Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1891-08-21
REV. DIR. TALMAGH.
The Eminent Brooklyn DivineS Sun
day SlrnOn.
Subjects "rhe Sin of Borrowing Trouble Il


law of storms in the natural world, SO
there IS law Of trouble, a law of disaster,
n law of misfortune; but the majority of the
troubles Of life are imaginary, and the most
of those anticipated never come At any
rate, there is no cause Of complaint against
God. See how much He hath done to make
thee happy; His sunshine filling the earth
with glory, making rainbow for the storm
and halo for the mountain greenness for the
moss, saffron for the cloud and crystal for
the hllow, and procession Of hammered flame
through the opening gates Of the morning;
chsffinches to sing, rivers to glitter, seas to
chSn mt, and springs to blossom, AID over
powering all other sounds with its song, and
overarching all other splendor with its tri-
umph, covering up all other beauty with its
garlands, and publishing all other thrones
with its dominion-deliverauc for a lost
world through the Great Redeemer
/ discourse of the sin of borrowing trouble.
First, such habit of mind and heart is
wrong. because it puts one into despon-
dency that i'll fits him for duty. | planted
two rose bushes in my garden. The one
thrived beautifully, the other persisted. |
found the dead one on the shady side OF the
house. Our dispositions, like our plants, need
sunshine Expectancy Of repulse is the cause
OF many secular and religious failures. Fear
of bankruptcy has uptorn many fine bust
ness and sent the man lodging among the
note shavers Fear of SANDER and abuse has
often invited all the long beaked vultures OF
scorn and backbiting. Many of the misfor-
tunes Of life. like hyenas, flee If you courage
ously meet them.
How poorly prepared for religious duty is
a man who sits down under the gloom Of ex-
pected msfortunel II he pray, he says, 81
| do not think | shall be answered" 1t hs
give, he says, II expect they will steal the
money" Helen Chalmers told me that her
! father Thomas Chalmers, in the darkest
hour of the history of the Free Church OF
/ Scotland. and when the woes OF the land
seemed to weigh upon his heart said to the
children, "Come, let us so out and play ball
or fly kite, and the only difficulty in the
play was that the children could no. keep Up
with their father. The McCheynes AMI tire
Summerfelds OF the clurch who did the
most good, cultivated sunlight. Away with
the horrors! they distill poison; they dig
graves. and If they could Climb so nigh, they
would drown the rejoicings Of heaven with
sobs and waiting.
You will have nothing but misfortune IN
the future if YOU seduously watch for It
How shall a man catch the right kind of fish
/ il he arranges his line and hook and bait TO
catch lizards and water serpentsy Hunt for
bats and hawks and bats and hawks you will
find. Hunt for robin redbreasts and you will
find robin redbreasts. One night an eagle
aud an owl got into fierce battle: the eagle
unused to the night was no match for All
owl. which is most at home in the darkness.
and the king Of the air fell helpless; but ths
morning rose. and with it rose the eagle; and
the owls and the night hawks and the hats
came a second time to the combat now. the
eagle. in the sunlight. with n stroke Of his
talons and a great cry. cleared the air. and
his enenes. with torn feathers AMI splashed
with blood. tumblei into the thickets. We ara
the children of ligat In the night Of de-
spondency You will have no chince against
your enemies that flock up from beneath,
but. trusting in Go and stan ing III the sun
shine OF the promises, you shall renew your
youth like the eagle
Again. the habit of borrowing trouble Is
wrong because il has a tendency to make us
overlook present blessing. To Stake mans
thirst, the rock is cleft and cool waters Leap
into his brimming cup To feed his hunger
the fields bow down with bending wheat,
and the cattle come down with full Il lders
from the clover pastures to give him milk,
and the orchards yellow aud ripen. casting
their Juicy fruits into his lap. Alas that
amid such exuberance of blessing man
should grow as though he were soldier Oh
half rationS, or a sailor on short allowance
that a man should stand neck deep IN har-
vests looking forward to famine; that one
should feel the strong pulses Of health march
ing with regular tread through all the ave
nnes of life AMI yet tremble at the expectei
assault OF sickness; that man should sit IN
his pleasant home. fearful that ruthless want
will some day rattle the broken window SASH
with tempest and sweep the Goals from
the hearth. and pour hunger into
the bread tray; that man Eel by
Him who Owns all the haryeSts should eX-
pect to starve; that one whom God loves
and surrounds with benediction, and attends
with angelic escort and hovers over with
more than motherly fondness, should be
looking for a heritage of tears!
Has God been hard with thee that thou
shouldst be forebodings Has He stinted thy
boardS Has He covered thee with ragsS Has
He spread traps for thy feet, and CALLED thy
cup. and rasped thy soul. and wrecked thea
with storm. and thundered upon thee with a
life full OF calamity? II your father or
brother come into your bank where gold ana
silver are lying about you do not watch
them, for you know they are honest; but IL
an entire stranger come by the safe you
keep your eye on him, for you do not know
his designs. SO some men treat God; not as
a Father, but a stranger, and act susplc-
lousy toward Hin, as though they were
1t is high time you began to thank 90 II
for your present blessing. Thank Him Tor
your children. happy, bIoyant and bound
ing Praise Him for your home. with lts
fountain of song aud lau yhter. Adore HIM
for morning light and evening shadow.
Praise Him for fresh, coil water bubblng
from the rock. leaping in the cascade, soar
ing in the mist falling in the shower, dash
ing against the rock and clappng ITS hanis
in the tempest. Love Him for the grass
that cushions the earth, and the clouds thai
curtain the sky, and the foliage that waves
in the forest. Thank Him for n Bible To
read, and a cross to gaze upon, anda Saviour
to deliver.
Many CHRISTIANS think it a BAD sign to be
iubilant, and their work of determination
is a hewing down of their brighter ex )eri-
ences. Like a boy with new jacksnite,
hacking everything he comes across, SO their
sef-examination is a religious cutting 70
pieces OF the greenast things they can lay
their hands on They Imagine they are do
ing Gods service when they are going about
borrowing trouble, AMI borrowing 1t at
thirty per cent. which is always a sure pre-
cursor of bankruptcy.
Again. the habit OF borrowing trouole u
wrong because the present is sufficiently
taxed with trial God sees that we all need
A certain amount of trouble, and so He APP
portions it for all the days and years OF our
life. Alas for the policy Of gathering it al
up for one day or yea'. Cruel thing to pus
upon the back OF one camel all the cargo IN
tended for the entire caravan. never looS
at nv memorandum book to see what en-
fragments and duties ar5 far ahead. Lee
every week bear its own burdens
The shadows of to-day are thick enough.
WHY implore the presence Of other shadows;
The cup is already distastetui. Why halloo to
disasters far distant 10 come aud wiring ou5
more gall into bitterness? Are we such
champions that. having won the belt III
former encounters, we can go forth to chat
lenge all the future,
Here are business men just able to manage
affairs as they now are. They can pay their
rant. AMI NEE. their notes and manage
affairs as they now are, but what II there
should come panicg Go tomorrow aud
write on your daybooS, OF your ledger, on
your money safe, Sufficient unto the day
S the evil thereof Do n)t worry aoo1'
notes that are far from due. Do not pile u
on your counting desk the financial anxiete'
If the next twenty years. The God VINO uas
takeu care Of your worldly occupation.
guarding YOUR store from the touch oil the
nc ,ndiary anl the key OF the burglar, VIII
ne as faithful in 1891 as in 1881. Co.'s mana
Is mightier than the Vaccinations OF stock
gamblers. or the plots OF political dema-
gogues. or the rel right arm OF reVouOlon;;
and tho darkness will fly and the storm TAU
dead at His feet.