The Red Cloud chief., 1889-11-01


Certainly" l handed Over the reinS
to her, and I had to admire the glee
with which she drove. But after .
while We met q team and we had to
turn out. The road was narrow, and it
was sheer down on both sides. She
handed the relns over to me n said:
Il think you had better take charge of
the horse" So we are all children; and
or this road of life We like to drive. 1t
gives one such an appearance Of superb
Ority 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
hat 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 n man
pray whether he has ever had any
trouble: / can. The cadence. the
p~hraseolOgy indicate it. Why do
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 SUI mOO and stars, and gives the
Lord a great deal of astronomical in
formation that must be highly crafty
ing. He then comes on down gradually
| over beautiful tablelands to forever
| and ever. amen, amen" But after a
man has had trouble prayer is with him
a taking hold of the arm of God and
crying out for help. Ihave heard earnest
| prayers on two or three occasions that l
remember.
1t is trouble. my friends. that makes
US feel our dependence Oh God. We do
| not know our own weakness or Gods
| strength until the last plank breaks. IL
is contemplate in US when there is
nothing else to take hold of that we
catch hold of God only.
l tell you what some of you business
men make me think Of. a young man
goes of ron home to earn his fortune.
He goes with his mothers consent and
benedictiOn. She has large wealth, but
he wants to make his own fortune. He
goes far away. falls sick, gets our of
money. He sends for the hOtclkeeper
where he is staying. asking for lem
fence. and the answer he gets is: If
you don't pay up Saturday night you'll
be removed to the hospital" The young
man sends to q cOmrade in the same
building. No help. He writes to a
banker who was a friend to his deceased
father. No relief. He writes to an old
schOOlmate. but gets no help. Saturday
-
pital.
Getting there. he is frenzied with
grief: and ne borrOws a sheet Of paper
and a postage stamp. and he sits down.
and he writes home saying: Dear
mother. / am sick unto death. Come" 1t
is ten minutes of ten when she gets the
letter. At ten o'clock the train starts.
She is five minutes from the depot. she
gets there in time to have five minutes
to spare. She wonders why a train that
can go thirty miles an hour can not go
sixty miles an hour. She rushes into
the hospital. She says: My son. what
does all this mean? Why didn't you
send for me-! You sent to everybody but
me. You knew 1 could and would help
you. Is this the reward l get Cor my
kindness to you always??' She bundles
him up. takes him home, and gets him
we'll very sOOn
Now, some of you treat God just as
that young man treated his mother.
When you get into a financial perplexi-
ty you call OF the banker, you call on
the broker, you call on your creditors. |
you call on your lawyer for legal cOun-
sci, you call upon every body and when
you can not get any help then you go to
God. You say. 20 Lord, ! come to Thee.
Help me now out of my p~erplexity."
Again. it is the use of trouble to ca
pacitate US for the Office of sympathy.
The priests under the old di~spensatiOn
were set apart by having water
sprinkled on their hands, feet and head
and by the sprinkling of tears people
are now set apart to the Office of SYM
pathy. When we are in prosperity we like
to have a great many young people
around us. and We laugh when they
laugh. and we rOmp when they rOmp, |
and we sing when they sing: but when
we have trouble We like plenty of old
folks around. Why? They know how
to talk. Take an aged mother. seventy |
years OF age, and she is almost OmnipO-
tent in comfort. Why? She has been
through it all.
o. man. praise God if you have in your
memory the picture of an honest.
sympathetic, kind, self-sacrificing.
Christ-like mother. O, it takes these
people who have had trouble to comfort
Others in trouble. Where did Paul get
the ink with which to write his COM
forting epistle? Where did David get
the ink to write his comforting Psalms?
Where did John get the ink to write his
comforting Revelation? They got it out
of their own tears. When q man has
gone through the curriculum and has
taken q course Of dungeons and i'm
prisOnments and shipwrecks he is quail
fed for the work Of sympathy.
When l began to preach my sermons
on the subject Of trouble were all poetic
and in semi-blank verse, but God
knocked the blank verse out Of me long
ago and / have found out that l can not
comfort people except as 1 myself have
been troubled. God make me the son of
consolation to the people. 1 would
Il