Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1891-08-13

Oh with her toward Juuea when sue had
TO make that lonely journeyi One-the
heroine Of my text. One-absolutely one.
I suppose when Naomi's husband was liv-
ing. and they had plenty Of money, and all
things went WE'LL they had great many
callers. But suppose that after her hus-
band died, and her property went, and she
got old and poor, she was not troubled
very much with callers. All the birds that
sang in the bower while the sun shone
have gone TO their nests. now the night has
fallen.
Oh, these beautiful sunhowers that
spread out their color in the morning hourl
But they are always asleep when the sun
goes downl job had plenty of friends
when be was the richest man In Uz; but
when his property went and the trials
came, then there were none so much that
pestered as Eliphaz the Temanite, and
Bildad the Shuttle and Zophar the Mann
athite
Life often seems TO be a mere game,
where the successful player pulls down all
the other men into his own lap. Let sus-
picions arise about mans character, and
he becomes like a bank in panic, and all
the imputations rush on him and break
down in day that character which in due
time would have had strength to defend
itself There are regulations that have
been half a century in building which go
down under some moral exposure, as a
vast temple is consumed by the touch of
sulphurous match. A hog can uproot a
century plant.
In this world, so full of heartlessness and
hypocrisy, how thrilling it is to find some
friend as faithful in days of adversely as in
days of prosperity David had such a
friend in Hushai; the Jews had such a
friend in Mordecai, who never forgot their
cause; Paul had such friend in Onesiph-
orus, who visited him in Jail; Christ had
such In the Marys, who adhered to him on
the cross; Naomi had such q one in Ruth,
who cried out, "Entreat me not to leave
thee, or to return from following after
thee; for whittier thou goest, will go; and
where thou lodgest will lodge thy peo
pie shall be my people, and thy God my
| God; where thou diest will die, and there
will be buried the Lord do so to me and
more also. If aught but death part thee
and me-"
FROM DARKNESS TO DAY.
Again, learn from this subject that
paths which open in hardship and darkness
often come out in places of joy. When
| Ruth started from Moab toward Jerusalem,
| to go along with her mothef-in-law, sup.
pose the people said: "Oh, what a foolish
creature to go away from her fathers
house, to go off with poor old woman
toward the land of Judea They won't
| live to get across the desert. They will be
drowned in the sea, or the jackals of the
wilderness will destroy them" 1t was
| very dark morning when Ruth started off
with Naomi; but behold her in my text in
the harvest field of Boaz, to be affianced to
| one of the lords of the land, and become
| one Of the grandmothers Of Jesus Christ,
| the Lord of glory. And so it often is that
| path which starts very darkly ends very
brightly.
When you started out for heaven, OIL
how dark was the hour of conviction-how
Sinai thundered and devils tormented and
the darkness thickened All the sins of
your life pounced upon you, and it was the
darkest hour you ever saw when you first
found out your sins. After awhile you
went into the harvest field of Gods mercy,
you began to CLEAN in the fields of divine
promise, and you had more sheaves than
you could carry as the voice of God ad
dressed you, saying, BLESSED is the man
| WuOSG UEduSSIcSSlOuS dIC lOISlNcll
whose sins are covered" A very dark
starting in conviction, very bright end,
ing in the pardon and the hope and the
triumph of the Gospel
So, very often in our worldly business ol
in our spiritual career we start off on a
very dark path. We must CO. The flesh
may shrink back, but there is a voice
within, or a voice from above, saying
"You must CO." and we have to drink the
gall, and we have to carry the cross, and
we have to traverse the desert, and we are
pounded and failed of Misrepresentation
and abuse, and we have to edge our way
through ten thousand obstacles that have
to be slain by our own right arm. We
have to ford the river, we have to clint
the mountain, we have to storm the castle
but, blessed be God, the day of rest and re-
ward will come. On the tiptop of the
captured battlemerts we will shout the
victory; If not in this world, then in that
world where there is no gall to drink, nc
burdens to carry, no battles to fight. How
do know itf Know it'll know it because
God says so-"They shall hunger no more
neither thirst any more, neither shall the
sun light ON them, nor any heat for the
Lamb which is in the midst of the thron,
shall lead them to living fountains O
water, and God shall wipe all tears from
their eyes,"
1t was very hard for Noah to endure tn
scoffing of the people in his day, while h
was trying to build the ark, ahd was ever,
morning quizzed about his old boat tha
would never be of any practical use. Blu
when the deluge came, and the tops of tn
mountains disappeared like the backs o
sea monsters, and the elements, lashed u
in fury, clapped their hands over a browne,
world, then Noah in the ark rejoiced in hi
own safety and in the safety of his family
and looked out on the wreck of RUNE
earth
THE sUFFERINGS OF JESUS.
, Christ, bounded of prosecutors. denied
pillow, worse maltreated than the thieve
on either side of the cross, human hat
smacking it's lips in satisfaction after
, had been draining his last drop of blood
the sheeted dead bursting from the sepu
chers at his cruciixion. Tell me, o Gett
: semane and Golgothal were there eve
darker times than thoseP Like the boon
, ing of the midnight sea against the rocl
E the surges of Christ's anguish beat agains
: the gates of eternity, to be echoed back b
all the thrones of heaven and all the dur
geons of hell.
= But the day of reward comes for Chris
' all the pomp and dominion Of this worl
+ are to be hung on his throne uncrowne