The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-08-19

domestic friends, your business friends,
your Christian friends, God sent them to
bless you, and if any of them have proved
traitorous it is only to bring out the value
of those who remain. If some die, it is
only that they may stand at the outpost
of heaven to greet you atyour coming.
You always will have friends, warm
hearted friends, magnanimous friends,
and when sickness comes to your dwelling
there will be watchers; when trouble
comes to your heart there will be sympa-
thizers; when death comes there will be
gentle fingers to close the eyes and fold
the hands, and gentle lips to tell of
resurrection. o, we are comprised by
body guard Of friends! Every man, il he
has behaved himself well, is surrounded
by three circles of fiiends-those of the
outer circle, wishing him well; those in
the next circle, willing to help him; while
close up to his heart are a few who would
die for him. God pity the wretch who has
not any frendsl He has not behaved
well.
Iremark again: That God puts down
| the limit to our temporal prosperity. The
| world of finance seems to have no God in
| it. You can not tell where a man will
| land. The affiuent fall; the poor rise.
| The ingenious fail; the ignorant succeed.
An enterprise opening grandly shuts in
bankruptcy. while out Of the peat dug up
| from some New England marsh the mill
lionaire builds his fortune. The poor man
thinks it is chance that keeps him down;
the rich man thinks 1t is chance which
holds him up, and they are both wrong. 1t
=. hot nnd las
the money market, and has a hook
in the nose of the stock gambler, and that
all of the commercial revolutions
of the world shall result in the very best
for Gods dear children. My brethren, do
not kick against the divine allotments.
God knows just how much money it is
| best for you to lose. You never gain un-
less it is best for you to gain. You go up
when it is best for you to go up, and go
down when it is best for you to go down.
Prove it, you say. ! will: Romans, viii,
%:
All things work together for good to them
| that love God.
There are two things, says an old prov
erb, you ought not to fret about: First,
things that you can help: and, second,
things which you can not help. If you can
help them, why do you not apply the rem
edy? If you can not help them, you might
as we'll suri ender first as last. My dear
brethren, do not sit any longer moping
about your ledger. Do not sit looking SO
Responding upon your stock of unstable
goods. Do you think that God is going to
allow you, Christian man, to do business
alone? God is the controlling partner in
every firm; and although your debtors
may abscond; although your securities
may fail; although your store may burn,
God will, out of an infinity 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 hon
orably and employ usefully, AMI con-
, troll righteously; and at the end of
1886 you will have just so many
dollars and cents, just so much wardrobe,
. just so much furniture, just SO many bonds
and mortgages, and nothing more. / will
give you 500 for every penny beyond
that. God has looked over your life. He
knows what is best for you, and He is
|
for eternity! and he will do it in the best
way.
Your little child says: "Papa, wish
, / you would let me have that knife"
"No," you say, sit is sharp knife, and
4 you will cut yourself"
FL He says: ~ must have it,"
"But you can not have it," you reply.
! He 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
I say:
81 wish, Heavenly Father, TO get that
, God says: "No, my child"
say: 81 must have it,"
, God says: "You can not have It,"
!. get angry and say: II will have it,
a God says: "You shall not have it," and
I l do not get it.
/. Is He not kind and loving and the bes
9 of fathers? Do you tell me there is NJ
rule and regulation in these things9 Tel
: that to the men who believe in NO God ant
no Bible. Tell it not to me.
q man of large business concludes to 2,
J. out OF his store, leaving much OF his in.
. | vestments in the business, and he sa VS. t,
4 his sons:
r snow. am going to leave this bushes!
9 in your hands. Perhaps may come bacl
: in little while, and perhaps not. Whil
Y l am gone you will please to look afte
a affairs"
u After awhile the father comes back ant
finds every thing at loose ends, and tn,
l whole business seems to be going wronI
4 He says:
J. II am going to take possession Of thi
!: business-you know never fully surren
q dered it; and henceforth consider your
% selves subordinates."
Is he not right in doing it9 He saves tn
.. business. The Lord seems to let us 60 OF
10 in life, guided by our own skill, and W.
d make miserable work of it. God come
d down 10 our shop or our store, and says:
u "Things are going wrong, leone to tax
IS charge. l am master and know what i
le best, and proclaim my authority" w
% are merely subordinates.
1. 1t is like boy at school with q Ion,
d sum that he can not do. He has bee
lie working at it for hours, making figure
J. here and rubbing out figures there, and i
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