The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1888-07-19

hard with your failr' The farmer
makes no answer. but the rake takes off
the straw. and the mill blows the chaff
to the wind, and the golden grain falls
down at the foot of the windmill, After
a while, the straw looking down from
the NOW upon the golden grain banked
up on either side the floor, understands
why the farmer beat the wheatsheaf
with the fail.
Who are those before the throne? The
answer came: "These are they who, out
of great tribulation, had their robes
washed and made white in the blood of
the Lamb" Would God that we could
understand that our trials are the very
best thing for us, If we had an appreci-
alton of that truth, then we should know
why it was that John Noyra, the martyr,
in the very midbt of the flame reached
down and picked up one of the fagots
that was consuming him, and kissed it,
and said: "Blessed be God for the time
when was born to this preferment. %
They who suffer with him on earth shall
be glorifed with him in heaven. Be
content, then, with such things as you
have.
Another consideration leading us to
the spirit of the text is the assurance
that the Lord will provide somehow.
Will he who holds the water in the hol-
low of his hand allow his children to
die of thirsta VIII he who owns the
cattle on a thousand hills, and all the
earth's luxuriance of grain and fruit.
allow his children to starve2 Go out to-
morrow morning at 8 o'clock into the
woods and hear the birds chant. They
have had no Breakfast, they know not
where they will dine they have no idea
where they will sup; buE hear the birds
chant at 5 O'Clock in the mornir :. ssBe-
hold the fowls of the air; for they
SOW not, neither do they reap nor
gather into barns, yet your heav-
enly Father feedeth them. Are you not
much better than they2" Seven thou
sand people in Christ's time went into the
desert. They were the most improvi-
dent people ever heard Of They de-
served to starve. They might have taken
food enough to last them until they got
back. Nothing did they take. A lad,
who had more wit than all of them put
together, asked his mother that morning
for some loaves of bread and some fishes.
They were put into his sachel. He went
out into the desert From this provision
the seven thousand were fed, and the
more they ate the larger the loaves grew
until the provision that the boy brought
in one sachel was multiplied SO he
could not have carried the fragments
home in six sachels. "O," you say,
''times have changed, and the day of
miracles has gone" reply that, what
God did then by miracles, he does now
in some other way, and by natural laws.
II have been young" said David, '.but
now am old; yet have l never seen the
righteous forsaken nor his seed begging
bread" 1t is high time that you people
who are fretting about worldly circum-
stances, and who are fearing you are
coming to want, understood that the
oath of the eternal God is involved in the
fact that you are to have enough to eat
and to wear.
Again, l remark that the religion of
Jesus Christ is the grandest influence to
make a man contented. Indemnity
against all financial and spiritual harm
1t calms the spirit, dwindles the earth
into insignifcance and swallows up the
soul with the thought of heaven. Dye,
who have been going about frcm place
to place expecting to find in change OF
circumstances something to give solace
to the troubled spirit, l commend you
this morning to the warm hearted, ear
nest, practical, common sense religion OF
| the Lord Jesus Christ. ssThere is nc
| peace, saith my God, for the wicked, y
| and as long as you continue in your sir
| you will be miserable. Come to Christ
Make him your portion, and start fol
heaven, and you will be a happy man
you will be happy woman.
Yet, my friends, notwithstanding al
| these inducements to spirit of content
ment, have to tell you this morning the
human race is divided into two classes
those who scold and those who get
scolded. The carpenter wants to be
anything but carpenter, and the mason
| anything but a mason, and the banker
anything but a banker, and the lawyer
anything but a lawyer, and the minister
anything but minister, and everybody
would be happy if he were only some
body else. The anemone wants to be g
sunfower, and the apple orchards throw
down their blossoms because they are not
tall cedars, and the scow wants to be 6
schooner, and the sloop would like to be
a seventy -four FOUNDER, and parents have
the worst children that ever were, and
everybody has the greatest misfortune
and everything is upside down, or going
to be. All! my friends, you never make
any advance through such spirit as
that. You cannot fret yourself up; yor
may fret yourself down. Amid all this
grating of tones I strike this string of the
Gospel harp: Goodness with content
ment is great gain. We brought nothing
into the world, and it is very certain we
can carry nothing out; having food ant
raiment let us Herewith be content"
Let us all remember, if we are Chris
tians, that we are going after awhile
whatever be our circumstances now, tt
have glorious vacation. AS in sum
mer we put off our garments and g
down into the cool sea to bathe, so We
will put off these garments of flesh ant
step into the cool Jordan. We will lool
around for some place to lay down ou
WEAKNESS; and the trees will say: ''Com
and rest under our shadow" and tn
earth will say: "Come and sleep in m.
bosom;" and the winds will say
"Hush! while I sing thee cradl
hymn" and while six strong mel
carry us out to our last resting place
and ashes come to ashes and dus
to dust, we will see two SCARED fee
standing amid the broken soil, and
lacerated brow bending over the opel
grave, while voice, tender with all af
lection and mighty with all omnipotence
will declare: Il am the resurrection an
the life; he that believeth in me, thougl
, he were dead, yet shall he Eve." Com
, fort one another with these words.