Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-06-21

before and as never since, enough she'll
ish TO feed the whole city. God Is good.
There "a 10 mistake about that. History
tells US that in 1855, 10 England, there
was great drought. The crops tatled,
but In Essex, on the rocks, In place
where they had neither sown nor cul.
tured, great crop OF peas grew until
they filled a hundred measures; ana
there were blossoming vines enough,
PROMISING As Much MORE.
But why 90 so fsrg can give YOU q
family incident. Some generations back
there was q great drought in Connecticut,
New England. The water disappeared
from the hills, and the farmers living on
the hills drove their cattle down 70 the
valleys, and had them supplied st the
wells and fountains Of the neighbors.
But these after swhile began 10 fsil, and
the neiehbors said to Mr.. Birdseye, OF
whom / shall speak; "You must mol
send your focks and herds down here
any more; our wells are giving out"
Mr.. Birdseye, the old Christian man.
gathered his family at the altar, and with
his family he gathered the slaves OF the
hOusehold-for bondage was then In
vogue in Connecticut and on theil
knees before God they cried for water
and the family story is that there
was weeping aud great sobbing
at that altar that the family
might not perish for lack of water, and
that the herds and 1ocks might not per
ish. The family rose from the altar. Mr..
Blrdseye, the old man, took mis- stsh and
walked out over the hills, and In a place
where he had been scores OF times with
out noticing anything particular, he saw
the ground was very dark, and he took
his staff and turned up the ground aud
water started, and he beckoned TO his
servants, and they came and they brought
pals and buckets until all the family and
all the flocks and the herds we're cared
for, aud then they made troughs reaching
from that place down to the house aud
barn, and the water flowed and it is liv-
ing fountain to-day.
Now, call that old grandfather, Elijah,
and call that brook that begsh TO roll
then, and is rolling still, the brook Cher
It'll; and the lesson to me and to all who
hear it is, when you are In great stress of
circumstances pray and dig, dig and pray,
and
PRAY AND DIG.
How does that passage go? "The noun
tains shall depart and the hills be re-
moved, but my loving kindness shall not
fail.n III your merchandise, If your
mechanism, If your husbandry fail, look
out for ravens. III you have in your de-
spondeney put God on trial and con-
demned Him as guilty of cruelty, | move
this morning for new trial. IL the BIZ
ography OF your life is ever written | will
tell you what the first chapter and the
middle chapter and the last chapter will
be about, II IL is written accurately. The
first chapter about mercy, the middle
chapter about mercy, the last chapter
about mercy. The mercy that lowered
over your cradle. The mercy that will
hover over your grave. The mercy that
will cover all between.
Again, this story of the text impresses
me that relief came to this prophet with
the most unexpected and with seemingly
impossible conveyance. II it had been
robin-redbreast or musical meadow
lark or meek turtle-dove or sublime
albstross that had brought the food to
Elijah, it would not have been so sur
prsing. But no. 1t was bird so fierce
and inauspicate that we have fashioned
one of our most forceful and repulsiye
has passion for picking out the ewes of
men and of animals. IL loves to maui
the sick and the dying. 1t swallows with
vulturous guzzle everything 1t can put its
heak on; and yet, all the food Elijah gets
for six months or a year comes from
ravens. So your supply Is going TO come
from an unexpected source. You think
some great-heaTted, generous man will
a lFaa civ l. IL.
back OF your note, or he will 20 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 the most unexpected
quarter, The Providence which seemed
ominous will be TO you more than that
which seemed suspicious. 1t will not be
a challinch with breast and wing dashed
with white and brown and chestnut, it
win be
BLACK RAVEN.
Here is where we all make our mistake,
and that is in regard to the color of Gods
providence. a white providence comes
to us and we say "Oh it is mercyp'
Then black providence comes toward us
and we say ooh, that Is disasterl" The
white providence comes to you, and you
have great business success, and you
have s50,000, and you get proud, and you
get independent of God, and you begin to
feel that the prayer, 'glye me this day
my daily bread" is Inappropriate for
you, for you have made provision Tor
hundred years.
Then black providence comes, and it
sweeps everything away, and then you
begin to pray, and you begin to feel your
dependence, and begin to be humble be.
fore 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 Il raven.
There was child born in your mouse
All your friends congratulated you. The
other children of the family stood amazed
looking al the newcomer, and asked a
great many questions, genealogical and
chronological. You sajd-and YOU said
truthfully-that white angel flaw
through the room and left the little one
there That little one stood with its two
feet In the very center OF your sanctua-
ry of affection, and with It's two hands IL