St. Landry democrat., 1886-10-02

shoemaker's bench held Bloomfield for q
little while; but God raised him to SIT In
the chair of philosopher and Christian
scholar. The soap boiler of London could
not keep his son in that business, for Goa
had decided that Hawley was to be one OF
the greatest astronomers of England.
On the other hand, we may be born in
sphere little higher than that for which
God intends US. We may be born IN cas-
tie. and play in a costly conservatory, ana
feed high bred pointers, and angie Tor
goldfish in artificial ponds, and be
familiar with princes; yet God may bet
ter have fitted us for carpenters shop,
or dentists forceps, or weavers shuttle,
or 8 blacksmith's forge. The great thlng
is to find Just the sphere for which God IN
tended US, and then to occupy this sphere,
and occupy it forever. Here is man God
fashioned to make a plow. There is a
man God fashioned to make constitu-
ton. The man who makes the pillow IS
lust as honorable as the man who makes
the constitution. There is a woman who
was made to fashion robe, and yonder Is
one intended to queen and wear it.
1t seems to me that in the one case as in
the other, God appoints the sphere, and
the needle is just as respectable in His
sight as the scepter.
In the Lords army we all want to be
Brigadier- Generals. The sloop says:
"More mast. more tonnage, more cam
vas. Oh, that l We're topsail schooner,
or a full-rigged brig, or Cunard steam.
err"
And 50 the world is filled with cries OF
discomfort because we are not willing to
stay in the place where God put us and In.
tended US to be. My frien is, be not too
proud to do any thing God tells you to do.
9. Again, find in this Oriental scene q
lesson Of sympathy with woman when
she goes forth trudging in the desert.
What a great change it wnS for this
Hagar! There was the tent and all the
surroundings of Abraham's house, beauti.
full and luxurious, no doubt. Now she is
going out into the hot sands of the des-
ert. Oh, what change it was! And in
one day we often see the wheel of fortune
turn. Here is some one who lived in the
very bright home of her father. She
had every thing possible to admin
ter to her happiness-plenty at the
table, music in the drawing
room, welcome at the door. She is led
forth into life by some one who can not
appreciate her. A dissipated soul comes
and takes her out into the desert Cruel
ties blot out all the lights of that home
circle. Harsh words wear out her spirits.
The high hope that shone out over the
marriage altar while the ring was being
set, and the vows given, and the benedic-
ton pronounced, have all faded with the
orange blossoms, and there she is to-day,
broken hearted, thinking of past joys, and
present desolation, and coming anguish.
Hagar in the wilderness!
Here is beautiful home. You can not
think Of any thing that can be added to
it. For years there has not been the sug-
gestion of a single trouble. Bright and
happy children fill the house with laugh
ter and song. Books to read. Pictures to
look at Lounges to rest on. Cup of do
nestle joy full and running over. Dark
night drops. Pillow hot. Pulses futter.
Eyes close. And the foot whose well
steps on the door sill brought the whole
household out at eventide, crying: "Fath-
er's coming" will never sound ON the
door sill again. A long, deep grief plowed
through all that brightness of domestic
life. Paradise lost. Widowhood. Hagar
in the wilderness.
8. Again, I fiend in this Oriental scene
the fact that every mother leads forth ire
mendous destinies. You say:
"That isn't an unusual scene, a mother
leading her child by the hand"
Who is that she is leading? Ishmael,
you say. Who is Ishmael? A great ma
ton is to be foun ded; nation so strong
tina t it is to stand for thousands of years
against all the armies of the world.
Egypt and Assyria thunder against, it
but in vain. Gaulus brings up his army,
and his army is smitten. Alexander
decides upon a campaign, brings up his
hosts. and dies. For a long while that
nation monopolized the learning Of the
world. 1t is the nation Of the Arabs. Who
founded it? Ishmael, the lad that Hagar
led into the wilderness. She had no idea
she was leading forth such destinies.
Neither does any mother.
My mind this morning leaps thirty years
ahead. and see merchant prince of New
York. One stroke of his pen brings ship
out of Canton. Another stroke of his pen
brings ship into Madras. He is mighty
in all the money markets of the world.
Who is he? He sits this morning beside
you in the Tabernacle. My mind leaps
thirty years forward from this time, and
find myself in relief association. A great
multitude of Christian women have met
together for generous purpose. There is
one woman in that crowd who seems to
have the confidence of all the others, and
they all look up to her for her
counsel and for her prayers. Who is she:
This afternoon you will find her in the
Sabbath school, while the teacher tells
her Of that Christ who clothed the naked,
and fed the hungry, and healed the sick.
My mind leaps forward thirty years from