The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1888-09-06


People who have not had trials themselves
cannot give comfort to others. They may
talk very beautifully. and they may give you
a great deal of poetic. sentiment: hut while
poetry Is perfume that smells sweet,it makes
very poor salve. III you have a grave In
your pathway, and somebody comes and
covers it all over with flowers. IL is grave
yet. Those who have not had grief them
selves know not the mystery of broken
heart. They know not the meaning OF
childlessness and the having no one to put
to bed at night, or the standing in n room
where every book and picture and door is
full OF memories the door mat where she
sat the cup out of which she drank-the
place where she stood at the door
and clapped her hands.-the odd figures
that she scribblei-the blocks she built into
house. Alb, no: you must have trouble
yourself before you can comfort trouble in
others. But come all ye who have been be-
reft and ye who have been comforted in
your sorrows, and stand around these afflicted
souls, and say to them: II had that very
sorrow myself. God comforted me, and He
will comfort you,n and that will go right to
the spot In other words. to comfort others
we must have faith in God practical expert
ence and good, sound common sense
Again, l remark, there is comfort in the
thought that God, by all this process, is going
to make YOU useful. Do YOU know that those
who accomp ish the most for God and heaven
have all been under the harrowi Show me a
man that has done anything for Christ in
this day. in public or private place, who
has had no trouble and whose path has been
smooth. Ah, no.
once went through an ax factory, and
saw them take the bars Of iron and thrust
them into the terrible furnaces. Then
besweated workmen with long tongs stirred
the blaze. Then they brought out n bar of iron
and put 1t into n crushing machine and then
they put it between Jaws that BIT IL In twain
Then they put IL on an anvil, and there were
great hammers swung by machincry-each
ono half ton In weight-that went thumpl
thump! thumpl II that iron could have
spoken, it would have said: "Why all this
beating' Why must be pounded any more
than nnv other ironr Tho workmen would
have said; 1--WE want to make axes out of
you, keen, sharp axes-axes with which to
hew down the forest. and build the ship. ana
erect houses, and carry on Thousand enter
prises OF civilization. That's the reason wo
pound you. Now, God puts soul into the
furnace OF trial, and then it is brought out
aud run through the crushing machine, and
then II comes down on the anvil, and upon IL
blow after blow blow after blow, and tho
soul cries out: "Oh. Lord what does all this
mean" God says II want to make some.
thing very useful out Of you You shall be
something to hew with and something to build
with 1t is a practical process through
which ] am putting YOU" Yes. my Christ
tlan friends we want more tools in the
church of God. Not more wedges to split
with we have enough of these. Not more
bores with which to drill; we have too many
bores. What we really want is keen. sharp
well tempered axes and If there be any other
way of making them than in tha hot furnaces
ami on the hard anvil, and under the heavy
hammer do not know what IL is Remem-
her that IL God brings any kind of chastise-
ment upon you, it is only to make you use
full DO not sit down discouraged and say:
81 have no more reason for living. wish
| were dead" Oh, there never was so much
reason FOR your living rs now! BY this or.
deal you have been consecrated "A priest OF
the Most High God Go out and do your
whole work for the Master
There is also great deal of comfort in the
fact there will be n family reconstruction
in better place. From Scot aud, or Eng.
land, or lre'and, a child emigratos TO this
country. IL is very hard parting. but he
comes, after while writing home IL to what
good land it is Another brother comes, IA
sister comes, and another, and after while
the mother comes, and after a while the
father comes, AMI now they are all here, and
they have time of great congratuation and
, n very pleasant reunion. Well, IL Is Just so
with our families, they arc emigrating To a
Letter land Now ono goes out. Oh how
hard it is to part with him Another goes.
Oh how hard it is to part with her And
another, and another, and we ourselves will
after n while go over, and then we will be
together. oh, what n reunion Do you be-
lieve that Yes you say. You do notl
You do not believe it as you believe other
things. II you did, and with the same
emphasis. why. it would take nine tenths
of your trouble Off your heart The fact
is. heaven to many of MS is great fog. II is
AWAY of somewhere, filed with an uncertain
and indefinite population That is the kind
of heaven that many of us dream about but
it is the most tremendous fact in all tho
universe-this heaven of the Gospel. Our
departed frienls are not ailoat The resi-
dence in which YOU live is not so real as tho
residence in which they stay. You are ailOat,
you who do not know in the morning what
Will happen before night. They are housed
and safe forever. Do not, therefore pity your
departed friends who have died in Christ
Theydo not need any ofyourp ty You might
as well send a letter of coincidence To- Queen
Victoria on her obscurity, or To the Roths.
childS on their poverty, as To pity those who
have won the palm. Do not say of those
who are departe /: "Poor child. "poor
fatherm Poor mother They are not
poor You are poor-you whose homes
have been shattered-not they. You do
not dwell much with your families in this
world. All day long you are or 10 business.
VIII 1t not he pleasant when you can be to.
gethrr all the while' If you have had four
children and one is gone, and anybody asks
how many children You have, do not be so
intdel as TO say three. Say fpur--one in
heaven. Do not thnl; that the grave is un
friendly. You go into your room and dress
for some grand entertainment. aud YOU come
/ forth beautifully apparelel and the grave
/ is only the place where you 20 to dress for
! the glorious resurrection, and we will come
out radiant radiant mortality having be.
come Immortality. Oh, how much condol.
ence there is in this thought! expect to
see my kindred in heaven: / expect to see
them as certainly as | expect to go home to.
day. Ay, shall more certainly see them
! Eight or ten will come up from the graveyard
back of Somervle; and one will come up
! from the mountains back of Annoy, China;
and another will come mp from the sea or
| Cape Hatteras; and thirty will come up from
| Greenwoot and | shall know them better
than ever knew them here. And your
friends-thev NAV be across the sea. but the
trumpet that sounds here will sound there
You will come up on just the same day
Some morning You have oversight yourself,
and you open your eyes and see that the sun
| is high in the heavens and you say, II have
oversight and must be up and off," SO you
will open your eyes on the morning OF the res
direction in the full blaze of Gods light and
you will say: IL must be up and away" Oh
| yes, you will come up and there will be re-
| union, a reconstruction of your family |
like what Halburton, think it was-good
old Mr.. Hnlburton-said in his last moments:
III