Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-09-04

together Tor good to them that love COD.
How can it be otherwise in world created
and ruled by wise, loving God? Men
have had two views of life: one called pes
simistic-that is, the despairing view of
life. Life is only sorrow, not worth living.
1t is made up Of graves of buried hopes and
broken ties of affection. Desolated hearts
and homes lie on every side. Life is all
clouds. Everything is going to destruc-
ton. The other is the optimistic
view, or the hopeful. Life is all
gladness. Flowers, birds songs,
the laughter of childhood-see how merry
they make it. Come, let Us be gay. Drive
away dull care. Call him croaker who
talks Of tears. Life is sunshine. Clouds
are seen only by those who have them in
their eye. Both views of life are partial.
Life is mixture of Joy and sorrow. There
is a cloud above the earth. but there is a
bow in it. The floods of great waters come,
but there is an ark on the food. Man is
going forth from Eden, but TO Eden he
may return. He earns his food by the
sweat Of his brow, but bread can be earned.
Briars and thorns grow, but wheat and
grapes will also grow. Man is q sinner,
burdened with guilt; but Christ, the Re-
deemer is in the world. with promise of
forgiveness and peace. The grave lies
across our path. In it we all must fall.
But over the grave is the living hope Of the
resurrection. The cloud wreathed with its
bow is the Bible view of life. Earth hath
sorrow profound and piercing. But earth
hath no sorrow that heaven cannot heal"
The race is sin cursed, weighed down by
its load of guilt, that, like the milestone,
must sink il in perdition; but " God so
loved the race that he gave his only begot-
ten Son, that whatsoever believeth shall not
perish, but have eternal life"
The world is sick, but there is balm in
Gilead. when l saw that there was no
one to save, mine own arm brought saliva
ton" "Thon shalt walk through the
water, but it shall not overflow thee"
" Into the furnace thou shalt 90. but no
smell of fire shall be upon thy garments"
No matter what is the condition of life, the
Book gives promise of hope. Ye are
weary and heavy laden " mo one need tell
you that. Come to ME, and ] Will give
you rest" The Bible never leaves man
in despair. 1t constantly puts its sympa-
thetic hand in the hand of the sorrowful,
and fills the heart with its quiet words of
cheer 1t reaches its sublimest heart when
it sings, The Lord is my shepherd, | shall
not want. He maketh me to lie down in
green pastures. He leadeth me beside the
still waters. He restoreth my soul. Yea,
though | walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, 1 will fear no evil, for
thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff
they comfort me-" There is sorrow in
Gods world but it is not q hopeless sorrow.
We may be cast down, but not destroyed.
We may be prosecuted, but not forsaken.
The outward man may perish, but the in
ward man is renewed day by day. The
thorn i'll the flesh may remain, but grace
streams down TO bear it. The WORKOUT
day sinks into the night, but the new day
will soon appear. The old year sleeps
under the snow, but the spring will be
here III its time. The earthly house crun-
bIes, while promise of a building of God
remains. The earth grows old. the stars
go out, the sun and moon turn black with
years, but the new heaven wherein dwelleth
righteousness is at the door. So, all over
the world, the Bible is writing promises of
hope. Weeping may remain for a night,
but Joy cometh in the morning." Il will
bring cloud over the earth but the bow
shall be seen in the cloud"
This is not all. The Bible has still a
brighter view of sorrow. 1t assures us that
the brightest and most glorious visions of
Christ come to the righteous in sorrow;
that, as the rose eXhales the sweetest fra
GRANGE when you press it, so the soul de-
velops the saintliest character under the
discipline of life. The sunlight can be seen
on any day, but the rainbow, with its
wealth of color, with its wreaths of gold
and purple and scarlet and orange, appears
only on the days of dark clouds and weep
ing skies. So are we told that "these light
Affections, which are for a moment, work
for us far more exceeding and eternal
weight for glory" in the vision of John
he beheld great company of redeemed
ones who were exalted to peculiar excell-
ance and glory. He asked: Who are these
that are clothed in white raiment, with
palms in their hands?' The angel an
swered "These are they who have come up
out of great tribulation, and have washed
blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they be-
fore the throne Of God. And he that sitteth
on the throne shall dwell among them.
The Lamb that is in the midst of the
throne shall feed them, and lead them unto
living fountains of waters" With some
such hope of victory before him the Apostle
writes: = We glory in tribulation for trib-
ulation worketh patience, and patience ex-
perience, and experience hope" What is
this but higher statement of the old truth
that the vine must be pruned in order to
make il bear its largest cluster2 The dia-
mond must be ground in diamond dust be-
fore it will catch and hold the brilliant
glory of the sun. The gold must go into
the finer crucible, that its dross may be
melted away. The spirit of man must be
tried in the fiery experiences of life before
the best elements of its nature appear If
you would really enjoy the wealth in the
mine you must dig it up yourself The
sweetest bread is the bread our own toll has
gathered. The digging and the gathering
rt,nl Los tba Ii bG t-nt tbpra 10
thing in the digging and the gathering that
prepares us for the later enjoyment.
a. had one advantage over my son"
said an old, successful man. 81 was born
in poverty, and have had to make my
fortune 1t is said of Jesus, He was
made perfect through suffering" and that
he redeemed the world through his blood.
What means this but that no great personal
character is gained without pain, and no
great unselfsh good can be done in the
word without agony ?.that he that would
return rejoicing bearing his sheaves with
him. must first go forth with weeping,
scattering precious seed? How can you
enter into sympathy with the race unless
you enter by the door of experience? and
that means that you in a sense bear the sin
and sorrow of the world. How can you
properly comfort another unless you have
found comfort in ike sorrow? 4 man is
full of religious doubts and fears, the agony
of unbelief is upon him, and he feels as il
all the eternal things that have given life
worth and meaning are going from him.
The heaven is only azure, the earth only
clay, life only force, men but animated
dust, and immortality only a pleasant
dream or hideous mockery. So his spirit
lives in death. A sorrow that seems to
have no relief has fallen upon him. But
he is loyal to himself and his conscience.
He struggles with the agony of drowning
sailor to get back to some spiritual rock.
1t is an awful life. Go tell him
to glory in his tribulation, to rejoice
in his darkness, and he will say, DO
not mock me-" You tell him: "Tribula-
ton worketh patience; your Affections are
working for you an exceeding weight of
glory" Still will he bitterly turn away
hopeless. Yet it is true. BY that very
agony of soul-struggle he will at last come
out into light more glorious and visions of
God more resplendent than can be attained
in any other way. Listen to the mex
pressible joy of the Psalmist when be cries:
Whom have in heaven but Thee? And
there is none upon earth that / desire be-
side Thee" What peace what exultant
JOY is there expressed 1t is of gladness
that is inexpressible, and peace, trust and
r II - L Al ~ I