The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1889-11-02
Fur OUR GOOD.
DR.. Talmage on the Uses Of Re-
verses and Sorrow.
why Adversely is Necessary-The False
Attraction of the worlds Consolation
ofPrayer in the Time of Trouble
Beauties of Heaven.

to the t"ribulations through which hi,
congregation had passed in buildin.
their Tabernacle and which had twice
been burned and then took for hi
text: God shall wipe away all tear
from their eyes," Revelations vii. II
He said:
Riding across a Western prairie, will
flowers up to the hub of the earring,
wheel, and while a long distance from
any shelter there came Il sudden shower
and while the rain was falling in tor
rents the sun was shining as bright,
as l ever saw it shine; and | though
what a beautiful spectacle this is! S,
the tears OF the Bible are not midnigh
storm, but rain on pansied p~rairies il
6od's sweet and golden sunlight. You
xemember that bottle which Davi(
labeled as tears, and Mary's tears, ant
Paufs tears, and Christ's tears, and tn,
harvest OF joy hat is to spring from tn,
sowing of tears. God mixes them. Coo
rounds them. God shows them where
TO fall. God eXhales them. A censul
Is taken of them, and there is a record
as to the moment when they are born
and as to the place OF their graves
Tears of bad men are not kept. Alex
ander, in his sorrow, had the hail
clipped from his horses and mules
and made a great ado about his
grief; but in all the vases o.
Heaven there is not one of Alexander's
tears. l speak of the tears of the good,
Alas! mel they are falling all the time.
In summer you sometimes hear the
growing thunder, and you see there is a
storm miles away, but you know from
the drift of clouds that it will not come
anywhere near you. SO, though it may
be all bright around about us, there is a
shower of trouble somewhere all the
time. Tears! Tears!
What is the use Of them, anyhow?
Why mo- substitute laughter? Why not
make this a world where all the people
are well, and eternal strangers to pain
and aches. What is the use of an East
ern storm when we might have a per-
petual nor'wester? Why, when a fam
lily is put together, not have them all
stay, or If they must be t~ransplanted,
to make other homes, then have them
all live, the family record telling a
story of marriages and births, but of no
deaths? Why not have the harvests
chase each other without fatiguing toll?
Hear me-, then, while | discourse to
you of the uses of trouble. First. 1t is
the design of trouble to keep this world
from being too attractive. Something
must be done to make us willing to quit
existence. If it were not for trouble
this world would be a good enough
Heaven for me. You and | would be
willing to take a lease of this life for a
hundred million years if there were no
trouble.
No man wants to go out of this world,
or out of any house, until he has "a better
house. To sure this wish to stay here,
God must somehow create "A disgust for
our surroundings. How shall he do it?
he can not afford to deface His horizon,
or to G a of a fiery panel from the sun
set, or to subtract an anther from the
water lily, or to Danish the pungent
aroma from the ~mignOnette, or to drag
the robes OF the morning in mire. You
can not expect a Christopher Wren to maj
his W st. Paul's Cathedral, or a Michael
Angelo to dash out his own Last Judg-
ment," or a Handel to discord his SIS
rael in Egypt" and you can not expect
God to spoil the architecture and music
Of his own world. How then are we to
be made willing TO leave? Here is
where trouble comes in. After a man
has had a good deal of trouble, he says:
swell, / am ready to go. If there is a
house somewhere whose roof doesn't
leak, l would like to live there. II
there is an atmosphere somewhere that
does not distress the lungs, l would like
to breathe it. If there is a society some
where where there is no tittle-tattle, /
would like to live there. If there is a
home circle somewhere where | can find
my lost friends, / would like 10 go
there"
He used to read the first part of the
Bible chiefly, now he reads the last part
Of the Bible chiefly. Why has he
changed Genesis for Revelation? All!
he used to be anxious chiefly to know
how this world was made, and all about
Its geological construction. Now he is
chiefly anxious to know how the next
world was made, and how it looks, and
who lives there, and how they dress.
The thought of that blessed place
comes ver me nightly and | declare
that IL this house were a great ship, and
you all were passengers on board it, and
pns hand could launch that ship into the
glofies of Heaven, / should be tempted
TO take the responsibility and launch
you all into glory with one stroke, hold
ing on to the side of the boat until 1
could get in myself. And yet there are
nnnxla hnrn - prl,Y, thfg ,u,,1l l.,
brighter than Heaven. Well, dear souls,
/ do not blame you. 1t is natural. But
after q while you will be ready to go.
It was not until Job had beer worn out
with bereavements and ~carbuncles and
. pest of a wife hat he wanted to see
God. 1t was not until the ~prodigal got
tired of living among the hogs that he
wanted to go to his fathers house. 1t
Is the ministry Of trouble to make this
world worth less and Heaven worth
more.
Again, 1t is the use of trouble to make
rs feel our complete dependence upon
God. King Alphonso said thatif he had
been present at the creation he could
have made a better world than this.
What a pity he was not present! do
not know what God will do when some
men die. Men think they can do any
thing until God shows them they can do
nothing at all. We lay our great plans
and we like to execute them. II looks
big. God comes and takes us down.
We never feel our dependence upon
God until we get trouble. l was riding
with my little child along the road, and
lh4 -... Al $40 u1ttFII. n..... said
''Certainly." ! handed owe the reins
to her, and ! had to admire the glee
with which she drove. But after q
while we met a team and We had to
turn out. The road was narrow, and it
was sheer down on both sides. She
handed the reins over to me and said:
81 think you had better take charge of
the horse" So we are all children; and
on this road of life we like to drive. 1t
gives one such an appearance of superb
GRITTY and power. 1t looks big. But
we have to turn out, and the road
Is narrow, and it is sheer down on
both sides; and then we are willing
God should take the reins and
drive. All! my friends, we get upset so
often because we do not hand over the
reins soon enough.
Can you tell me when You hear a man
pray whether he has ever had any
1 can. The cadence, the
phraseology indicate it. Why do women
pray better than men? Because they
have had more trouble. Before a man
has had any trouble his prayers are
poetic and he begins away up among
the sun, moo and stars, and gives the
Lord a great deal of astronomical in