West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1889-03-07

OF Christian achievement Is stamped with
the letter I, standing for trouble.
when In olden time man was TO be hon
ored with knighthooi, he WINS struck with
the flat of the sword. But those who have
come 10 tho honor OF knighthood In the
kingdom Of God were first struck not with
the nat OF the sword but with the keen
edge or the cTimeter. To build his magni.
iicence OF character, Paul could not
bave spared one Lash, one prison, one stouing,
one hnathema, one poisonous viper from
the hand, one shipwreck What Is true OF
individuals is true OF nations The horrors Of
the American revolution gave this country
this side Of the Mississippi River 20 indie
pendence. and the conflict between Eng
land and France gave the most of this
sountry west or the Mississippi 70 the United
States. France owned it. but Napoleon,
earring that England would take II. prac.
sically made a present 10 che United States--
Tor he received only els, 900, 0O0---of Louis
lana, Missouri. Arkansas, Kansas. Ne
braska, Iowa. Minnesota Colorado Dakota
Montana, Wyoming and the Indian Terri.
tory. Out OF the fire OF the American revolu.
ton came this country east OF the Mississippi
out OF the European war came that west
Of the Mississippi River The British En-
pire rose 70 its present overtowerinR gran.
deur through guDpowder plot. and Guy
Fawkess conspiracy, and HorthnmDton Ia
surrection, ard Walter Raliezhs beheadin9
and Bacon's bribery, and Cromwelrs disso
luton OF parliament, and the battles OF Edge
Marston Moor, and Nasoby, and Dunbar
and Sedgemoor, and execution of Charles
the First, and London plague, aud
London fire, and London insur.
rection, and Ryehouse plot, and the vicissl-
tudes OF centuries So the earth itself, be-
tul residence for the human family had,
according TO geology, TO DO washed by uni
versal deluge, and scorched and made I'm.
sandescent by universal fires aud pounded
by sledge- hammer OF icebergs. and wrenched
by earthquakes that split continents, and
shaken by volcanoes that tossed mountains
and passed through the catastrophes OF
thousands OF years before Paradise became
possible and the groves could shake out their
green banners and the first garden pour
It's carnage OF color between the Gihon
end the Hiddekei. Trouble n good
thing for the rocks, n good thing for
nations, as we'll rs a good thing for i'm
dividuals SO when You push against me
with sharp Interrogation point, Why do
the good suffer- l open the dark saying, on
harp and. though 1 can neither play an
organ, or cornet, or hautboy, or bugIe. or
claronet, have taken some lessons on the
gospel harp, and II you would like &c hear
me l will play you these: "All things work
together for good to those who love God. ~
Now no Christening for the present seemeth to
DO Joyous, but grevous; nevertheless aftor-
ward IL yieldeth all possible fruits of
righteousness unto them which nre exer-
dure for night but Joy cometh in
The morning. What sweet thing Is n
harp, and / wonder not that in Wales. the
country OF my ancestors, the harp has be-
come the national instrument, and that they
have festivals where great prizes are offered
In the compel ton between harp AMI harp:
or that weird Sebastian Erard was
most OF his time bent over this chorded
and vibrating triangle, md was not
satisfied until he had given 10 a com
pass OF six octaves from 4 60 l. with oil the
semitones, or that when King Saul was de-
mented the son of Jesse came before him
and putting his fingers among the charmed
strings of the harp played the devil out OF
the crazsd monarch, or that i'm heaven there
shall be harpers harping with their harps.
So you will not blame me for opening the
dark saying on the gospel harp
Your harps. ye trembling saints.
Down from the willows take:
Loud TO the praise OF love divine
BID every string GwRkel
Interrogation third; Why did COOL God
let sin and trouble come into the world when
lie might have kept them outi NV reply IS
lie had cool reason. He had reasons that
lie has never given US. He bad reasons which
lie could no more make Us understand
in our finite stats than the father
starting out on some great and
elaborate enterprise could make the two
year-old child in its armed chair conpre.
memo III. Cne was TO demonstrate what
vi CiiuIAcLef may DO achieved on
earth by conquering evil. Had there been
no evil to conquer and no trouble TO console,
then this universe would never have
known an Abraham or a Moses or a Joshua
or an Ezekiel or Paul or a Christ or a
w Washington or a John Milton or n John
Howard. and a million victories which have
been gained by the consecrated spirits Of all
ages would never have been gained Had
there been 40 battle there would have
been no victory. Nine.tenths Of the anthems
heaven would
Heaven could never have been a thousandth
part OF the heaven that 1t is / will not say
that j am glad that sin and sorrow did
enter tut l do say that / am glad that
after GOD has given all His reasons 10 an
assembled universe IIo will be more
honorei than IL sin and sorrow had never
entered, and that the unfallen c1lestials will
be outcome and will put down their trumpets
20 hsten and II will be in heaven when tho =
VINO nave conquered sin and sorrow shall
enter, as IL would los in small sing-
ny school on earth II Thalberg and
Gottschalk and Wagner and Beethoven and
thtinherger and Schumann should all at
on enter. Tue immortRls that have beeu
chanting TN thousand years before the
throne viii say, as they close their Hbrettos.
On u We could only SIM like thotri
but God viii say TO those WHO have never
ta'i9n ard Consequently have not been re
ne med; you must lie silent now: YOU
nave not tie qualification for this anthem. p
50 taeF sit with closed Ups and folded hand.
and sinners saved by grace take up the
harmony, for the Bible Gays "no man could
learn that song but the hundred and forty and
-FOUR thousand which were redeemed from
the earth
A great prima donna, who can now do
any thing with her voice, told me that when
she hrst started in music her teacher in
Berlin tod her she could DO a good singer,
but q certain note she could never reach.
And them" she said, II went to work and
studied and pTactced for years until / did
reach 1t Bat the song Of the
sinner redeemed, the Bible says,
the exalted barmouists who have
never sinned could not reach and never will
reach. Would you liko 10 hear me ia a very
poor way play q snatch Of that tunei I can
give You only ORC bar Of the music on this
gospel harp: Unto Him that hath loved w
and washed us from our sins in His Own
blood and hath made ug kings and
priests unto God and tho Lamb. 20
Him 10 glory and dominion forever
and ever, Amer But before leaving this
interrogatory. Why God let sin come into
the Worldi Jet me say that great battles seem
70 re nothing but suffering and outrage at
the time of their occurrence. yet after they
have been long while past we can SEQ that
70 was better for them % have been fought
namely, balamis. inkerman Toulouse. Ar
bella, Agincourt, trafalgar. Hleu.
neim, Lexington. Sedan So now
THAT the great battles aga nst sin and SUI
efing are going ON we can fes mostly that
which is depOrable But twenty thousand
years from now, standing ia glory. We shall
p uufroinfo that hanuar Oh t..ft.- ,rg et.. -