Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1886-07-28

God knows just how much money it is best
for you to lose. You never gain unless it
is best for you to gain. You so up when
it is best for you to go up, and 60 down
when it is best for you to go down. Prove
it, you say. I will: Romans viii, 2S:-
"All things work together for good to them
that love God" You go into factory and
you sss twenty or thirty wheels, and they
are going in different directions. This hand
is rolling off this way, and another hand
another way; one down and another up
You say: ''What confusion in factoroy"
o, no! all these different hands are only
different parts of the machinei9. So 1 60
into your life and see strange things. Here
is one providence pulling you one way, and
another in another way. But these are diff
ferent parts of one machinery by which He
will advance your everlasting and present
well-being. Now you know that second
mortgage, and a third and fourth mortgage
is often worth nothing. 1t is the first mort
gage that is good investment. l have to
tell you that every Christian man has a
first mortgage on every trial, and on every
disaster, and it must make a payment of
eternal advantage to his soul. How many
worriments it would take out of your heart,
if you believed that fully. You buy goods
and hope the price will go up, but you are
in a fret and a frown for fear the price will
60 down. You do not buy the goods using
your best discretion in the matter, and then
say: 80 Lord! I haye done the best 1
could; commit this whole transaction into
Thy hands, That is what religion is good
for, or it is good for nothing.
There are two things, says an old proverb,
you ought not to fret about: First, things
that you can help; and second, things
which you cannot help. If you can help
them, why do you not apply the remedy ?
If you cannot help them. you might as well
surrender first as last. My dear brethren,
do not sit any longer moping about your
ledger. Do not sit looking so desponding
upon your stock of unsaleable goods. Do
you think that God is going to allow you,
a Christian man, to do business alone p
God is the controlling partner in every
firm; and although your debtors may ab-
scond, although your securities may fail,
although your store may burn, God will
cut Of an infnity of results, choose for you
the very best results. Do not have any
idea that you can overstep the limit that
God has laid down for your prosperity
You will never get one inch beyond it.
God has decided how much prosperity
you can stand honorably, and employ use
fully, and control righteously; and at the
end Of 1886 you will have just so many dol
lars and cents, just so much wardrobe, just
so much furniture, just so many bonds and
and nothing more. | will give
beyond that. God has looked over your
life. He knows what is best for you, and
He is going to bless you in time, and bless
e., op1 HI do r bn
best way.
Your little child says: 'Papa, wish you
would let me have that knife" "No,"
you say, SIT is sharp knife and you will
cut yourself" He says: 81 must have it,"
gets angry and red in the face, and says he
will have it; but you say he shall not have
it. Are you not kind in keeping it from
him? So God treats his children. say:
81 wish, heavenly Father, to get that" God
says: mo, my child.'' l say: ~ must
have it." God says: "You cannot haveit."
l get angry and say: 81 will have it." God
says: 'You shall not have it," and do not
get it. Is He not kind and loving and the
best of Fathers? Do you tell me there Is
no rule and regulation in these things?
Tell that to the men who believe in no God
and no Bible. Tell it not to me.
A man Of large business concludes to go
out of his store, leaving much of his in
in the business, and he says to
his sons: Now, I am going to leave this
business in your hands. Perhaps Imay come
back in little while, and perhaps not.
While I am gone you will please look after
affairs" After awhile the father comes
back and finds everything at loose ends, and
jhe whole business seems to be going wrong.
He says: 81 am going to take possession Of
,his business-you know | never fully sur
rendered it; and henceforth consider your
selves subordinates. Is he not right in
loing it? He saves the business. The Lord
seems to let US go on in life, guided by our
own skill, and we make miserable work of
It. God comes down to our shop Or our
store, and says: ''Things are going wrong.
come to take charge. l am master and |
know what is best, and l proclaim my au-
,hority." We are merely subordinates.
1t is like boy at school with long sum
that he cannot do. He has been working at
it for hours, making figures here and rub
bing out figures there, and it is all mixed
up; and the teacher, looking over the boys
knows that he cannot get out of
it, and, cleaning the slate, says: "Begin
again" Just so God does to us. Our af-
fairs get into an inextricable entanglement,
and He rubs everything out and says, "Be-
pin againp' Is He not wise and loving in
so doing?
l think the trouble is that there is so
large difference between the divine and
the human estimate as to what is enough.
| have heard Of people striving for that
which is enough, but never heard of any
one who had enough. What God calls
enough for man, man calls too little. What
man calls enough, God says is too much.
The difference between poor man and a
rich man is only the difference in banks.
The rich man puts his money in the Nassau
Bank or the Park Bank or Fulton Bank, or
some other bank of that character, while
the poor man comes up and makes his i'll
vestments in the bank of Him who runs all
the quarries, all the mines, all the gold, all
the earth, all heaven. Do you think a man
can fail when he is backed up like that?
l want to bring this truth close up to the
heart of those people in this audience who
have to calculate rigid economy, who are
perplexed how they will make the old gar
mcnt hold cut little longer, with whom
the great question is not which is the best
investment or the most lucrative security,
but how shall l make the two ends meet?
TO such people I bring the coincidence OF
this Christian truth.
You may have seen map on which is
described, with red ink, the travels of the
children of Isreal through the desert to the
Promised Land. You see how they took
this and that direction, crossed the river
and went through the sea. Do you know
God has made map of your life with
paths leading up to this bitterness and that
success, through this river and across that
sea? but, blessed be God the path always
comes out at the Promised Land. Mark
that! Mark that!
Iremark again: That all those things that
seem to be but accidents in our life, are un
der the divine supervision. We sometimes
seem to be going helmless and anchorless:
You say: eff had some other trade; if
had not gone there this summer; if had
lived in some other house, You have nc
right to say that. Every tear you wept,
every step you have taken, every burden
you have carried, is under divine inspection
and that event which startled your whole
household with horror God met with perfect
placidity, because He knew it was for youl
good. It was part Of great plan project
ed long ago. In eternity when you come tt
reckon up your mercies, you will point tt
that afflictiOn as one of your greatest bless