Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1891-08-07

THE v ALLh VI AtsoI LIE.
once asked an aged man in regard to
his pastor, who was a very brilliant man,
"Why is it that your pastor so very bril-
liant, seems to have so little tenderness in
his sermons?" well" he replied, "the
reason is our pastor has never had any
trouble When misfortune comes upon him
his style will be different" After awhile
the Lord took a child out of that pastor
house, and though the preacher was just
as brilliant as he was before, oh, the
warmth, the tenderness of his discOursesl
The fact is that trouble is a great edu-
Gator. You see sometimes a musician sit
down at an instrument, and his execution
is cold and formal aud unfeeling. The
reason is that all his life he has been pros
pered But let misfortune or bereavement
come to that man, and he sits down at the
instrument, and you discover the pathos
in the first sweep Of the keys. Misfortune
and trials are great educators.
A young doctor comes into a sickrOom
where there is a dying child. Perhaps he
is very rough in his prescription, and very
rough in his manner and rough in the
feeling Of the pulse, and rough in his an
sWer to the mothers anxious question, but
the years rOR on and there has been one
dead in his own house, and now he comes
into the sickroom, and with fearful eye he
looks at the dying child and he says, "Oh,
how this reminds me of my CharlieW
Trouble, the great educatorI SorrOw-l
see its touch in the grandest painting; !
hear its tremor in the sweetest song; feel
its power in the mightiest argument
Grecian mythology said that the foun-
tain of Hippocrene was struck out by the
foot of the winged horse, Pegasus. have
often noticed in life that the brightest and
most beautiful fountains of Christian com
fort and spiritual life have been struck out
by the iron shod hoof Of disaster and ca
lanlity. l see Daniels courage best by the
fash OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS furnace. | see
Paul's prowess best when / find him on
the laundering ship under the glare of lie
lightning in the breakers of Melita. God
crowns his children amid the bowling OF
wild beasts and the chopping Of blood
splashed guillotine and the cracking fires
Of martyrdom-
Il took the prosecutions of Marcus Aure-
lius to develop Polycarp and Justin Mar
tyr. It took the pope's-hUll, and the cardi
NAILS curse, and the.world's anathema to
develop Martin Luther It took all the
hostilities against the Scotch Covenanters
and the fury of Lord Claverhouse to de
velop James Renwick, and Andrew Mel
vile, and Hugh McKail, the glorious mar
tyrs of Scotch history. 1t took the stormy
sea, and the December blast, and the desc
late New England coast, and the war
WhoOp Of savages to show forth the proves
Of the Pilgrim fathers
When amid the storms they sang,
And the stars heard, and the sea;
And the sounding aisles Of the dim wood
Rang to the anthems Of the free.
1t took all our past national distresses,
and it takes all our present national sor
rows, to lift up our nation on that high
career where it win 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 50 1t is individu
ally, and in the family, and in the church.
and in the world, that through darkness
and storm and trouble men, women,
churches, nations, are developed.
THE BEAUTY OF FRIENDSHIP.
Again, / see IN my text the beauty Of un'
faltering friendship. I suppose there were
plenty Of friends for Naomi while she was
In prosperity But of all her acquaint
ances, how many were willing to trudgt
of with her toward Judea, when she hac
to make that lonely Journey One-tht
heroine Of my text. One-absolutely one
/ suppose when Naomi's husband was liv
ing, and they had plenty Of money, and al
things went well, they had great many
callers. But SUPPOSE that after her bus
band died, and her property went, and She
got old and poor, she vas not troubled
very much with callers. All the birds that
sang in the bower while the sun shons
have gone to their nests. now the night has
fallen.
Oh, these beauiful sunhowers thai
spread out their color In the morning hour