do
not like. for it is sarcastic; but the other half
do like, for it is so true:
"Oh woman in our hours of ease
Uncertain, coy and hard to please
When pain and anguish wiring the brow
A ministering angel thou.
Blessed that home in which the newly married
couple dedicate their souls to Christ. Blessed
the family Bible in which their names have just
been written. Blessed the hour of morning and
evening prayer. Blessed the angels of God who
ioin wing tip to wing tip over the home making
canopy of light, and love. and blessedness. 1t
may be only yesterday that they clasped hands
forever. The orange blossoms may fail, and the
fragrance may die on the air, but they who
marry in Christ shall walk together on that Gay
when the church. which is the LANES "lle,
shall take the hand of her Lord and king amlo
the swinging of the golden censers.
Again, remark: 1t is a tremendous pass IN Ire
when man comes to his first great success: You
get IN the cars some evening. EVERYBODY tina.
happened. You sit down in the car, your face
Illuminated, and lady comes in. There is no
place for her to sit, and you get up IN great
cheer and insist on her taking your place. ana
with great courtesy she says "Thank you,
and sits down. You say nothing to any body,
but it is evident from your manner and appear
ance that great good fortune has happened unto
you. Now that is crisis in your life. Atsuch
a time the question will arise: I'm what enter
prise shall invest9 What shall be the house
will live in? What shall be the library!
What shall be my wardrobe2 What shall do
with my money!"
At that point hundreds of men make a fatal
mistake. Some 60 into dissipation. Some take
on great arrogance-try to make every body feel
how small they are-whole caravans of camels
going through the needles eye of their mean
ness. They walk through the street with an
air, as much as to say: Get out of the way!
here comes three hundred thousand dollars!"
That is the crisis in life where so many fail, be-
cause they have no God to direct them.
There are men who, before their success. are
kind, and amiable. and genial and useful who,
after their success are arrogant, and unbear-
able and unchristian. Here is man who was
once very useful in society, but great success
comes. and he gets in his equipage and he drives
on; he lashes the fiery steeds; be goes faster and
faster, eight miles the hour, twenty miles the
hour, hundred miles the hour; faster and
faster, until in his last moments he rouses up to
find that he is drawn by the fiery hoofs Of eter-
nal disaster as they come racketing down ON the
pavement of hell 0 young man, or man in
mid life, you want God in your great success,
your first great success.
Another tremendous pass in our life Is when
we get our first sorrow. 1t would be foolish for
me to talk to the young men of this DAY as
though their life was going to be smooth all
the way. You might as we'll start sea cap
tain In a vessel without a carpenter, and with
out any tools. and without any cordage That
would do very we'll while the sea was smooth.
but when the ship gets caught in the teeth of a
northeaSter, and the waves dash clear over the
hurricane deck, then the captain cries out:
where's the carpenters Where are the tools?
Where the ropes?' The young men of this
day would understand that / misrepresent the
matter II told them their life was always to be
smooth. They know better. They know from
what they see of the life of others that life
cannot always be smooth. Many men came
home from the late war without scratch or a
bruise but in the conflict of life it is not so:
all get wounded-wounded in the head, in the
hands, in the feet in the heart Life is con-
11ict The Bible over and over again states that
Paul states it, and he writes himself as in war
with the world, war with the flesh. and war
with the devil, and war all the way through.
Now, how are you going to meet the first trouble?
That is the question. Show me how you are to
meet your first trouble and 1 will show you how
You meet all the other troubles. 1t is the first
blow that sends man to drinking to drown his
troubles that knocks the fire out of him so he
spends the rest of his life cowed down.
Who is that weigher in that large commercial
establishment He once owned the store. Who
is that underling in large manufacturing es-
Enlistment getting one or two thousand year,
lie once owned the factory. but misfortune
came; the first blow brought him to the dust
and he never had the courage to rise. 0 how
important is the manner in which we receive the
first sorrow!
Perhaps the first trouble is bereavement
suppose you know suppose you have rec
ognized the fact that so often the first born is
taken. have seven brothers and sisters Each
one lost the rstborn, and | suppose that in
hundreds of cases in this house it was the first
born that was taken. Some people give what is
to me very absurd reason for that They say
1T is because the child is loved too much. do
not think that is possible. do not believe any
father or mother loved child too much. You
cannot love your child too much. God did not
take your child because you loved it too much
think this is the reason why God so often takes
the first-born 1t is to transfer your affections
to heaven, and make that place the more grand
and blessed at the beginning of your life making
heaven blessed, so that you keep thinking of
that place. and SO be elevated and lifted on to-
ward it. think that is the reason Perhaps l
am wrong ] am sure the other reason is wrong |
that so many people give when they say it is be-
cause you love your child too much.
Now, suppose the first trial comes and you
have no God. What then2 Have you ever tried
to See one go through bereavement without any
God! have witnessed that sad spectacle But
we want grace, we want Divine grace, when
bereavement comes into the house which erst
was full Of sunny looks and greetings at the
door, and kisses flung by little hands from the
window as you went down the front steps, and
the doves in the nest cry because the hawk
swoops, and the cheek pales. and the eyes close,
and the heart stops Oh, to put away garments
that will never be worn again, to gather up from
tuc uOOT IOJS tudt ueFor again VIII stToW tuo
carpet and to go with sense of suffocation
through the desolated household that once rang
with childish merriment! Oh, my God! who can
stand that without Thy grace to help. without
Thy grace to smooth, without Thy grace to com
fort? Oh, you will want Christ in your first
trouble, and SO beg of you this morning to take
Him as yours.
You say you are strong and we'll So am L
You say that life is buoyant and beautiful So
it is to me. But sickness will come to you, and
it will come to me. We shall be told we cannot
60 OUT the door will be closed against the world;
there will be two watches, and some will order
silence on the stairs. saying Hush, hush!" and
in your dream you will hear the dash of water,
which you will take to be the beating of the
wave of the Jordan against your pillow, and you
will hear sound at the gate which you will