West Virginia Democrat. [volume] (Charles Town, W. Va.) 1885-1890, 1888-06-08


and calamity. l sec Daniels cour-
age best by the flash of Nebnchad-
nezzar's furnace. / see PauPs PROV
ess best when l find him on the
laundering ship under the glare OF
the lightning in the breakers of Me-
lita. God crowns his children amid
the bowling of wild beasts and the
chopping of blood splashed guillo-
tine and the cracking fires of mar
tyrdom. 1t took the prosecutions
of Marcus Aurelius to develop Poly
carS$ and Justin Martyr. 1t took
the worlds anathema TO develop
Martin Luther. 1t took all the hos
tilities against the Scotch Covenan-
tiers and the fury of Lord Claver-
house to develop James Renwick,
and Andrew Melville, and Hugh
McKail, the glorious martyrs Of
Scotch history. 1t took the stormy
sea, and the December blast, and
the desolate New England coast, and
the war whoop of savages to show
forth the prowess Of the Pilgrim
Fathers. ~
When amid the storms they sang,
And the stars heards, and the sea;
And the sounding aisles of the dim wood
Rang to the anthems Of the free.
1t took all our past national dis
tresses to lift up our nation on that
high career where it will march
that high career where it will march
along after the foreign missionaries
that have Knocked and the tyrannies
that have jeered, shall be swept
down under the omnipotent wrath
of God, who hates despotism, and
who, by the strength of his own red
right arm, will make all men free.
And so it is individually, and in the
family, and in the church, and in
the world, that through darkness
and storm and trouble men, women,
churches, nations are devolved.
III. Again, l see in my text the
beauty of unfaltering friendship. l
suppose there were plenty of friends
for Naomi while she was in prosper
ity, but of all her acquaintance,
how many were willing to trudge off
with her toward judah, when she
had to make that lonely journey?
One-the heroine of my text. One
absolutely one. l suppose when
Naomi's husband was living, and
they had plenty Of money, and all
things went well, they had great
many callers; but / suppose that
after her husband died, and her
property went, and she got old and
poor, she was not troubled very much
with callers. All the birds that
sung in the bower while the sun
shone have gone to their nests, now
the night has fallen.
Oh, these beautiful sunfowers
that spread out their color in the
morning hour! but are always asleep
when the morning sun is going
down! Job had plenty of friends
when lie was the richest man in Uz;
but when his property went and the
trials came, then there were none so
much that pestered as Eliphaz the
Temanite, and Bildad the Shuttle,
and Zophar the Naamathite.
Life often seems to be q mere
game, where the successful player
pulls down all the other men into
his own lap. Let suspicious arise
about mans character and he be-
comes like a bank in a panic, and
all the imputations rush on him and
break down in day that character
which in due time would have had
strength to defend itself. There are
regulations that have been half a
century in building, which 60 down
under some moral exposure, as a
vast temple is consumed by the
touch of o sulphurous match. A hog
can uproot century plant.
In this world, so full of heartless-
ness and hypocrisy, how thrilling it
is to find some friend as faithful in
days of adversely as in the days of
prosperity. David had such a
friend in Hushai; the Jews had
such friend in Mordecai, who new
er forgot their cause; Paul had such
friend in Onesiphorus, who visit
ed him in Jail; Christ had such in
the Marys, who adhered to him on
the cross; Naomi had such a one in
Ruth, who cried out: "Entreat me
not to leave thee, or to return from
following after thee; for whittier
thou goest, i will go; and where
thou lodgest, l will lodge; thy peo-
pie shall be my people, and thy God
my God; where thou diest will 1
die, and there will / be buried; the
Lord do so to me, and more also, if
aught but death part thee and me-"
III. Again: ! learn from this sub
ject that paths which open in hard
ship and darkness often come out in
places of joy. When Ruth started
from Moab toward Jerusalem, to 60
along with her mother in-law, sup
pose the people said: "Oh, what a
foolish creature to 60 away from her
fathers house, to 60 off with poor
old woman toward the land of Ju-
dab. They won't live to get across
the desert. They will be drowned
in the sea, or the jackals of the will
ness-will-destroy them. It was
very dark morning when Ruth