Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1889-03-08
NAV be achieved ON earth by

character may be achieved on earth by
evil. Had there been no
evil to conquer and no trouble to con-
sole, then this universe would never
have known an Abraham or Moses or
a Joshua or en- Ezekiel or a Paul or q
Christ or Washington or John Mil
ton or q John Howard, and million
victories 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
of Heaven would never have been sung.
Heaven could never have been thou
sandth part of the Heaven that it is. I
will not say that am glad that sin and
sorrow did enter, but l do say that
I am glad that after God has given all
His reasons to an assembled universe
He will be more honored than if sin
and sorrow had never entered, and that
the unfallen 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 small
singing school on earth if Thalberg and
Gottschalk. and Wagner, and Beetho-
ven, and Rheinberger, Snd Schumann,
should all at once enter. The immor-
tails that have been chanting ten thou
sand years before the throne will say,
as they close their librettos: "0h, it We
could only sing like that" But God
and consequently have not been re-
deemed: you must be silent now; you
have not the qualification for this an
Them" SO they sit with closed lips and
folded hands and sinners saved by grace
take up the harmony, for the Bible says:
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
anything with her voice, told me that
when she first started in music her
teacher in Berlin told her she could be
good singer, but certain note she
could never reach. "And then, she
said, Il went to work and studied and
practiced for years until did reach it.
But the song of the sinner redeemed,
the Bible says, the exalted harmonists
who have never sinned could not reach
and never will reach. Would you like
to hear me in very poor way play
snatch of that tune? I can give you
only one bar of the music on this Cos
pei harp: Unto Him that hath loved
us and washed us from our sins in His
priests unto God and the lamb, to Him
be glory and dominion forever and ever,
Amen. But before leaving this inter-
rogatory, why God let sin come into
the world?" let me say that great battles
seem to be nothing but suffering and
outrage at the time of their occurrence,
yet after they have been long while
past we can see that it was better for
them to have been fought, namely, Sa-
lamis, Inkerman, Toulouse, Arbella,
Agincourt, Trafalgar, Blenheim, Lex
ington, Sedan. So now that the great
battles against sin and suffering are 60
ing on we can see mostly that which is
deplorable. But 10000 years from now,
standing in glory, we shall appreciate
that Heaven is better off than if the bat
tie of this worlds sin and suffering had
never been projected.
But now come nearer home and put
dark saying on the gospel harp, q
style of question that is asked q million
times every year. Interrogation 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 portemonnaie? or, why must
wear these plain clothes while others
have to push hard to get their ward
robes closed, SO crowded are they with
work so hard while others have three
hundred and sixty-fve holidays every
year? They are all practically one ques-
ton. answer them by saying, it is be-
cause 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 mine,
but divine say-so. Whom the Lord
loveth He chasteneth." Well" says
some one, Il would rather have a
little less in Heaven and little more
here. Discount my heavenly robe
10 per cent. and let me now put
it on, fur-lined overcoat; put
me in a less gorgeous room of the
house of many mansions and let me
have house here in better neighbor-
hood" 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 CEN
fury, and where you may perhaps stay
only ten years longer, or only one year.
better cheerfully let God have his way,
for you see, he 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
insignificant to be divinely cared for. 1t
was said that Diana; the goddess. could
not be present to keep her temple at
Ephesus from burning because 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 babe and at the same time the burn
ing 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 that song
will be: Il am SO glad God did not let
me have it my own way" Your case
will be all fixed up in Heaven and there
will be such a reversal of conditions
that we can hardly find each other for
some time. Some of US who have lived
in first rate houses here and in first 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. 8OS, or 800, or 1906, while