The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1888-05-24
war-whoop OF savages, to show forth the
prowess OF the Pilgrim Fathers,
l'When amid the Storms they sang,

"When amid the storms they sang,
And the stars heard, and the sea -.
And the sounding aisles octhe dim wood
Rang to the anthems of the free"
It took out all our past national dis
tresses to lift up our nation on that high
career where 1t will march along after
the foreign aristocracies that have
mocked, and the tyrannies that have
jeered, shall be swept down under the
Omnipotent wrath of God, who hatos
despoUism, and who, by the strength OF
His own red right arm will make all
men free. And SO it is individually,
and in the family, and in the church,
and in the world, that through dark.
ness and storm and trouble men, women,
churches, nations are developed.
Again. see in my text the beauty OF
unfaltering friendship. suppose there
were plenty Of friends for Naomi while
she was in prosperity, but of all her &C
quaintances, how many were willing to
trudge off with her toward Judah when
she had to make that lonely journey?
One-the heroine OF my text. One
absolutely one. | suppose when Naomi's
husband was living, and they had plenty
of money, and all things went we'll, they
udu u KECdI NallClbi bub l. DuPBOoO
that after her husband died, and her
property went, and she got old and poor,
she was not troubled very much with
callers. All tie birds that sung in the
bower while the sun shone have gone to
their nests, now the night has fallen.
Oh, these beautiful sunhowers that
spread out their color in the morning
hour but are always asleep when the
sun is going down Job had plenty OF
friends when he was the richest man
in W. but when his property went and
the trials came then there were none so
much that pestered as Eliphaz the Tenn
ante, and Bildad the Shuhite, and 70
phar the Naamathite.
Life often seems to be a mere game,
where the successful player pulls down
all the other men into his own lap. Let
suspicious arise about mans character,
and he becomes like bank in panic, and
all the imputations rush on him and
break down in day that character which
in due time would have had strength to
| defend itself There are regulations
that have been half a century in building,
which go down under some moral expo
sure, as a vast temple is consumed by
the touch of sulphurous match. A
hog can uproot century plant.
In this world, so full OF heartlessness
and hypocrisy, how thrilling it is to find
some friend as faithful in days of ad-
versity as in days of prosperity David
had such a friend in Hushai; the Jews
had such friend in Mordecai who never
forgot their cause; Paul had such friend
in Onesiphorus, who visited him in Jail !;
Christ had such in the Marys, VINO ad-
hered to him on the cross Naomi had
such one in Ruth, who cried out: "En-
treat me not to leave thee, or to return
from following after thee; for whittier
thou goest | will go, and where thou
lodgest | will lodge thy people shall be
my people, and thy God, my God; where
thou diest will die, and there will be
buried: the Lord do SO to Inc, and more
also, if aught but death part thee and
me-"
Again | learn from this subject that
paths which open in hardship and dark
ness often come out in places of joy.
When Ruth started from Moab toward
Jerusalem, to go along with her mother.
in-law, suppose the people said: "Oh,
what foolish creature to go away from
her father house, to go off with a poor
old woman toward the land of Judah
They won't live to get across the desert
They will be drowned in the sea or the
iackals OF the wilderness will destroy
them" 1t was a very dark morning
when Ruth started off with Naomi but
behold her in my text in the harvest
field of Boaz, to be affianced to one O.
the lords of the land, and become one O
the grandmothers OF Jesus Christ, the
Lord of glory. And so it often is that 6
path which starts very darkly ends very
brightly
When you started out for heaven, oh
how dark was the hour OF conviction -
how Siana thundered, and devils torment
ed, and the darkness thickened AnC
the sins OF your life pounced upon you
and it was the darkest hour you ever saw
when you first found out your sins. AT
ter a while you went into the harves
field of Gods mercy you began to CLEAR
in the fields OF divine promise, and yor
had more sheaves than you could carry
as the voice of God addressed you, say
ing: "Blessed is the man whose trans
gressions are forgiven, and whose SIM
are covered" A very dark starting il
conviction, very bright ending in tht
pardon and the hope and the triumph o
the gospel
So, very often in our worldly bushes
or in our spiritual career, we start off OF
a very dark path. We must go. Thu
flesh may shrink back, but there is
voice from above, saying: "You mus
go and we have to drink the gall ant
we have to carry the cross, and we hav
to traverse the desert, and we are pound
ed and failed of misrepresentation ant
abuse, and we have to urge our wa,
through ten thousand obstacles that mus
be slain by our own right arm. We havt
to ford the river, we have to climb tn
mountain, we have to storm the castle
but, blessed be God, the day of rest ant
reward will come. On the tip top of tn
captured battlements we win shout tn
victory if not in this world, then in tina
world where there is no gall to drink, NJ
. burdens to carry, no battles to fight
How do know it Know it know
it because God says so: "They shal
hunger no more, neither thirst any more
neither shall the sun light on them, no
any heat, for the Lamb which is in tn
midst of the throne shall lead them t
living fountains of water, and God sha
, wipe all tears from their eyes"
1t was very hard for Noah to endur
the scoffing of the people in his day
while he was trying to build the arl
and was every morning quizzed abou
his old boat that would never be of an
, practical use but when the delug
, came, and the tops of the mountains dii
| appeared like the backs of sea monster
, and the elements, lasned up in fury
i clapped their hands over a browne
world, then Noah in the ark rejoiced
: his own safety and in the safety of hi
. family, and looked out on the wreck OF
/ ruined earth.
, Christ bounded Of prosecutors, denie
! A pillow, worse maltreated than th
J thieves on either side of the cross, huma
} hate smacking its lips in satisfaction afte