The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1886-07-08

ises MS food, and you have rlght 10 taSe
conrooe God has no hard times IN Ills MS
tory. His ships never break on the ROCKS,
His banks never fail. He not only mas the
food but He has the mode OF conveyance; noo
only the bread, but the ravens; and II IN
orier To satisfy YOU it We're necessary, Tod
would send out of the heavens great hook
of ravens, reaching from his gate to yours, so
that the food could be flung down the SKY
from beak to beak and from talon to talon.
"Though troubles assail and dangers alright,
Though treasures all fail, and foes all unite,
Yet one thing assures us, whatever betlde,
The Scripture assures us the Lord Will pro-
vide"
Notice also, in regard to these winSea
caterers, these black servants of the sky, and
in regard to this whole question brought be,
fore us, that nothing could Elijah hoard
up as a surplus. The raven did not bring
enough one morning to last a month, they
did not bring enough one morning to last
until the next morning. They brought
enough in the morning to last until the even
ing, and they brought enough in the evening
to last until the morning. Twice DAY.
"Aud they brought bread and flesh to nm
in the morning. and bread and flesh to INN
in the evening" In other words, they brought
lust enough Oh wish we could all learn tLat
lesson. You know the great struggle OF the
world is for a surplus. 1t is not merely
enough for this week, or this year, but 1t Is
for fifty years: it is for a lifetime. You have
more faith in the Nassau Bank, the Fulton
Bank, the Bank of England, than in the
Royal Bank of Heaven. You say: "lhat
is all very poetic; you can take the black
ravens; give me the gold eagles" IT in the
morning the food bs exhausted, do not sit
down after breakfast and say: Il don't
know where the next meal is to come from;'
but go out, look up into the sky, and you
will see two ravens, not like the insane
raven of Edgar A. Poe, alighting ON ms
chamber door. "Only this ana mourning more,
but Eliiah's two ravens, the LORDS Two
ravens, the one bringing bread, the other
bringing meat. Plumed butcher and baker.
Oh, how good God is, and how great are HIS
resources! When the city of Rochelle was
besieged, and the inhabitants were dying OF
famine, history tells us that he saw washed
upon the beach as never before, and as never
since, enough shell-fsh to feed the whole
city. God is good, God is gracious, God Is
bountiful. In 1906, in England, there was
great drought, and in Essex among the rocks
where there has been nothing planted and
nothing cultured, history tells US there came
up great crop of peas enough TO NIL a nun
dred measures, and there were enough dos
somiug vines promising as much more. oh,
God is good, God is gracious If people woul9
only trust him. | need not goso far L could
90 to this audien o and find 800 instances
this morning in your family histories Illus
trating that God takes care OF Ills GEAR
children. The morning left home to earn
my own livelihood my father sat on
the front seat, and | sat on the back
seat, and | felt sad on leaving home, and my
father had way of improving circum-
stances, and he said to me: de Witt, am
an old man now, but want to tell you one
thing; | have during the course OF my NE
come up to my last dollar; but when that
was spent, God always provided. Trust the
Lord and YOU will never want any good
thing" Was not that good thing to say to
a boy Just starting out in the world! have
found it true In my family line there was
an incident that | tried to mention, but L
only had part of the facts. have them now
fresh from a member of my own family
There was great drought up in New Eng
gland, in Connecticut, and the crops were
failing, and the cattle were dying for lack OF
water. Mr.. Birdseye, Christian man, had
his cattle and herds driven down into the
valleys to get water This went on for a
while. and finally the neighbors said: Mr..
Birdseye, YOU mustn't send your cattle down
| here to use our waters: our waters are 1ail-
| ing u.s. we are all going to die together; do
here any more" So Mr.. BirdSaye
went Lack to his house on the
hill, and he called his family together, and
he called his slaves slavery was in vogue
| in Connecticut-and he read a passage OF
Scripture, and then they all linelt down ana
| prayed God for water and the family story
! is that there was great sobbing and Weep
| lug at the family altar because the herds
were perishing and there was a prospect that
the family would die of thirst. They arose
from Their knees, and Mr.. Brdseye took q
staff and walked out over the hills, hardly
knowing why or where he walked, and
going along a place where he had been scores
I ,t.l
he saw that the ground was very dark, anc
he thrust his staff into it, and bored into it
and water flowed forth He beckoned to hi.
slaves and his servants tN come, and he tolc
them to bring buckets and to bring pals, and
they were brought and water was taken tc
the house, and taken to the barn, and then 6
trough was placed there and larger excava
ton was made, and the waters poured in
and in larger volume, and have teer
perennial spring that is pouring
now. | call that old REORGANIZATION
Elijah, and | call the brook that started that
day and has been running ever since, Cherth,
and the lesson for you and for me is, that
when we are in any kind Of distress, we must
pray and dig and pray and dig, and dig and
pray, and pray and dig. How does that pas
sage gol The mountains shall depart and
the hills be removed, but my loving kindness
shall not fail" If you put God on trial ant
condemn Him for being guilty of cruelty, to
day move a new trial. II your biography
is ever written, ] can tell you what the frs
chapter will be about, and the second chap
ter, and the middle chapter, and the las
chapter, if it is written accurately. The frs
chapter will be about mercy, the middl
chapter about mercy, the last chapter abou
mercy-the mercy that lowered over you
cradle, the mercy that Will hover over you
grave, the mercy that hovers ever all be
tween.
1--WE may like the ships by tempest be toss'd
On perilous deeps, but cannot be lost
Though satan enrages the wind and the tide
The promise assures us the Lord will provide.
My subject also gives to me more strl
ing and impressive lesson; and that is, tha
relief is apt to come in an unexpected an
seemingly impossible conveyance. If it ha
been q robin red breast, if it had been mus
cai meauow-l.rA,.4 l" nAu oeeu L" =. =
dove if it had been sublime albatross tls
brought food to Elijah, would not hay
been SO surprised; but no, IL was
fierce and inauspicate bird ou5
which we make ono of the mo
forcafal and repulsive words in our languag e
"ravenous." That bird has a passion fc
picking out; it is glad to worry the sick an
the slain. With vulturous guzzle it destroy
everything it can put its beak on, and ye
for six months, or for twelve months, 9
some think, that bird brought Elijah foo5
Your supply is going to come in an une,
pected conveyance. You get in some bus
ness trouble AMI you think some grea
hearted man win come around and will PIT
his name on the back of your note, or he wi
stand by you in some great enterpris
No, he will not; no, he will no
God will start some old Shylo1
to help you man who nevf
helped anybody. He will be wroIgf
; upon in such way that he WI
: come and help you. Circumstances mo
ominous will turn out most alspcIodS.
will not be chatiincb, its wings and feather
1 dashed with white and chestnut 1t will
. raven o, here is where we all MAKE
3 mistake and that is, in regard to the cox
s of Gods providences. A white providsn
q comes to us. We say: That is mercy
A black providence comes to US aud we sa.
3 go, that is Disaster A white proviien
Y comes to us, and we have plenty of m me
i plenty of friends, large government se;u
/ tiles, plenty of mortgages, SlO0,00J, ever
f thing bright, beautiful and fair. A
o that petition, "Give me this day my dai
It bread" seems to you inappropriate, becau
70 you have enough anyhow fer hundr
V years. But black Providence comes, a.
Il this investment fails and that investme
r. goes under, aud misfortune is addel to III
l. fortune, until all your property is gone, al