Sharp County record., 1888-08-30


block Of stores and three ships.
tWeuD the man says to himself, .it Is
silly for me to pray Give me this day my
daily bread when my pantry is full ana
the canals from the West are crowded
with 1readstuffs destined for my store
houses"
Oh. nv friends, if the combined mis-
fortunes and disasters Of life have made
Won climb uD into the arms OF SYM
pathetic and compassionate God through
all eternity you viii bless Him that IN JAIa
world
There was q sharp rock on the one side and
p sharp rock on the other side
Again. that man is in the crisis OF the
text who has home troubles and outside
persecution at the same time. The world
treats man well Just rs long as it pays
best TO treat him we'll As long as it can
manufacture success out Of his bone and
brain and muscle it eavors him. The
world Fatfens the horse it wants to drive,
But let man see it his duty to cross the
track of the world. then every bush is full
of horns and tusIs thrust at him. they
will bettrIe him. They will Carlcature
him. They will call his generosity self
argrandizementand his piety sanctimonl-
BUSINESS. The very worst persecution will
some time come upon him from those who
profess TO be Christians.
John lLiIt0n-great and good John Mil
-0r-so forgot himself Us TO pray, in so
many words that his enemies might be
erernaIlv thrown down into the darkest
and deepest gulf Of hell, and be the un-
dermost and most de1ected and the low
est down vassaIs Of perdi5ion. And Mar
tin Luther so far forgot himself Us to
say. in regard to his theological 0ppo-
ueuts:
ssPut them I'm whatever sauce y0u
please, roasted, or fried, or baked, or
stewed. or boiled, or lashed, they ere
nothing but asses"
All. nv friends, if John Milton OF Mar
tin Luther could come down to such 5cur-
riIitv what may you not expect from less
elevated opponents? Now, the world
sometimes takes after them; the news
papers takes after them; public opinion
takes after them; and the unfortunate
man is lied about until all the dictionary
Of Billinsgate is exhausted on him. Iou
often see a man whom vOu know TO be
good. and pure, and honest, set upon by
the world and mauled by whole cOmnu-
mites, while vicious men take on super
cfli0u4 mir In condemnation Of him; as
though Lord Jaffrevs should write an es-
say on gentleuess, or Henry VIII. talk
about purity, or HerOd take to blessing
little children.
Now a certain amount OF persecution
rouses mans defiance, stirs his blood
for magnificent battle and makes him
fifty times more q man than he would
have been without the persecution. So 1t
was with the great ref0rmer when he
said:
sT will not be put down; will be
heard"
And 50 it was with Miliard, the preach
er. in the time Of Louis XL When Louis
XL. sent word to him that unless he
stopped preaching in that style he would
throw him into the river. he replied:
Tell the King that will reach Heaven
sooner by water than he will reach it by
| fast horses"
A certain amount Of persecution is
tonic and inspiration, but too much Of It,
and too long continued becomes the rock
| Bazaz. throwing O dark shadow over o
mans life. What is he to do then2 Go
home. Won say. Good advice, that. That
is lust the place for man to 90 when the
world abuses him. Go home. Blessed be
God for our quiet and sympathetic homes.
But there is many o. man who has the
reputation of having n home when he has
none Through unthinNngness or pre-
ciDitattOn. there are many matches made
that ought never to nave been made. An
officiating priest can not alone unite q
couple The Lord Almighty must pro-
claim 5auns. There Is many 20 home IN
which thero is no svmpathv and no hap
ninpss and no good cheer. The clamOr Of
the battle may not have been heard out
side. but God Knows. Notwithstanding all
the playing of the ''Wedding March, and
all the od0r OF the orange blossoms and
the benedictOn Of the officiating pastor,
there has been no marriage.
Sometimes men have awakened to find
on one side of them the rock Of Dersecu-
ton. and on the other side the rock Of dO-
mestic tnfdeutv. What shall uCh an
/ one do2 Do os Jonathan jid-olimb. Get
ND the heights of Gods consolation, Src m
| which we may look down in triumph up
on the outside persecution and home
trouble. While good and great John
Wesley was being stlencad by the magts-
rates. and having his name written on
the board fences Of London in dOgCerel,
at that very time his wife was making
him as miserable MS she oOuld-actiug Us
though she We're possessed with the devil,
as I suppose she was; never doing him %
kindness until the day she ran away, so
that he wrote in his diary these words:
'I did not forsa,la her; I have not dis
missed her: I viii 1otrecaIl herr
Planting one foot, John Wesley lid,
uDou outside persecution. and the other
foot ON home trouble, he climbed into the
heights Of Christian Joy, and, after
preaching forty thousand sermons and
travelling two hundred and seventy thou
sand miles. reached the heights Of Heav-
en-. though in this world he had it hard
enough,
A sharp rock on the one side, and q sharp
rock ON the other
Again. that v0man stands in the crisis
Of the text. who has bereavement and u
struggle for 70 livelihood ut the same time.
Without mentioning names, speak from
observation. All. it is a hard thing for q
woman TO make m honest living, even
when her heart Is not troubled. and she
has p fair check and the magne tism Of an