Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1890-10-03

seventy when you ought to be only sixty.
Stop worrying; either by the dissolution OF
that firm or by read justing matters you will
be brought safely through Ii you put your
trust in God.
When commercial houses fail the suspen-
sion is advertised, but of the tens Of thous-
ands Of men who are every day extricated no
public mention is made. Yesterday was Sat
urday, and warrant that at the windows
OF banks, and in counting rooms Of stores,
and on every street Of every city God ap-
peared for the deliverance Of good men as
certainly as when with His right foot He trod
Lake Galilee into placidity, and made Daniel
as safe among the lions as though they had
been house dogs asleep on rug before VIII
ter's fire. Throw yourself On the text or
hundred other texts meaning about the same
thing.
never yet asked God to do anything but
He did it, IL it were best, and in all the cases
where my prayer has not been answered
have found out afterward that it was best
not to have been answered in my way. But
none of US has tested the full power of pray
er. Il is force very like some of the forces
of nature that were in existence but not en-
ployed. For ages elect1 lefty was thought
good for nothing but to burn barns and kill
people with one fell stroke. The lightning
rod on the topof houses was the spear with
which the world charged on the thunder
storm, as much as TO say: "If you dare to
come this way I will hurl you into the
ground" But now electricity Hghtens
homes and churches and cities and Christen-
dom, and moves rail cars and he Is rash
man who mentions anything as impossible
to this natural energy.
So the power of PRAYER was to the world
rather a frightful power, If it was any
power at all. But that has been changed, and
men begin to use it in some things, and the
time will come when it will be used In all
things, and there will be a Bible in every
counting room, and supplication will ascend
from every commercial establishment, and
when business firms are formed the question
will not only be asked as to how much this
one and that one put in of capital, but the
question will be asked: ''Do you know how
to prayP' Mightier agent than any natural
force vet developed will be this Gospel cleo
tricity flashing heavenward for help. fash
ing earthward with divine response. GOD In
business life God in agricultural life. God
in mechanical life. God in artistic life. God
in every kind of life.
Your religion for the most part is hung up
so high you cannot reach it. 1t is hung up
on the cloudy rafters of the sky, where you
expect to snatch it up as you finally go
through for heavenly residence. On, have
your religion within easy reach now Re-
ligior is not for heaven, but for this world.
Once in heaven we will need no prayer, for
we shall have everything we want We will
need no repentance, for we shall have for
ever got rid Of our sins. We shall have no
need of comfort for there viii be no trouble.
The Christian religion is not for heaven,
where everything is all right, but for this
world, where so many things are all wrong.
Washington Allston, whose name you
recognize as that of a great American
painter, was reduced to extreme poverty,
and one day got on his knees and asked for
a loaf Of bread for himself and his starving
family. While he was bowed in that prayer
there was a knock at the door, and man
came in and said "Ho.. about your paint
ing, the Angel Urie.," that received the
at fbo al Hoc heo
soldP' NO" said AlIston ''How much do
you want for it?' Allston replied: II am
done fixing a price, for [ cannot get it."
"Will four hundred pounds be enoughY'
than asked" said Allston The four hun
dred pounds two thousand dollars were
paid, and the purchaser introduced himself
as the Marquis OF Stafford who thereafter
was one of the most liberal patrons of the
rescued artist. oh that ali just happened
so" Did it? Tell that to some ignorant
man, some benighted woman, who has never
read the promise, Call upon Me in the day
of trouble I will deliver thee" or that other
promise, ''The crooked shall be straight"
''Well says one, you don't apply this in
every dlrect1on." Yes. L DO. rake 0ne most
uncertain thing on earth--the weather. The
Bible distinctly says that prayer controls the
weather. James v, II, 10: ELIAS was a
man subject to like passions we are, and
he prayed earnestly that it might not rain,
and itrained not on the earth for the space
of three years and six months; and he prayed
again and the heavens gave rain" Do you
say that was the weather of olden time?
There have been instances in modern times
just as marvellous. There's not Christian
ship captain but could give you instances
of divine interference with the weather in
answer to prayer. It has been my good
fortune to know many ship captains They
are all in our services. They leave their
vessels on Sunday mornings and join US in
worship.
l warrant there are enough Of them pres
ent this morning to take whole feet in
safety across the Atlantic. Whenever Ihave
heard them testify it has nightly confirmed
me in what knew before, that God answers
prayer concerning the weather. And there
have been cyclones that started up from the
Caribbean Sea, sweeping down every sail and |
every smokestack and every mast in their
course, which in answer to specific petition |
have been diverted and made to curve around |
some particular snip, leaving that calm !
waters, and then resuming their original |
path of destruction. The weather proba- |
bilities again and again have announced a |
tempest, and we were all ready for it, but to !
the surprise of most people the next day we |
saw the announcement that the atmospheric |
fury had changed it's course. The probable |
lty is 1T struck a prayer and glanced off. If !
Eilass prayer affected the weather OF Pales- |
tine for forty-two months, should think |
somebody now might have a prayer that |
would affect it for couple of days.
John Easter was many years ago an evan |
gelist in Virginia. A large outdoor meeting !
was being held in that State Many thou
sands had assembled in the open air. and |
heavy storm clouds began to gather. There |
was no shelter to which the multitude could |
retreat. The rain had already reached the |
adjoining fields when John Easter cried out,
"Brethren be still while I call unon God tn |