The Bossier banner., 1892-03-31

wind rises, and comes bending
down the wheat, and sounding
it's psalm through the forest, and
l cryt "Whither always on such
swift wing, o, wind?" And it fepliesi
eve are going to cool the cheek of
that flower" And then / bow down
and say! ''Will God take care OF the
grass of the field?" And a flower as
my foot responds: "Yes; He clothes
the lilies of the field, and never yet has
forgotten me, poor little flower"
Oh! when l see the great heavens bend
ing themselves to what seems insignif1-
can't ministration, when l find out that
God does not forget any blossom of the
spring or any snowflake of the winter;
| come to the conclusion that we can
afford to attend to the minute things
IN life, and that what we do we ought
to do well, since there is as much per-
fection in the construction of a spiders
eye as in the conformation of
flaming galaxies. Plato had
table which have now neafi
" forgotten, but it ran something
like this: He said spirits of the other
world came back to this world to find a
body and sphere Of work. One spirit
came back and took the body of king,
and did his work. Another spirit came
and took the body of poet, and did his
work. After awhile Ulysses came, and
he said: "Why, all fine bodies are taken,
and all the grand work is taken. There
is nothing left for me-" And some one
replied: "Ah! the best one has been
left for YOU" Ulysses said: whats
that?" And the reply was: 'The body
of common man, doing common
work, and for common reward" A
good fable for the world, and just as
good fable for the church. Whether
we eat or drink, or whatsoever we do,
let us do it to the glory of God.
Again, we need to bring the religion
OF Christ into our commonest trials.
For severe losses, for bereavement,
for trouble that shocks like an
earthquake and that blasts like a
storm, we prescribe religious eonsola-
tion; but, business man, for the small
annoyances of last week, how much of
the grace of God did you apply? "Oh"
you say; "These trials are too small for
such application" My brother, they
are shaping your character, they are
souring your temper, they are wearing
out your patience, and they are making
you less and less of man. go into a
sculptor's studio and see him shap-
ing statue. He has a chisel in
one hand and mallet in the
other, and he gives a very gentle
stroke-click, click, click! l say: "Why
don't you strike harder?" ''Oh," he re-
plies, that would shatter the statue.
l can't do it that way; must do it this
way" So he works on, and after
awhile the features come out, and
everybody that enters the studio is
charmed and fascinated. Well, God
has your soul under process of develop
ment, and it is the little annoyances
and vexations of life that are chise1ing
out your immortal nature. It is click,
click, clickl / wonder why some great
providence does not come, and with
one stroke prepare you for Heaven.
All, no. God says that this is not the
way. And so he keeps on by strokes
of little annoyances, little sorrows, lit
tie vexations, until at last you shall be
glad spectacle for angels and for
men. You know that large
fortune may be spent in small
change, and a vast amount of moral
character may go away in small de-
pletion. It is the little troubles of life
that are having more effect upon you
than great ones. A swarm of locusts
will kill grain field sooner than the
incursion of three or four cattle. You
say: "Since l lost my child, since l
lost my property, have been differ
ent man." But You do not recognize
the architecture of little annoyances
that are hewing, digging. cutting, shap.
ing, splitting and interjoining you NOR.
al qualities. Rats may sink ship.
One lncifer match may send destruc.
tion through block of storehouses.
Catherine de Medicis got her death
from smelling a poisonous rose. Co.
lunbus, by stopping ard asking tor a
piece of bread and drink of water at
a franciscan convent, was led to the
discovery of the new world. And there
is an intimate connection between trifies
and immensities, between nothings and
everythings.
Now. be careful to let none of those
annoyances go through your soul un.
arraigned. Compel them to administer
to your spiritual wealth. The scratch
of sixpenny nail sometimes produces
lockjaw. and the clip of most infini-
tesimal annoyance may damage you
forever. Do not let any annoyance or
perplexity come across your soul with
out it's making you better.
compared our indifference to the
brute; but perhaps wronged the brute.
did not know but that, among its
other instincts, it may have an instinct
by which it recognizes the Divine hand
that feeds it. l do not know but God
is, through it, holding Communication
with what we call Irrational crea-
tion." The COW that stands under the
willow by the water-course, chewing
its cud, looks very thankful; and who
can tell how much bird means by it's
song? The aroma of the flowers
smells like incense. and the mist
arising from the river looks like
the smoke of a morning sacr;+;oa nL