The Brookhaven leader., 1889-03-07

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 teach
or In Berlin told her she could be good
singer, but certain note she could never
reach. "And them" she said, 81 went to
work and studied and practiced for years
until did reach it." But the song OF the
singer redeemed, the Bible says, the ex-
allied harmonists who have never sinned
could not reach and never will reach
Would you like to hear me in a very poor
way play q snatch of that tune? | can
give you only one bar OF the music on
this Gospel harp: Unto Him that hath
loved 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. Amen" But before leaving
this interrogatory, why God let sin come
into the world, let me say that great bat
ties seem to be nothing but suffering and
outrage at the time Of their occurrence,
yet after they have been q long while past
we can see that 1t was better for them to
have been fought, namely, Salamis, luke
erman, Toulouse, Arbella, Aglncourt,
Trafalgar, Blenheim, Lexington, Sedan.
So now that the great battles against sin
and suffering are going on we see mostly
that which is deplorable. But twenty
thousand years from now, standing in
glory, we shall appreciate that Heaven is
better off than il the battle of this worlds
sin and suffering had never been project
ed.
But now l come nearer home and put
dark saying on the gospel harp, style OF
question that is asked a million times
every year. Interrogation the fourth:
Why do l have it SO hard while others
have it so easy? Or, why do have so
much difficulty in getting a livelihood
while others go around with a full
portemonnaie: Or, why mrst | wear
these plain clothes while others have to
push hard to get their wardrobes closed,
SO crowded are they with brilliant atttrey
Or, why should l have to work so hard
while others have three hundred ami six
ty-five holidays every year? They are all
practically one question. l answer
them by saying, it is because the
Lord has His favorites and he
puts extra discipline upon you, and
extra trial, because He has for you extra
glory, extra enforcement and extra
felicities. That is no guess Of NINE but
divine say-so: "Whom the Lord loveth
He ehasteneth." "Well," says some one,
~ would rather have a little less in
Heaven and little more here. Discount
my heavenly robe ten per cent, and let
me now put it on, a fur lined overcoat;
put me in a less gorgeous room Of the
house OF many mansions and lot me have
a house here in better neighborhood."
No, no; God is not going to rob Heaven,
which is to be your residence for nine
hundred quadrillion of years, to fix
up your earthly abode, which you
will occupy at most for less than a
century, and where you may, perhaps,
stay only ten years longer, or only year,
or perhaps a month more. Now you had
better cheerfully let God have his way,
for, you see, ne has been taking care Of
folks for near seven thousand 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 significant to be
divinely cared for. 1t was said that DIANA
the goddess, could not be present to keep
her temple at Ephesus from burning, be-
cause she was attending upon the birth Of
him who was to be Alexander the Great.
But tell you that your God and my God
is so great in small things as we'll as large
things that he could attend the cradle Of a
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 Of your first ten years in Heav-
en-, and the refrain Of that song will be:
"Iam so glad God did not let me have my
own way" Your case will be oil fixed up
in Heaven and there will be sach re-
versal in conditions that we can hardly
find each other for some time. Some of
US who have lived in first-rate houses
here and in frst-rate neighborhoOds will
be found, because Of our lukewarmness
Of earthly service, living on one of the
back streets of the celestial city, and clear
down at the end of it at No. S0S, or
900, or 1905, while some who had
unattractive earthly abodes, and a
cramped one at that, will, in the
Heavenly city, be in house fronting the
royal plaza, right by the imperial
fountain, or on the heights overlooking
the River Of Life, the chariots of saliva
ton hating at your door while those visit
you who are more than conquerors, and
those who are kings and queens unto
God forever. You my brother, and you,
my sister, who have it 90 hard here will
have it SO tpc and grand there that you
wIl hardly know yourself and will feel
disposed to dispute your own iden tity,
and the first time / see you there | will
cry out: Didn't l tell you so when you
sat down there in the Brooklyn Tabernacle
and looked incredulous because you
thought it too good to be true?" And you
will answer: you were right, the half
was not told mel" SO this morning |
open your dark saying of dependency
and complaint on my Gospel harp and
give you just one bar Of music, for l do
not pretend to be much Of player. 1.-THE
Lamb which is in the midst of the throne
shall lead them to living fountains of
water, and God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes," But 1 must confess |
am little perplexed how some of you
good Christians are going to get through
the gate, because there will be so many
there to greet you, and they will all want
to shake hands at once and will all want
the first kiss. They will have heard that
you are coming, and they will all press
around to welcome you and will want you
to say whether you know them after being
so long parted.
But here must slow up. lest in trying
to solve mysteries l add to the mystery
that we have already wondered at, name
ly: Why preachers should keep on after
all the hearers are tired? So / gather up
into one great armful all the why's, and
hows, and wherefores of your life and
mine, which we have not had time or the
ability to answer, and write on them the
words adjourned to eternity." I rejoice
that we do not understand all things now,
for II we did, what would we learn in