The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1888-09-06
JOBS COMFORTERS.
@RMoN BY DIR. rALMAoE.
people who Annoy One who is in
Tronbic, Instead of sympathiz-
ing With Him.


srty, the loss OF his health; but the most eS.
| ssperating thing that came upon him was
the tantalizing talk of those who ought TO
have symDathized with him. looking
around upon them, and weighing what they
had said he utters the words of my text
Why did Gcd let sin come into the world,
It Is question j often hear discussed but
never satisfactorily answered. God made
the world fair and beautiful mt the start. m
our first parent had not sinned in Eden,
they might have gone out of that garden
and found fifty paradises oil around the
| earth--Europe, Asia, Africa North and
| South America--so many flower gardens. or
| orchards OF fruit, redolent and luscious I
suppose that when Col poured out the Gihon
and the Hddekel he poured out Mt the same
lime the Hudson and the Susquebanna. the
whole earth was very fair and beautiful To
| look upon. Why did 1t not STAY sol God
had the power TO keep back sin and woe
Why did he not keep them backi Why not
| every cloud roseate, and every step a low
| and every sound music. and all the ages n
long jubilee of sinless men and siuless wo.
menl God can make a rose ne easily ms hs can
make thorn: Why, then, the predominance
| OF tbornsf He can make good. fair. ripe
fruit as well ms gnarled and sour fruit Why
80 much. then, that is gnarled and sour, He
can make men robust in health. Why, then,
are there so many invalidsl Wby.not have
for our whole race perpetual leisure, instead
Of this tug and toll and tussle for livelihoodi
/
world-when get on the other side of the
River OF Death. That is the ploce where such
questions viii be answered and such myster.
les solved He who this side that river MT.
tempts 90 answer the question only illustrates
his own ignorance and in rompetcncv All I
know is one great fact, and that is. that a
herd Of woes have come in upon us tram.
pllng down everything fair and beauti-
ful sword at the gate nf Eden, and n
eword at every gate. More people un.
der the ground than on IL. The grave.
yards in vast majority. The six thousand
winters have made moro scars than the six
thousand summers can cover up Trouble
has taken the tender heart of this world i'm
its two rough hands, and pinchcd il until the
nations wall with the agony. II all the
mounds OF graveyards that have been lifted
were put side by side. you might step on
them ani on nothing else, going all around
the world. and around again. anil around
again. These are the facts. And now have
CO.. say that in world like this the grnndcst
9ccupation ls that of giving confidence
This holy science of imparting comfort TO
the troubled we ought all of us to study.
Ihere are many of you who could look
around upon some Of your very best friends
who wish you well and are very intelligent,
ana yet be able truthfullv to say TO them in
your days OF trouble, Miserable comforters
are ye all
remark, In the first place, that very vou.
ble people are incompetent for the work of
giving comfort Bdad and Eliphaz had the
gift OF language, and with their words almost
Dotnered Joos lie out. Alas for these volu-
BILE people that go among the houses of the
aillicted ana talk, and talk, and talk, and
talk They rehearse their own sorrows and
then they tell the poor sufferers that they
feel bad now, but they will feel worse after
whlle' SILENCE! Do you expect with
thln court plaster of words to heal n wound
deep as the soul' Step very gently round
about n broken heart. Talk very softly
around those whom God has lereft. Then
go your way. Deep sympathy has not much
70 say. A firm grasp of the hand, compass.
sionate look, Just one word that means as
much as a whole dictionary. and Won have
given perhaps, all the comfort that a soul
needs. a man has terrible wound i'm his
arm. Inc surgeon comes and binds it up.
NOW, ne says, carry that arm i'm sling and
pe very careful OF it. Let no one touch itn
But the neighbors have heard of the accident
ana tney come in, aud they say; "a Let us see
H. ANA the bandage is pulled Off AMI this
one ana that one must feel it, and see how
much IL is swollen; and there is irritation.
and inflammation. and eXaSperation. where
there ought 10 he healing and cooling. The
surgeon comes in, and says: "What does all
TINS mean You have no business TO rouch
those bandages That wound will never heal
unless you let IL alonen so there are souls
proSeh down IN sorrow What thev most want
Is rest, or very careful and gentle trcltma mt. !.
but the neighbOrs have heard of the berea ye-
meht or or the loss, anl they come in to
symlnthlze, and they say: "Show us now the
wound What were his last words, Re.
neaIs' now the whole scene How did yorl
Ieel Whtn You found You were an Orphnn ~
Tearing of the handages here, and pulling
them oil there, leaving n ghastlv wound that
The balm Of Gods grace had already hc.,un
TO heal oh, let no loqunclous people, with
ever raitIins tonGu $, 60 into the homes Of
the distressed!
hfAuniu | roma ri that oil ,Io,, ,,a.--... -
ancompetrnt to give any kind of comfort who
act merely as worldly philo ophars They
come IN aud say; "Why. this is what yol
ought to have expected. The laws of nature
must nave their way and then they get elo.
quent over something they have seen in post
lnortem examinations. Now, away with all
Imnan philosophy at such time. What diff.
ference docs II make to that father aud
other what disease their son died of He is
dead, and it makes no difference whether the
Trouble was in the epigastric or hypogaStrlc
region. IL the philosopher be of the stoical
school he will come and say: "You ought To
control your feelings. You must not cry so.
You must cultivate n cooler temperament.
You must have self reliance, self govern.
ment, self CONTROL" an iceberg reproving u
hyacinth for having drop Of dew in its eye.
A violinist has his instrument, and he
sweeps his fingers across the strings, now
evoking strains OF joy, and now strains
OF sadness. He cannot play all the tunes on
one string The human soul is an instrument
OF thousand strings. and all sorts of emo.
lions were made to play on 1t. Now an
anthem, now a dirge. 1t is no evidence of
weakness when one is overcome OF sorrow.
Edmund Burke was found in the pasture
held with his arms around a horses neck
caressing him and some ono said: why, the
great man has lost his mind" No, that
horse belonged to his son who had recently
died, aud his great heart broke over the
grief II is no sign OF weakness that men are
overcome of their sorrows Thank God for
the relief OF tears. Have you never been in
trouble when you could not weep, ana YOU
would have given anything for good cryi
David did we'll when he mourned for Alb
salon, Abraham did well when he bemoaned
sarah, Christ did well when he wept for
Lazarus, and the last man l want to see come
anywhere near me when have any kind OF
trouble is a worldly philosopher.
Again remark that those persons are in
competent for the work of comfort bearing
who have nothing but cant TO offer. There
are those who have the idea that you must
Hroan over the distressed ana afflicted
ihere are times in grief when ono cheerful
race dawning on mans soul Is worth a
tbousand dollars to him. Do not whine over
the afflicted. Take the promises of the Cos.
PEI, and utter thom in manly tone Do not
De AFRAID TO smile il Won feel like IT, Do not