Milford chronicle., 1889-11-01
MILFORD, DEL, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER l, 1889.

bereaveuentS and carbuncleS and pest OF a
wife that he wanted to see God. It was not
until the prodigal got tired of living among
the hogs that he wanted to go to his fathers
house. It is the ministry Of trouble to make
this world worth less, and heaven worth
more.
OUR DEPENDENCE UPON GOD.
Again: It is the use of trouble to make US
feel our complete dependence upon God.
King Alphonso said that if he had been
present at the creation, he could have madea
better world than this, What pity he was
not present. / do not know what God will
do when some men die. Men think they can
do anything until God shows them they can
do nothing at all We lay our great plans,
and we like to execute them. It looks big.
God comes and takes us down As Prone
theus was assaulted by his enemy, when the
lance struck him it opened a great swelling
that had threatened his death, and he got
well So it is the arrow of trouble that lets
out great swellings Of pride. We mover feel
our dependence upon God until we get
trouble.
was riding with my little child along the
road, and she asked if she might drive.
said oCertainly.n l handed over the reins to
her, and had to admire the glee with which
she drove. But after while me met a team,
and we had to turn out. The road was mar
row, and it was sheer down on both sides.
She handed the reins over to me and said, Il
think you had better take charge of the
horse" So we are all children, and on this
road Of life we like to drive. It gives one
such an appearance of superiority and power.
1t looks big. But after a while we meet some
obstacle, and we have to turn out, and the
road is narrow, and it is sheer down on both
sides, and then we are willing that God should
take the reins and drive, Ahl my friends,
we get upset so often because we do not hand
over the reins soon enough.
Can you not tell when you hear a man
pray whether he has ever had any troublel
I can. The cadence, the phraseology indicate
it. Why do women pray better than meni
Because they have had more trouble. Before
a man has any trouble his prayers are poetic,
and he begins away up among the sun, moon
and stars, and gives the Lord "A great deal Of
astronomical information that must be highly
gratifying He then comes on down gradu-
ally over beautiful tablelands to forever
and ever, amen" But after man has had
trouble, prayer is with him a taking hold Of
the arm of God and crying out for help. /
have heard earnest prayers on two or three
occasions that remember.
Once, on the Cincinnati express train going
at forty miles an hour, and the train jumped
the track, and we were near chasm eighty
feet deep; and the men who, few minutes
before, had been swearing and disappearing
God, began to pull and jerk at the bell rope,
and got up on the backs of the seats, and
cried out: 20, God, save us. - There was
another time, about eight hundred miles out
at sea, ON a laundering steamer, after the
last lifeboat had been split finer than kindling
wood. They prayed then. Why Is it you 50
often hear people, in reciting the last expert
ence of some friend, say: He made the most
beautiful PRAYER ever heardr What makes
it beautifull 1t is the earnestness of it. Oh,
tell YOU man is in earnest when his
stripped and naked soul wades out in the
soundless, shoreless, bottomless ocean of
eternity.
1t is trouble, my friends, that makes US feel
our dependence upon God. We do not know
our own weakness or Gods strength until the
last plank breaks. 1t is contemplate in US
when there is nothing else to take hold Of
that we catch hold of God only. A man is
unfortunate in business. He has to raise 6
great deal of money, and raise it quickly He
borrows on word and note all he can borrow.
After awhile he puts mortgage on his
house After awhile he puts a second mort
gage on his house. Then he puts a lien on
his furniture Then he makes over his life
insurance Then he assigns all his property.
Then he goes to his father-in-law and asks
for help!
Well, having failed everywhere complete
ly failed, he gets down on his knees and says;
30 Lord, have tried everybody and every
thing, now help me out of this financial
trouble He makes God the last resort in
stead Of the first resort There are men who
have paid ten cents on a dollar who could
have paid a hundred cents on a dollar if they
had gone to God in time. Why, you do not
know who the Lord is He is not an autocrat
seated far up in a palace, from which he
emerges once a year, preceded by heralds
swinging swords to clear the way. No. But
a Father willing, at our call, to stand by US
in every crisis and predicament of life.
1 tell you what some Of you business men
make me think Of A young man goes of
from 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 out of money He sends for the hotel
keeper where he is staying, asking for leni-
ence, 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 a
comrade in the same building No help He
writes to a banker who was friend Of his
deceased father No relief. Ee writes to an
old schoolmate, but gets no help.
Saturday night comes and he is moved to
the hospital Getting there he is frenzed
with grief, and he borrows a sheet of paper
and u postage stamp. and he sits down, and
he writes home, saying Dear mother,
am sick unto death Come" It is ten min
utes Of 10 o'clock when she gets the letter.
At 10 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 cannot So sixty miles an hour.
She rushes into the hospital. She says: my
son, what does all this meant Why didn't
you send for met You sent to everybody
but me- You knew | could and would help
you. Is this the reward | get for my kind
ness to you alwaysp She bundles him up,
takes him home and gets him well very soon.
Now, some Of you treat God just as that
young man treated his mother When you
get into a financial perplexity you call on
the banker, you call on the broker, you call
on your creditors, yol call on your lawyer
for legal counsel you call upon everybody,
and when you cannot get any help then you
90 to God You say. "Oh Lord, come to
thee Help me now out of my perplexity. -
And the Lord comes, though it is the eleventh
hour. He says; why did you not send for
me beforel As one whom his mother COM
forteth, 50 will | comfort you" 1t is to
throw US back upon an all comforting God
that we have this ministry of tears.
TROUBLE MAKES Us SYMPATHETIC.
Again; it is the use of trouble to capacitate
US for the Office Of sympathy. The priests
under the old dispensatioa were set apart by
having water sprnkled IN their hands, feet
ard ads, 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. Whyl They
know how to talk Take an aged mother, e
vears Of AGE and she is almost omnipotent III