News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-07-15

vestmcnt goes under and misfortune Is
added to misfortune, until you begin
| to cry TO God. Now you look for help
from Heaven. Now you see the INSULT
cheney of this world; now you are
brought very near to God, and your
hopes of heaven are bright. 1t was the
black providence that saved you. 1t
wGs the white providence that destroyed
you. It was the Providence so full of
harshneSs and dissonance that brought
the greatest mercy to your soul. 1t was
a raven; it was q raven.
A child is born in your house. Your
frien Is send their congratulations. The
older children stand with amazed look
at the new conner, and ask many qucs-
tions genealogical and chronological.
Great brightness in that house. That
little one has its two feet planted in the
very center of your affect ons, and with
its two hands it takes hold of your very
soul; but one of the three scourges of
children; scarlet fever or Group or diph
liberia, blasts all that scene. The chat
tering, the strange questions, the pulling
at your dress as you cross the room; all
that has ceased. AS the great Friend of
children comes to the cradle and stoops
down and puts His arms around your
little one and folds it to His heart, and
walks away into the bower of everlasting
sum- er, your eyes follow and follow,
and you keep looking that way; and
when once you thought of heaven once
a week, now you think of it all the time,
and you are purer and more tender than
you used to be, and you are waiting for
the daybreak. o, how changedl You
are a better man than you were before
that trouble; you are better woman.
1t is not egotistical for you to say it; you
are better. What brought that blessing
1t was trouble that cast its shadow on
your heart; trouble that cast its shadow
on a short grave, and trouble that cast
its shadow on your homes black winged
trouble. 1t was a raven; it was raven.
Dear Lord, teach my people that it was
not the dark Providence that is SO dc
structive as the white Providence, and
that " Whom the Lord loveth He chas-
teneth, and scourgeth every one whom
He perceiveth;' and that when trouble
comes it is not because God has grudge
against you, but because He loves you
and wants to bring you nearer to Him,
and lift you up to higher radiation and
on a grander platform. 0 children of
God, get out of your dependencies;
fling your sorrows to the winds. God
never had so many ravens as lie has now.
Some time, perhaps, under the cares of
life you feel like my little child of four
years, who, under a childish perplexity,
said one day: 81 wish | could go to
heaven and see God and pick flowers" "
All! my dear, at the right time you will
go and pick the flowers. Until that
time, pray. l suppose Elijah prayed all
the time. Tremendous work ahead of
him, tremendous work behind him. And
what you want ask for. put it in the
boldest shape, and risk my eternity on
in the right way for what you want and
Oh, the mercies of God! Sometimes
we cannot understand them. They
come this morning, they alight on the
platform, they alight on the edges OF the
galleries, they alight on the backs of the
pews, bringing food from God for all
your souls. Ravens ravensl And
here, standing at the close of our &C.
clesiastical ycar-for, after the service
tonight, we will be parted for some
time standing here in the closing hour
of our ecclesiastical year, the year be-
ginning and closing at the 1st of July
with us in this church. l want to
tell you that God is going to take care
of you, whether on the land or the sea-
whether by such providence as you ex-
pect, or such providence as you have
never expected. God will provide for
YOU look back, and this morning, in
the presence of the Church, l testify to
the Lords goodness to me, personally.
l have often said in my family: 81 do
not believe anybody owes the Lord as
much as | do, for He has been so good
and kind to me all the way through"
Now, I have been preaching the opel
for thirty years, and in those thirty
years, heve missed but one Sabbath
through poor health, and that was twen-
ty-four years ago. have never been in
such robust health as to-day. l men
ton it in thanksgiving to Almighty God,
and also in thanksgiving to the people
who have taken from me all burden and
Ill care. And | want to commend that
Sod whom | serve, the God to whom l
nope to devote all my life-I commend
hat God to you. He will be your God
while you live, and your everlasting por-
ion, and the God of your children.
commend you to God and the Word of
His grace, which is able to build up and
1--WE you an inheritance among all them
hat are sanctifed.