The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1891-08-19
forth the prowsss Of the Pilgrim r.
When amid tho storm they sans.
And the stars heard. and the seat
And the sounding aisles Of the dim wood

and it takes all our present national
sorrows to lift up our nation on that
high career where it will march along,
after the foreign despotisms that have
Knocked and the tyrannies that have
jeered, shall be swept down under the
omnipotent wrath of God, who hates
oppression, and who, by the strength
of his own red right arm, will make all
men free. And SO it is individually and,
in the family. and in the church, and in
the world, that through darkness and
storm and trouble. inen, women,
churches, nations are developed.
Again, see in my text the beauty OF
unfaltering friendship Isuppose there
were plenty of friends for Naomi while
she was in prosperity; but of ell her ac-
quaintances how many were willing to
trudge off with her toward Judea when
she had to make that lonely journey?
One-the heroine of my text. One-ab-
solutely one. suppose when Naomfs
husband was living, and they had
plenty of money and all things went
we'll, they had great many callers;
but suppose that after her husband
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 sunfowers that
spread out their color in the morning
hour! but they are always asleep when
the sun is going down! Job had plenty
of friends when he 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 Naamathite. 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 a mans character,
and he becomes like bank in panic,
and all the imputations rush on him
and break down in a day that character
which in due time would have had
strength to defend itself. There are
regulations that have been half CEN
fury in building, which 60 down under
some moral exposure, as vast temple
is consumed by the touch Of a sulphurous
match. A hog can uproot century plant.
In this world, so full of heartlessness
and hypocrisy, how thrilling is it to find
some friend as faithful in days of adj
versity as in days of prosperity! David
had such friend in Hushai; the Jews
had such a friend in Mordecai, who
never forgot their cause; Paul had such
friend in Onesiphorus, who visited
him in Jail; Christ had such in the
Marys, who adhered to him on the
cross; Naomi had such 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, l will
lodge; thy people shall be my people,
and thy God my God; wAFe thou diest
will die, and there WHY be buried;
the Lord do SO to me, and more also, If
aught but death part thee and me-"
Again, learn from this subject that
the paths which open in hardship and
darkness often come out in places OF
joy. When Ruth started from Moab to
Jerusalem, to 60 along with her moth
er-in-law, l suppose the people said:
ooh, what foolish creature to go
away from her fathers house, to go off
with poor old woman to 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" twas a 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 be.
come one Of the grandmothers Of Jesus
Christ, the Lord Of glory. And SO it
often is that path which starts off
very darlkly ends very brightly. "A 88
When you started out for Heaven, oh,
how dark was the hour of conviction
how Sinai Numbered, and devils tor
mented, and the darkness thickened
All the sins of your life pouncc upon
you, and it was the darkest hour you
ever saw when you first found out your
sins After while 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 whose transgressions are forgiven.
and whose sins are covered" A very
dark starting in conviction, very
bright ending in the pardon and the
hope and the triumph of the Gospel!
So, very often in our worldly bust.
ness, or in our spiritual career,w start
off on very dark path. We must go
The flesh may shrink back, but there i:
voice within, or voice from above,
saying, You must co." and we have
to drink the gall, and we have to carry
the cross, and we have 20 traverse the
desert and we are pounded and flailej
of Misrepresentation and abuse, and
we have to urge our way through ter
thousand obstacles that have to be
slain by our own right arm. We have
to ford the river, we have to climb the
mountain, we have to storm the castle
but, blessed be God, the day of rest ant
reward will come. On the tip-top o
the captured battlements we will shou
the victory; if not in this world, theI
in that world where there is no gall t.
drink, no burdens to carry, no battles
to fight. How do l know it? Know it
1 know it because God says so.
They shall hunger no more. neither
I -
light on them, nor any heat for thu
Lamb which is in the midst of thu
throne shall lead them to living fount