The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1891-08-22

in prosperity. But OF all her acquaint-
ances, 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-absolutely one.
suppose when Naomi's husband was liv-
ing, and they had plenty of money, and all
things went well, 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 houri
But they are always asleep when the sun
goes 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 EEphaz the Temanite, and
Bildad the Shuhite 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 bank ina 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 a 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 one in Ruth,
who cried out, "Entreat me not to leave
thee, or to return from following after
thee; for whittier thou goest, Twill 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 l be buried: the Lord do so to me and
more also, if aught but death part thee
and me-"
FROM DARKNESS TO DAY.
| Again, l 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 mother-in-law, sup
pose the people said: "Oh, what foolish
creature to go away from her fathers
house, to go off with poor old woman
toward the land of Judeai They won't
live TO SeC acrOSS Une ueS0rC. 1Qey Will De
drowned in the sea, or the jackals of the
wilderness will destroy them" 1t was 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 become
one of the grandmothers of Jesus Christ,
the Lord of glory. And so it often is that
a path which starts very darkly ends very
brightly.
When you started out for heaven, OH
how dark was the hour. of conviction-how
Sinai thundered and devils tormented and
the darkness thickenedl 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 thevoice 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 end
ing in the pardon and the hope and the
triumph of the Gospel
So, very often in our worldly business OF
in our spiritual career we start off on
} very dark path. We must go. The fesE
may shrink back, but there is a voics
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 arr
J 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 climl
, 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 th
captured battlemepts we will shout th'
VipfnrV. if this world then in fhQ
3 world where there is no gall to drink, NJ
? burdens to carry, no battles to fight. How
3 do knov it? Know it'll know it becaus
God says so-"They shall hunger no more
{ neither thirst any more, neither shall th
e sun light ON them, nor any heat, for tn
8 Lamb which is in the midst of the thron
e shall lead them to living fountains o
!, water, and God shall wipe all tears from
y their eyes"
1 1t was very hard for Noah to endure th
! scoffing of the people in his day, while b
i was trying to build the ark, and was ever
morning quizzed about his old boat tina
! would never be of any practical use. Blu
g when the deluge came, and the tops of tn
Q mountains disappeared like the backs {
Il sea monsters, and the elements, lashed u
/ in fury, clapped their hands over browne
t world, then Noah in the ark rejoiced in h
/ own safety and in the safety of his famil,
e and looked out on the wreck of a RUNE
,e earth.
n THE SUFFERINGS OF JESUS.
le Christ, bounded of prosecutors, denied
d pillow, worse maltreated than the thieve
If on either side of the cross, human hal
ID snacking it's lips in satisfaction after
IS had been draining his last drop of bloo
the sheeted dead bursting from the sepu
g. chers at his crucifixion. Tell me, o Get
r semane and Golgotha! were there ev
j. darker times than those? Like the boor
TO ing of the midnight sea against the Ioc
le the surges of Christ's anguish beat again