Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-02-25

carnage of color between the Glhon and the
Hiddekel. Trouble good thing for the rocks;
a good thing for nations as well as good
thing for individuals. So when you push
against me with sharp interrogation point
WHY DO THE GOOD SUFFER?
Iopen the dark saying on harp and. though
can neither play an organ, nor cornet, nor haut-
boy, nor bugle, nor clarionet 1haye taken some
lessons on the gospel harp, and if you would
like to hear me / will play you these: "All
things work together for good to those who
love God" Now no Christening for the present
seemeth to be Joyous, but grievous: neverthe-
less afterward it yieldeth all possible fruits of
righteousness unto them which are exercised
thereby" weeping may endure for night,
but Joy cometh in the morning." What a
sweet thing is harp, and wonder not that In
Wales the country of my ancestors, the harp
has become TIE national Instrument, and that
they have festivals where great prizes are Of
fered in the competition between harp anu
harp; or that weird Sebastian Erard was much
of his time bent over this chorded and vibrating
triangle and was not satisfied until he had
given it a compass of six octayes from E to +
with all the semi-tones, or that when King
Saul was demented the son of Jesse came be-
fore him and putting his fingers among the
charmed strings of the harp played the devil
out of the crazed monarch, or that in 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 every string awake!
Interrogation third: Why did a good God
let sin and trouble come into the world when
He might have kept them out? Ny reply is He
had a good reason. He had reasons that He has
never given u.s. He had reasons which He
could no more make us understand in our finite
state than the father starting out on some great
and elaborate enterprise could make the 2-year-
old child in its armed chair comprehend it.
One was to demonstrate what grandeur of char
acter may be achieved on earth by conqueTing
evil Had there been no evil to conquer and
no trouble to console, then this universe would
never have known an Abraham or Moses or a
Joshua or an Ezekiel or Paul or Christ or a
Washington or John Milton or John How
ard, and
A MILLION vICToRIEE
which have been gained by the consecrated
spirits of all ages would never have been
gained. Had there been no battle there would
have been no victory. Nine-tenths of the
anthems OF heaven would never have been
sung. Heaven could never have been a
thousandth part of the heaven that it is,
will not say that am glad that sin and sorrow
did enter, but do say that am glad that after
God has given all his reasons to an assembled
universe he will be more honorcd than if sin
and sorrow had never entered, and that the un-
fallen celestials will be outdone and will put
down their trumpets to listen and it
will be in heaven when those who
have conquered sin and sorrow shall
enter, as it would be in a small singing school
on earth if Thalberg and Gottschalk and
Wagner and Beethoven and Rheipberger and
Schumann should all at once enter. The i'm
mortals that have been chanting ten thousand
years before the throne will say, as they close
their hbrettos: "Oh, if we could only sing like
thatr' But God will say to those who have
foil nd 1u hor h.
redeemed: you must be silent now; you have
not the qualifications for this anthem" so they
sit with closed lips and folded hands and sinners
saved by grace take up the harmony, for the
Bible says mo man could learn thai 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
first started in music her teacher in Berlin told
her she could be a good singer, but a certain
note she could never reach "And then" she
said, 81 went owork and studied and prac-
ticed for years until l cid reach it." But the
song of the sinner redeemed, the Bible saws
the exalted harmonlsts who have never sinned
could not reach and never will reach. Would
you like to hear me In a very Door way play
snatch Of that tune? / can give only one bar
of the music on this gospel harp: Unto Him
that hathloved us and washed us from our sins
in His own blood and hath made US kings and
priests unto God and the Lamb, to Him be
glory and dominion forever and ever, Amenn
But before leaving this interrogatory, WHY
God let sin come into the world2 let me say
that great battles seem to be nothing but suf-
fering and outrage at the time of their occur
renee, yet after they have been a long while
past we can see that it was better for them to
have been fought, namely Salamis Inkermau.
Toulouse, Arbela, Agincourt Trafalgar,
Blenheim, Lexington, Sedan. So now that the
great battles against sin and suffering are
going on we can see mostly that which is de-
plorable. But twenty Thousand years from
now, standing in glory, we shall appreciate that
heaven is better off than if the battle of this
worlds sin and suffering had never been pro-
jected
THE UNIVERSAL QUESTION.
But now come nearer home and put dark
saying on the gospel harp, style of question
that is asked a million times every year In
terrogation the fourth: Why do have it so
hard while others have it so easy? or, why do
have SO much difficulty in getting livelihood
while others go around with full portemon-
naie? or, why must l wear these plain clothes
while others have to push hard to get their
wardrobes closed, SO crowded are they with
brilliant attire? or, why should have to work
so hard while others have S65 holidays every
year? They are all practically one question.
answer them by saying, it is because the Lord
has his favorites and he puts extra discipline
you extra glory, extra enforcement and extra
felicities. That is no guess of mine, but
divine say-so: "Whom the Lord loveth he
chasteneth"
well. says one, Il would rather have lit
tie less in heaven and little more here Dis
count my heavenly robe 10 per cent and let me
now put it on, a fur lined overcoat; put me in
less gorgeous room of the house of many man
sions and let me have house here in better
neighborhood"
No, no; God is not going TO rob heaven, which
is to be your residence for niue hundred QUAD
rillion of years, to fix up your earthly abode.
which you will occupy at most for less than a
century and where you may perhaps only stay
ten years longer, or only one year, or perhaps a
month more. Now you had better cheerfnlly
let God have his way, for. you see. He has been
taking care of folks for near 1000 years. and
knows how to do it, and can see what is best
for you better than you can yourself. Don't
think you are too insignificant to be divinely
cared for. 1t was said that Diana, the goddess.
could not be present 70 keep her temple at
Ephesus from burning because she was attend
ing upon the birth of Him who was to be Alex.
ander the Great But tell you that your God
and my God is so great IN small things as well
as large things that he could attend the cradle
of babe and at the same time the burning of
world
And God will make it all right with you, and
there is one song that you will sing every hour
Your first ten years in heaven, and the refrain
of thatsong will be: Il am SO glad God did
not let me have it my own way.' Your case
will all ne fixed up in heaven, and there will be
such a reversal of conditions that we can
hardly md each other for some time Some of