The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1890-10-02

been diverted and made to curve
around some particular ship, leaving
that in calm waters, and them resum-
ing their original path OF destruction.
The weather probabilities again and
again have announced a tempest and
we were ready for it but to the sur
prise Of most people. the next day we
saw the announcement that the atmos-
pheric fury had changed its course.
The probability is it struck prayer
and glanced off. IL Elijah's prayer
affected the weather of Palestine for
forty-two months, l should think some
body now might have a prayer that
would affect it for a couple Of days
John Easter was many years ago an
evangelist in Virginia. A large out
door meeting was being held in that
State. Many thousands had assembled
in the open air and heavy storm-clouds
began to gather. There was no shelter
to which the multitudes could retreat
The rain had already reached the d
joining fields when John Easter cried
out: Brethren, be still while / call
upon God to stay the storm till the Cos
pol 10 pEtdCutu w HlulbAtuuCs
Then he knelt and prayed that the
audience might be spared from the
rain and that after they had gone
to their homes there might come re-
freshing showers. Behold the clouds
parted as they came near and passed to
either side of the crowd and then closed
again, leaving the place dry whore the
audience had assembled, and the next
day the postponed showers came upon
the ground that had been the day be-
fore omitted. Do you say it only hap
pened so? l can not 500 what you keep
your Bibles for, and the God you wor-
ship is not my God. Your God is an au-
tocrat and lie is so far off and so far up
that the world can not touch Him, and
His throne is an iceberg. My God is a
father, here and now, and father
will give his child what he asks
for if it is best for him to
have it Pray about every thing
that concerns you, secularities as we'll
as spiritualities. Take to God all your
annoyances and perplexities. The
crooked shall be made straight. Some
people talk as though God controlled
things in general, but not in particu-
lar; that He started every thing under
certain laws, and then let 1T take care
of itself, as an engineer might start his
locomotive on an iron railroad track
and then jump off. What would hap
pen to such locomotive is what would
long ago have happened to our world if
God had started it and afterward al
lowed it too look out for itself. There
is no such thing as a general provi-
dence. 1t is a particular providence.
God has no general care for a forest. 1t
is a care of every cell, of every leaf
and root in that forest God has no
general care of the ocean. 1t is a care
of every drop Of water in the liquid
magnitude. God has no general care
for tho human race. 1t is care Of
every individual of that race and Of
every item of individual history. I
preach Him, a God in infinitesimals,
an everyday God, a God responsive,
and one breath of earnest prayer,
though that breath should not be
strong enough to mako candle flicker,
will absorb more Of tho Divine attention
than if the archangel standing at the
foot of the throne should flap both
wings.
1t is remarkable how many crooked
things are in the providence OF God be-
ing made straight About thirty years
ago our National affairs were as crooked
as depraved American politics and bad
men and Satan could make them. From
the top Of Maine to the foot of Florida,
the Nation was red with wrath. 1t was
wrangle and fight all the way through,
and one of the mildest things that the
North and South promised each other
was assassination. During this sum-
mer l have travelled through New
York, and Ohio, and Illinois,
and Indiana, and Minnesota, and
Kansas, and Nebraska, and Mis-
souri,, and Texas, and Louisiana, and
Georgia, and North and South Carolina,
and Virginia, and Pennsylvania, and l
have shaken hands with tens of thou
sands of people, and talked with men OF
all sections and degrees, and l have to
tell you it is all peace, and in all the
States of the Union you could not now
marshal military company of one hum
dred soldiers to fight against the United
States Government, unless you got your
men out of tho penitentiary. Did tho
corrupt and gangrened political parties
do this work of rectification and pacifica
ton? No! 1t was by Divine interposi-
ton that the crooked has been made
straight.
"Oh," says some one, the crook in
MY lot you have not mentioned, and
sit clear Inside of all the consola tions
you have offered" Well, l will take
after you with Gospel comfort, and
reach you before l close. Do you think
your wound is so deep the Divine sur
geon can not treat it? Have you
trouble that overmasters God? Is your
annoyance of such nature that you
must suppress it? All, that is
what is killing you. Trouble must
DO told, or it stings to death
the one who carries it. If there is no
man or woman that you can trust with
the secret, you can trust Goi. HE away
to Him. Tell Him all about it. Lock
your door and tell Him aloud, and if
you do not get relief you will be tho
first soul in the six thousand years OF
the worlds existence, and the only one
of the hundreds of millions of the
human race who ever called on God
for help and did not get it. In all tho
universe, in all eternity, there is
not an exception. Stop brooding and
commence praying. Il bless my God