The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1888-05-31

1
Richard Baxter. He picked up the tract
and read it, and it was the means OF his
salvation.
In after-days that man wrote n book
called "The Call to the UncOnyerted."
that was the means of bringing multi
tude TO God, among others Philip Dodd-
ridge. Philip Doddridge wrote a book
called "The Rise and Progress of Re-
| ligion," which has brought thousands and
tens of thousands into the kingdom OF
| God, and among others the great Wilber-
force. WilbcrfOrce wrote a book called
"a Practical View of Christianity" which
was the means Of bringing great multi
| tude to Christ, among others Leigh Rich
mond. Leigh Richmond wrote tract
| called "The Dairyman's Daughter"
which has been the means of the salvation
| OF unconyerted multitudes. And that
tide of influence started from the Fact that
one Christian woman dropped Christian
tract in the way os Richard Baxter-that
tide Of influence rolling on through Rich
ard Baxter, through Philip Doddridge,
| through the great Wilberforce, through
! Leigh Richmond, on, on, on, forever, for
ever. SO the insignificant events Of this
| world seem. after all, to be most moment
| Gus The fact that you came up that
street or this street seemed to be of no
! Importance to you, and the fact that you
went inside some church may seem to be
a matter Of very great insignifcance to
YOU. but you will find it the turning point
in your history.
Again: / see il my subject an illustra-
| ton OF the beauty of female industry. Be-
! hold Ruth toiling in the harvest-field un-
| der the hot sun, or at noon taking plain
| bread with the reapers, or eating the
/ = L. n. 1, IL To-
| The customs of society, of course, have
| changed and without the bardships and
! exposure to which Ruth was subjected,
! every intelligent woman will find some
| thing to do.
know there is a sickly sentimentality
on this subject. In some families there
are persons Of no practical service to the
| household or community; and though
there are so many woes all around about
them in the world, they spend their time
! languishing over a new pattern, or BURST
| ing into tears at midnight over the story
of some lover who shot himself They
would not deign to look at Ruth carrying
! back the barley on her way home TO her
mother-in-la Naomi. All this fastidi-
BUSINESS may seem to do very we'll while
they are under the shelter of their ia
! theirs house; but when the sharp winter
| of misfortune comes. what Of these but
terfiies? Persons under indulgent parent
age may get upon themselves habits OF
| Incidence: but when they come out into
practical life their soul will recoil with
disgust and chagrin, They will feel In
their hearts what the poet so severely sa-
| t1rized when he said:
Folks are so awkard, things SO impolite,
They're elegantly panied from r1orniag until
night.
Through that gate OF incidence how
many men and women have marched,
useless on earth, to a destroyed eternity!
! Spinola said to Sir Horace Nere
! ''Of what did yo.r brother die:"
"Of having nothing to do" was the an
! syer.
"Ah," said spinola, chats enough to
| kill any General of u.s."
Oh. can it be possible in this world,
where there is so much suffering to be al
| leviated. so much darkness to be en-
lightened. and 50 many burdens to be
carried, that there is any person who can
not find any thing TO do:
Nine de Stael did a world of work IN
her time; ani, one day, while she was
seated amid instruments of music, all OF
which she had mastered, and amid manu-
script books which she had written, somo
one said to her:
How do you fud time to attend to all
| these things"
ooh" she replied, "these are not the
things am proud of. My chief boast Is
in the fact that ] have seventeen trades
by any one of which could make liveli-
| hood if necessary"
And if in secular spheres there is so
much to be done, in spiritual work how
vast the field. We want more Abigails,
more Hannahs, more Rebeccas, more
Marys, more Deborahs consecrated--
body, mind, soul-to tho Lord who bought
them.
Once more: l learn from my subject the
value of gleanings. Ruth going into that
harvest field might have said:
There is straw, and there is straw,
but what is straw? l can't get any bar
| ley for myself or my mother-ln-law out OF
| these separate straws."
| Not so said beautiful Ruth. She gath
cred two straws, and put them together,
AID more straws, until she got enough to
make a sheaf. Putting that down, she
went and gathered more straws, until she
| had another sheaf, and another, and an
other, and another, and then she brought
| them all together, and she threshed them
| out, and she had an ephah of barley,
nigh bushel. Oh, that we might all be
| cleaners!
Elihu Burritt learned many things while
| toiling in a blacksmith's shop. Aber-
! crombie, the world renowned philosopher,
was philosopher in Scotland, and he got
! his philosophy, or the chief part OF 1t,
while, as physician, he was waiting for
| the door OF the sick room to open. Yet
how many there are in this day who say
they are so busy they have no time for
mental or spiritual improvement; the
| great duties of life cross the field like
| strong reapers and carry off all the hours,
| and there is only here and there frag-
ment left that is not worth cleaning. All,
my friends, you could go into the busiest
| day and busiest week Of your life and find
] golden opportunities, which, gathered,
] might at least make a whole sheaf for the
Lords garner. 1t is the stray opportuni-
| ties and the stray privileges which, taken
up and bound together and beaten out,
will at last fill you with abOunding Joy.
There are a few moments left worth the
| cleaning. Now, Ruth. to the field! May
| each one have a measure full and run
ming over! Oh, you cleaners, to the tieldl
| And if there be in yoLr household an
aged one or sick relative that is not
! strong enough TO come forth and toll in
| this field, then let Ruth take home to
| feeble Naomi this sheaf of cleaning;
He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing
precious seed, shall doubtless come again with
| rejoicing. bringing his sheaves with him.
| May the Lord God of Ruth and Naomi
he our nortion forever!