Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-10-14
No. Faith is the gift Of God, but il come.

No. Faith is the gift of God, but il come
in answer to PRAYER.
He must be loved aud yet adored;
His worth If all the nations knew,
Sure the whole earth would love Him. too.
remark again, that we must look +
Jesus as an example. Now, a mere copyis
you know, is always failure. If painte
go to portfolio or gallery of art, howeve
exquisite, to get his idea of the natura
world from these pictures, he will not sue
ceed as well as the artist who starts out ant
dashes the dew from the grass and sees tn
morning Just as God built it in the clouds
or poured it upon the mountain, or kindleC
it upon the sea. People wondered VIII,
Turner, the famous English painter, sue
ceeded in sketching storm upon the ocean
1t remained wonder until it was found ou
that several times he had been lashed to tn,
deck in the midst of a tempest and thel
looked out upon the wrath of the sea, and
coming home to his studio, he pictured tht
tempest. 1t is not the copyist who succeeds
but the man who contronts the natura
world.
ORIGINALITY rs BETTER.
So ifa man in literary composition resolve.
that he will initiate the smoothness Of Ad
olson, or the rugged vigor of Carlyle. or the
weirdness of Spencer. or the epigrammatic
style of Ralph Waldo Emerson, he will NOT
succeed as well as that man who cultures
his own natural style. What is true in this
repect is true in respect to character. There
were men who were fascinated with Lord
Byron. He was lame and wore a very
large collar. Then there were tens Of thou
sands of men who resolved that they would
be Just like Lord Byron, and they limped
hr,A ~
have any of his genius. You cannot sue
cessfullv COPY a man whether he is bad or
good. You may take the very best man that
ever lived and trv and live like him, and
you will make failure. There never was
better man than Edward Payson. = Many
have read his biography, not understanding
that he was sick man, and they thought
they were growing in grace because they
were growing like him in depression of spirit
There were men to copy Cowper, the poet, a
| glorious man, but sometimes afflicted with
melancholy almost to insanity. The copy
lists got Cowper's faults but none of his
virtues.
There never was but one Being fit to copy.
A few centuries ago He came out through
humble surroundings, and with gait and
manner and behavior different from any
thing the world had ever seen. Among all
classes of people He was perfect model.
Among fishermen He showed how fishermen
should act. Among taxgatherers, He
showed how taxgatherers should act
Among lawyers, He showed how lawyers
should act. Among farmers, He showed
how farmers should act. Among rulers, He
showed how rulers should act.
ALL CRITICISM DIsARMED.
Critics tried to find in His conversation or
sermons something unwise or unkind or in
accurate; but they never found it. They
watched Him, oh how they watched Him.
He never went into house but they knew
it, and they knew how long He stayed, and
when He came out, and whether He had wine
for dinner Slander twisted her whips and
wagged her poisoned tongue and set her
traps, but could not catch Him. Little
children rushed out to get from Him kiss,
and old men tottered out to the street cor
ner TO see Him pass.
Do YOU want an illustration of devotion,
behold Him whole nights in prayer. Do
you want an example of suffering, see His
path across Palestine tracked with blood.
Do you want an example of patience, see
Him abused and never giving one sharp re-
tort Do you want an example of industry,
see Him without one idle moment. Do you
d
of self. denial, His death of ignominy, His
sepulcher OF humiliation. Oh, what an ex-
ample! His feet wounded, vet He submitted
to the Journey. His back lacerated, and vet
He carried the cross. Struck, He never
struck back again. Condemned, yet He
rose higher than His calumniators, and with
wounds in His hands and wounds in His
feet and wounds on His brow and wounds in
His side, He calculated: Father, forgive
them. they know not what they do" All, my
brethren, that is the pole by which to set
your compass, that is the headland by
which to steer, that is the light by which to
kindle your lamps, that is the example that
we ought all to follow. How it would
smooth out the roughness in our disposition,
and the world would be impressed by the
Transformation and would say: 81 know
what is the matter with that man. he has
been with Jesus and has learned of Him."
LEADERSHIP SURE TO COUNT
Alexander was going along with his army
in Persia and the snow and ice were so
great that the army halted and said: "We
can 'tmarch any further" Then Alexander
dismounted from his horse, took pickax,
went ahead of his army and struck into the
ice and snow. The soldiers said: "If he can
do that, we can do it," and they took their
picks and soon the way was cleared and the
army marched on. So our Lord dismounted
from His glory, and through all icy obstacles
hews path for Himself and path for us,
saying: Follow me! do not ask you to go
through any suffering, or fight any battles
where do not lead the way! Follow mel'
Again 1 remark, that we are to look to
Christ as a sympathizer. Is there anybody
in the house to-day who does not want SYM
pathy? 1 do not know how anybody can live
without sympathy. There are those, however,
who have gone through very rough paths in
lie who had no divine arm to lean on.
How they got along do not exactly know. |
Their fortunes took wings in some unfort- |
unate investment and few away. The bank |
failed, and they buttoned up a penniless |
pocket Ruthless spectators carried off
the fragments of an estate they were 25 |
years in getting with hard work. How did |
they stand it without Christ? Death came |
into the nursery and there was an empty |
crib. One voice less in the household. |
One fountain less of joy and laughter. |
Two hands less, busy all day long in sport. |
Two feet less to go bounding and romping |
through the hall Two eyes less to beam |
with love and gladness. Through all that |
house shadow after shadow, shadow after |
shadow until it was midnight. How did |
they get through it? 1 do not know They
trudged the great Sahara with no water in |
the goat skins. They plunged to their
chin in the slough of despondand had no
one to lift them. In an unseaworthy craft |
they put out into black Euroclydon.
SYMPATHY AND SALVATION.
My brother, my sister, there is balm |
that cures the worst wound. There is |
light that will kindle up the worst darkness. |
There is harbor from the roughest ocean.
You need and may have the Savior's SYM
pathy. You cannot get OH this way. see