The weekly sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1886-1887, 1886-06-24

tsii you what the Hrst chapter and the
middle chapter and the last chapter
will be about. II it is written accurately.
The first chapter about mercy, the mid
Ole chapter about mercy. the last chap
ter about mercy. The mercy that how
cred over your cradle. The mercy that
VIII hover over your grave. The mercy
that will cover all between.
Again. this story of the text Inn
presses me, that relief came to this
prophet with the most unexpected and
with seemingly impossible CONVEYANCE
II 1t had been robin-redbreast or a
musical meadow lark or a meek turtle
dove or sublime albatross that had
brought the food to Elijah, it would not
have been SO surprising. But no. It
was bird so fierc. and inauspicate that
we have fashioned one Of our most
1orceful and repulsive words out of it
-ravenous. That bird has a passion
Tor picking out the eyes OF men and OF
animals. 1t loves t., maui the sick and
the dying. It swallows with vulturous
Suzzie everything it can put it's beak on;
and yet all the food Elijah gets for six
months or year is from ravens. So
your supply is going to come from an
unexpected source. You think some
great-hearted generous man will come
along and give you his name on the back
OF your note, or he will go security for
you In some great enterprise. No, he
will not. God will open the heart
OF some Shylock towards YOU.
Your relief will come from tho most I'M
expected quarter. The Providence which
seemed ominous will be to you more than
that which seemed suspicious. 1t will
not be chaffinch with breast and wing
dashed with white and brown and chest
NUT II will be a black raven
Here Is where we all make our mis-
take, and that is in regard to the color of
Gods providence. A white providence
comes to US and we say: 90, it is
mercyf' Then black providence comes
disaster!' The white providence comes
to you and you have great business
success, and you have fifty thousand
dollars, and you get proud, and you get
Independent Of God, and you begin to
feel that the prayer, "give me this day
my daily bread" is Inappropriate for
you. for you have made provision for a
hundred years. Then black provi-
dence comes, and it sweeps everything
away, and then you begin to pray, and
you begin to feel your dependence, and
begin to be humble before God, and
you cry out for treasures in heaven. The
black providence brought you salvation.
The white providence brought you ruin
That which seemed to be harsh and fierce
and dissonant was your greatest mercy.
1t was a raven.
There was a child born in your house.
All your friends congratulated you. The
other children Of the family stood
amazed looking at the new conner, and
asked a great many questions genealooi-
cal and chronological. You said-and
you said truthfully-that a white angel
flew through the room and left the little
one there. That little one stood with
its two feet in the very centre Of your
sanctuary of affection, and with its two
hands it took hold of the altar Of your
soul. But one day there came one of the
three scourges of children-scarlet
fever, or Group. or diphtheria-an all
that bright scene vanished. The chat
tering, the strange questions, the pull
ing at the dresses as you crossed the
ioor-all ceased. AS the great friend
OF children stopped down and leaned
toward that cradle, and took the little
one in His arms and walked away with
1t into the bower OF eternal summer.
your eye began to follow Him, and YOU
followed the treasure he carried, and
you have been following them ever since
and instead of thinking Of heaven only
once week, as formerly, you are
thinking Of it all the time, and you are
more pure and tender-hearted than you
Ing for the daybreak. It is not self
righteousness in you to acknowledge
that you are better man than you used
to be-you are better woman than you
used to be. What was it that brought
you the sanctifying blessing? Obi was
the dark shadow on the nursery it was
! the dark shadow on the short grave: it
was the dark shadow on your broken
heart; it was the brooding OF u great
/ black trouble; 1t WAS raven-it was a
raven Dear Lord teach this people
that white providences do not always
mean advancement, and that black
provi,lences do not always mean retro
gresSion.
Children of God, get up out of
had so many ravens he has this
morning. Fling your fret and worry
to the winds. Whatever you want
pray for l suppose Elijah prayed
pretty much all the time. Tremendous
work behind him. Tremendous work
before him. God has no spare ravens
for oilers or for people who are
shape possible and 1 am willing to
risk my eternity on it; ask God in
the right, way for what you want and
you shall have 1t if it is best for
You.
Ny friend, you have a right TO argue
from precedent that God is going to
take care of you. Has He not done it
two or three times every day? That is
most marvellous. 1 look back and I
wonder that God has given me food
three times day regularly all my life
time, never missing but once and then
| was lost in the mountains but
that very morning and that very night I
met the ravens.
., the Lord is so good that 1 wish
all this people would trust Him with
the two liveS-the life you are now
living and that which every tick of the
watch and every stroke of the clock
inform you is approaching. Bread for
Your immortal soul comes to-day. See,
They alight on the platform. They
alight on the backs of all the pews.
They swing among the arches. Ravens.
Ravens, q Blessed are they that hun
ger after Righteousness for they shall be
filled" To all the SHINING and the sor-
rowing and the tempted deliverance
comes this hour. Look down and you
see nothing but your spiritual deformi-
ties. Look back and you see nothing
but wasted opportunity. Cast your eye
forward and you have a fearful looking
for of Indictment and fiery ip6ionation