The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1889-12-12

ever and forever-facc to faceM
Tho idea of my texts is just as true when
applied to Gods providence. Who has not
come to some pass in life thoroughly mex
plicable? You say: "Whot does this mean?
What is God going to do with me now? lie
tells me that all things work together for
good. This does not look like it." You con-
tinue to study the dispensation, and after a
while guess about what God means. HE
means to teach me this. Itlink He means to
teach me that. Perhaps it is to humble my
pride Perhaps it is to mako ME feel more
dependent. Perhaps 10 teach me the uncer-
tainty of life" But after all, it is only
guess-a looking through the glass darkly.
The Bible assures us there shall be satlsIac-
tory unfolang. "What do thou knowest
not now: but thou shalt know hereafter"
You will know why Lod took to Himself that
only child. Next door there was a household
of seven children. Why not take one from
that group, instead Of Your only one! why
single ont the dwelling in which there was
only one heart beating responsive to yours?
Why did God give you child at all, if le
meant to take il away? Why fill the cup OF
your gladncss brimmng, if He meant to dash
it down? Why allow all the tendrlls OF your
heart to wind around that object and then,
when every fibre Of your own life seemed to
be interlocked with the chids life, with
=
bleeding and crushed, your dwelling dcSoiate,
your homes blasted. your heart hrokcn' DO
YOU suppose that God will explain that? Yea.
He will make it palmer than any mathcmat.
ical problem-as plain as that two and two
make four. In the light Of the throne you
will see that it was right-all right. Just
and true are all Thy ways, Thou King of
Saints"
Here is a man who cannot get on in the
IL, 10 ltrtv n
wrong time and TO sell at the worst disad-
vantage He tries this enterprise, and fails;
that business, and is disappointed. The man
next door to him has lucrative trade, but
he lacks customers. A new prospect opens.
His income is increased. But that year his
family are sick: and the profits are expended
in trying to cure the ailments. He gets
discouraged look Becomes faithless as to
success Begins to expect disasters. Others
wait for something to turn up; he wait; for
it to turn down. Others, with only half as
much education and character, get Oh twice
as we'll He sometimes guesses as to what 1t
all means He says: Perhaps riches would
sPoi! me. Perhaps poverty is necessary to
keep me humble. Perhaps might If things
were otherwise, be tempted into dissipa-
tions" But there is no complete solution of
the mystery. He sees through glass, dark
", and must wait for higher unfolding.
Will there be an explanation? Yes; God
will take that man in the lightot the throne,
and say: "Child immortal, hear the e1plana-
ton! You remember the falling of that
great enterprise. This is the explanation"
And you will answer: ''It is all right"
see every day, profound mysteries of
Providence. There is no question we ask
oftener than Why? There are hundreds of
graves that need to be explained. Hospitals
r.. Al. ..I o,,1 FOR n
tic and insane, a!mshouSes for tho destitute,
and q world of pain and misfortune that de-
mand more than human solution. All! God
will clear it all up In the light that pours
from the throne, no dark mystery can live.
Things now utterly inscrutable will be il
lumined as plainly as though the answer
were written on the jasper wall, or sounded
in the temple anthem. Bartimeus will thank
God that he was blind; and Lazarus that he
was covered with sores; and Joseph that he
was cast into the pit; aud Daniel that he
denned with lions; and Paul that he was
numppacKed; ana David that he was driven
from Jerusalem; and the sewing woman that
she could get only few pence for making
garment; and that invalid that for twenty
years he could not lift his head from the pill
low; and that widow that she had such hard
work to earn bread for her children. You
know that in a song different voices carry
different parts. The sweet and overwhelm-
ing part Of the hallelujah Of heaven will not
be carried by those who rode in high places,
and gave sumptuous entertainments; but
pauper children will sing it, beggars will
sing it, redeemed hod-carriers will sing it,
those who were once the offscouring Of earth
will sing it. The hallelujah will be all the
grander for earths weeping eyes, and aching
heads, and exhausted hands, and scourged
backs and martyred agonieS.
Again: The thought of my texts is true
when applied to ths enjoyment of the right
eous in heaven think we have but little
idea of the number of the righteous in heav-
en-. Infdels say: "Your heaven will be q
very small place compared with the world Of
the lost; for, according to your teaching, the
majority of men will be destroyed" 1deny
the charge. I suppose tLat the multitude of
the finally lost, as compared with the multi
tude Of the finally saved, will be handful.
I suppose that the few sick people i'll the hos
pitals of our great cities, as compared with
the hundreds of thousands Of well people,
! Would not be smaller than the number of
those who shall be cast out in suffering, COM
pared with those who shall have upon them
the health of heaven. For we are to remem-
Der that we are living in only the beginning
of the Christian diSpenSation, and that this
whole world is to be populated and redeemed,
on. If this be so, the multitudes of the saved
will be in vast majority. Take all the con-
grepations that havo assembled for worship
throughout Christendom. Put them together,
and they would make but small audience
compared with the thousand and tens Of
thousands, and ten thousand times ten thou
sand, and the hundred and forty and four
thousand that shall stand around the
throne. Those flashed up 10 heaven in
martyr fires; those tossed for many years
uron the invalid couch; those fought i'll The
armies of liberty, and rose as they fell;
those tumbled from high scaffolding, OF
slipped from tho mast, or were washed of
into the sea. They came up from Corinth.
from Laodicea, from the Red Sea bank and
Gennesarets' wave, from Egyptian brick.
yards, and Gideon's threshing floor. Those
thousands of years ago slept the last sleep,
and these are this moment having their eyes
closed, and their limbs stretched out for the
sepulcher.
A General expecting an attack from the
enemy stands on hill and looks through a
field glass, and sees, in the great distance,
multitudcs approaching, but has no idea Of
their numbers. He says: 81 cannot tell any
thing about them. merely know that there
are great number" And so John, without
attempting to count, says: "a great multi
tude that no man can number" We are
told that heaven is place of happiness; but
what do we know about happiness! Happi-
ness in this world is only half fedged thing;
a howery path, with serpent kissing across
it; broken pitcher, from which the water
has dropped before We could drink it; thrill
of eXhilaration, followed by disastrous re-
actions. To help us understand the joy of
heaven, the Bible takes us to river, We
stand on the grassy bank. Wesee the waters
| flow on with ceaseless wave. But the filth
of the cities is empted into it, and the banks
are torn, and unhealthy cxhalations spring
! up from it, and we fail to get an idea oil the