The morning news., 1892-02-08

1
many OF those who then were straitened
in circumstances now hold the bonds and
the bank keys of tho nation aud win the
most bows Of the exchange. OF all fickle
people in the world Fortune is the most
fickle. Every day she changes her mind.
and woe to that man who puts any con-
fidence in what she promises or proposes.
She cheers when you 60 up, and she laughs
when you come down. o, trust not a mo-
ment your hearts affections TO this change
able world. Anchor your soul in God.
! From Christs love gather your joy. Then
come sorrow or gladness. success or defeat,
riches or poverty, honor or disgrace, health
or sickness, life or death, time or eternity,
al are yours and ye are Christ's aud Christ
/ is God.
Learn also from my subject the comfort
| ing truth that Affections are arrested as
soon as they have accomplished their mis-
| sion. For seven years did Nebuchadnezzar
dwell among the beasts of the field, but, at
the expiration OF that time, his reason re-
| turned. and, as soon as with proper huInil-
| ity he ackno wledged the God Of heaven, he
was brought back TO his palace and re-
| instated in his former affiuence and power.
! Now, it does seem that when heavy trials
come upon US, it is as though they had no
liuit. We exclaim: "All thy waves and
thy billows have gone over me-" but forget
that the depth of that sea and the DO wer
of that billow are definitely determined.
God sees how much our pride is
and he sends just enough adversely to
humble it. He sees just how worldly
minded we are and pulls US just hard
enough to detach US from our follies. He
sees how hard our heart. is and smites just
hard enough to break it. He sees how our
| eyes have been blinded and he cuts only Just
enough to remove the scales from our
/ spiritual vision. As soon as Abraham's
faith is sufficiently tried the lamb is pro-
| Ae 70, Iak
! the children of Israel depart, the plaques
| pause. AS soon as the Israelites have been
sufficiently disciplined by their wanderings,
they find their way in Canaan. But to some
| the limit is not set IN this life. Their whole
pilgrimage is through the wilderness and
| the world Is to them a valley of tears.
| But, perhaps, God has a special throne in
heaven that no ordinary saint can occupy
| and by extraordinary trials he has pre-
| pared that Christian soul for extraordinary
glory. God will not keep you in the furnace
one moment too long, just as soon as Paul
had met with enough imprisonment and
| scourgings he reached up and plucked his
eternal crown. God will keep us no longer
under the hammer and on the stocks than
| Is necessary to tit US for entrance into the
| haven of eternal rest. Glory be to the
| divine grace that, as soon as our aff1ictlons
have accomplished their mission, they are
| arrested.
The defeats and sorrows of life have
sometimes been the greatest advantage 1t
was because Dante failed as a statesman that
| he gave up politics and wrote his immortal
| "Divinia Commedia." 1t was a violent
thunder storm that first set Martin Luther
seriously thinking, and the thunder of this
worlds disaster has started many a reforma-
| tion. James Y. Simpson went from a sur
geon's operating table to experiment and see
II he could not find something that would
alleviate human pain, and he kept on until
he had discovered chloroform as an anes-
thetic, and the story Of distress has almost
always been followed by the story of
rescue. For many years after Shake
speare's death his work was 80 little appra-
ciated that in 1866 there was only one
edition of his works, and that Of only three
hundred copies in existence, and that edition
was nearly all burned in the great London
fire. But forty-eight copies had been sold
out of the city and those forty-eight copies
saved Shakespeare for all nations, and all
time. our suppression on a smaller scale
may last good while, but for all you are
worth you will yet shine out on earth OF in
heaven.
Again. learn from my subject that con-
nected with the most distressing judgments
OF God there are displays of divine mercy
God might justly have left Nebuchadnezzar
In the field, but infinite compassion brought
him back to the palace. No sooner was
A@Oou DldSteu Jndn u DLoSSlDS IOllOWeQ on
the heels of the curse promising the coming
of one who would destroy sin and make
the whole world paradise. The deluge
decends. but not until Noah had in
vited the people into the ark. The de-
stroying angel comes upon Egypt for
the smiting Of the first-born, but left un-
molested every house whose door was
sprlnkled with the blood of sacrifice. Fiery
tempests bear down upon Sodom, but not
until two angels have warned Lot and his
: family to flee from the destruction. Jeru-
salem was utterly destroyed, but not until
Jeremiah had sounded an alarm, bidding
them turn from their denominations. On
the darkest cloud of wrath there is q rain
| bow Of mercy. Zachariah in his prophetic
vision beheld four chariots symbolical Of
| Gods government. The first chariot was
drawn by red horses. They indicated the
| wars that were coming. The second chariot
| was drawn by black horses. They indi-
Gated the coming of a famine and pasti-
| lence. The third chariot was drawn by
white horses. They indicated the spotiess
purity of his conquests. But, mark
we'll that the fourth chariot was drawn
| by horses ''grisled and bay" de-
noting that mercy was mixed with all the
desolating judgments Of God. Sinai cannot
thunder SO loud as to drown the invitations
of Calvary. The Lord utters the admoni-
tion: "The wages Of sin is death, " but ex-
haustless mercy responds: "Deliver him
from going down to the pit for have found
| a ransom" Hide thee quick In the rock,
| Christ Jesus Let not this insignificant
Now" absorb thee more than the great
Hereafter. The path leading to this side of
the grave is only a few furlongs, but the
path which commences at the other side of
it is without end. The powers of darkness
gather about your soul, and the temptations
of an evil heart, and the allurements of the
world know are trying to drown the voice
OF the preacher, but, taking hold of the sill
yer trumpet of the gospel which made Felix
tremble, and at the Pentecost brought three
thousand souls out of their sepulcher,
would blow one long loud blast, crying:
"Whosoever will, let him come"
Take this goodly religion which has done
30 much for me that can commend it to
ALL Without it should have gone the
whole downward career Stolid and phleg.
matte natures going astray do not go SO for,
but natures like mine sanguine, intense
emotional, optimistic, social to the last de-
gree and echoing to all the nights and depths
OF m!rth, If they get off track, they go with
one wild leap to hell. As to the restraining
power of this religion upon a mercuriaI
temperament. | testify. This is not alb
straction or something gotten from books.
| speak of what l know. Go out aud ask
all who have tried this religion and
ask them how it works. Three Young
men in fa,tory came out on the Lords
side, but Two of them, overcome by the
jeers of their comrades, went back, and
| jOiDa1 fha bol, Ii