The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-06-27

mercy. Inc mercy that hovered over your era
dle-yhe mercy that will hover over your grave
| the mercy that will cover all between
| Again this story of the text impresses me that
| relief came to this prophet with the most uncx-
| pected and with seemingly impossible convey
| ance If it had been robin redb breast, or nlu-
| steal meadow-lark, or meek turtle dove.
| sublime albatross that had brought the food to
| Elijah, it c1Sould not have been so surprising
| But no. 1t was bird so fierce and inauspicate
that We have fashioned one of our most forceful
and repulsive words out OF it-ravenous That
| bind has passion for picking out the eyes of
men and of animals 1t loves to maui the
sick and the dying. 1t swallows with
| vulturous guzzle everything it can put
| Elijah gets for six months or year is from RAJ
vens So your supply is going to come from an
| unexpected source. You think some great
| ed. generous man will come along and give you
| his name on the back of your note. or he will go
| security for you in some great enterprise. No,
! he will not. God will open the heart of some
| Shylo * toward you. Your relief will come from
| the most unexpected quarter. The providence
! which seemed ominous will be to you more than
| that which seemed auspicious. 1t will not be
chaffinch with breast and wing dashed with
| white, and brown. and chestnut; 1t will be
black raven
| Here is where we al make our mistake. and
that is in regard to the color of Gods providence.
| A white providence comes to us. and we say:
| ''Oh. 1t is mercy" Then black providence
| comes toward Us, and we say: ooh, that is dis
| and you have great business success. and you
have $50, GOO, and you get proud, and you get in
dependent of Goa, and you begin to feel that the
prayer. Give me this day my daily
| bread" is inappropriate for you for
you have made provision for hun
bred years Then a black providence
comes, and it sweeps every thing away, and then
| you begin to pray, and you begin to feel your
| dependence, and begin to be humble before God,
and you cry out for treasures in heaven. The
! black providence brought you salvation. The
| white providence brought you ruin. That which
seemed to be harsh, and fierce, and discordant
was your greatest mercy 1t was raven,
There was q child born in your house. All your
| friends congratulated you. The other children
| of the family stood amazed looking at the new
conner, and asked great many questions, gene
| illogical and chronological. You sald-and you
| said truthfully-that white angel flew through
| the room and left the little one there The lit
| tie one stood with its two feet in the very CEN
ter Of your sanctuary of affection, and with its
1 two hands it took hold Of the altar
of your soul But one day there
children-scarlet fever, or Group. or diphtheria
and all that bright scene vanished The chat
teriug, the strange questions, the pulling at the
| dresses as you crossed the floor all ceased AS
| the great friend of children stopped down and
| leaned toward that cradle and took the little
| one in His arms, and walked away with it into
the bower of eternal summer, your eye began to
| follow Him, and you followed the treasure lie
l
/ them ever since: and instead of think
| ing of heaven only once week, as for
merly. you thinking of it ell the TINS.
and you are more pure md tenderhearted than
you used y &c. and you are patiently waiting
for the aaybreah 1t is not self righteousness in
| you to acknowledge that you are better man
| than you used to be-you are better woman
than you used to be- What was it that brought
| you the sanctifying blessing? Oh, it was the
! dark shadow on the nursery;.i it was the dark
| oh a1a was
/ shadow on your broken heart it was the brood
| ing Of a great black trouble; it was a raven-it
| was q raven! Dear Lord, teach this people that
white proyidences DO not always mean advance
| nent and that black providences do not always
| mean retrogression.
| Children of God, get out of your dependency.
| The Lord never had so many ravens as he has
this morning Fling your fret and worry to the
winds Sometimes under the vexations of life
! you feel like my little girl of four years, who
| said under some childish vexation: "Oh, | wish
| could go to heaven and see God and pick flow
| ers! He will let you go when the right time
comes to pick flowers. Until then. whatever
you. want, pray for l suppose Elijah PRAYED
behind him. Tremendous work before him.
| Coo has no spare ravens for iG!ers or for
people who are prayerless. / put it in the bold
est shape possible, and 1 am willing to risk my
eternity on it, ask God in the right way for what
you want, and you shall have it If it ia best for
you. Mrs. Jane Pithey, of Chicago. we'll
known Christian woman, was left by her hus.
| band widow with one halfdoar and a cottage
| She was palsied, and had a mother ninety years
| of age to support Tho widowed soul every day
asked God for all that needed in the house
| hold, and the servant even was astonished at the
precision with which God answered the prayers
of that woman-item by item, item by item
One day, rising from the family altar, the serv-
ant said: lyon have not asked for coal, and the
coal is out" Then they stood aud prayed for
coal One hour after that the servant threw
open the door and said: THE coal has come
a generous man, whose name could give you.
had sent-as never before and never since-a
supply Of coal. You cannot understand it. l
do Ravens! Ravens
My friend, you have right to argue from
precedent that God is going to take care of you.
Has He not done it two or three times every day!
That is most marvellous. look back and won
der that God has given me food three times a
day regularly all my lifetime, never missing but
once, and then | was lost in the mountains; but
that very morning and that very night met the
ravens.
o the Lord is so good that wish all this peo-
pie would trust him with the two lives-the life
you are now living and that which every tick of
the watch and every stroke Of the clock inform
you is approaching. Bread for your immortal
platform. They alisht on the backs Of all the
pews They swing among the arches Ravens!
Ravens
Blessed they that hunger after righteousness for
they shall be filed
To all the SHINING, and the sorrowing, and the
tempted deliyerance comes this hour. Look
down and you nothing but your spiritual de-
formities. Look back and you see nothing but
wasted opportunity. But look up and you be-
hold the whipped shoulders of an ntercedng
Christ, and the face of pardoning God and the
irradiation of an opening heaven. hear the
whrr OF their wings. Do you not feel the rush
of the air on yonr cheek9 Ravens Ravens!
There is only one que--.ion l want to ask:
How many of this audience ere wiling TO trust
I'd for the supply of their bodies. anu trust the
Lord JESUS Chris! for the redemption Of tnsi,
immortal souls? Amid the chatter of the hoofs
and the clang of the wheels of the judgment
chariot the whole matter will be demonstrated
He Didn't Want the Earth