Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1892-03-18

verses OF the BlDle Is taken up IN de-
scribing his bedstead. So God all up
and down the Bible honors sleep.
Adam, with his head on IA pillow of
Edenic roses, has his slumber blest by
Divine gift of beautiful companion
ship. Jacob, with his head on n pill
low of rock, has his sleep glorfied
with ladder filled with descending
and ascending angels. Christ, with a
pillow made out of the folded up coat
of a fisherman, honors slumber in
the back part of the storm-tossed boat.
The only case of accident to sleep men
toned in the Bible was when Eutychus
fell from a window during sermon of
Paul, who had preached until mid
night, but that was not SO much a con-
demnation of sleep as n censure of long
sermons. More sleep is what the world
wants. Economic in everything but
sleep. William Ii. Seward, the re-
nowned secretary of state, in the midst
of his oermastering tolls longed for
the capacity of rest, writing in his
memorandum book: II have never
found but one invaluable recipe for
a good nights rest, and that is to have
been restless and sleepy the night
before" When President John
Quincy Adams and the distinguished
Josiah Quincy went to hear Judge
Story lecture on law to his students,
and, when invited to sit beside
the Judge and both fell asleep, the
judge appropriately pointed TO them,
and said to the students: Behold the
evil effects of early rising" In Bible
times, when people arose at the voice
of the bird, they retired at the time
the bird puts his head under his wing.
One of our national sins is robbery of
sleep. Walter Scott was so urgent
about his duty of slumber that, when
arriving at hotel where there was no
room to sleep in, except that in which
was corpse, inquired if the deceased
had died of contagious disease, and
when assured he had not, took the other
bed in the room and fell into profound
slumber. Those of small endurance
must certainly require rest if even the
giant needs an iron bedstead.
Do you know the name of the big
gest giant that you can possibly meet
and you will meet him? He is not
eleven feet high but one hundred feet
high. His bedstead is as long as the
continent. His name is Doubt. His
common food is infidel books and skep-
teal lectures and ministers who do not
know whether the Bible is inspired
at all or inspired in spots, and Christ
ians who are more infidel than Christ
ian. You will never reach the Prom
ised Land unless you Stay that giant.
Kill Doubt or Doubt will kill you.
How TO overcome this giant? Pray for
faith, go with people who have faith,
read everything that encourages faith,
avoid as you would ship fever and
smallpox the people who lack faith.
In this battle against King Og use not
for weapons the crutch of limping
Christian or the sharp pen of a "cntro-
versialist, but the sword of truth which
is the word of God. The word IF is
made up of the same number of letters
as the word cog" and it is just rs big
giant. If the Bible be true. If the
soul be immortal. If Christ be God. If
our belief and behavior here decide our
future destiny. If. If. If. | hate that
word IF" Noah Webster says it is
Conjunction: l say it is an armed giant.
Satar breathed upon it a curse when
he said to Christ: If thou be the Son
of COD" What dastardly and
Infamous IF" Against that giant
"If' hurl Jobs Il know and
Pauls Il know II know that
my Redeemer liveth." IL know in
whom | have believed" Down with
the IF" and up with Il know" Oh,
that giant Doubt is such a cruel giant!
1t attacks many in the last hour. 1t
could not let my mother alone even in
her dying moments. After a life of
holiness and conservation such as l
never heard of in anyone else, she said
TO my father: Father, what if, after
all, our prayers and struggles should
go for nothing" Why could she not,
after all the trials and sicknesses and
bereavements of long life and the in
firmities of old age be allowed TO go
without such a cruel stroke from Doubt,
the giant? Do you wonder | have a
grudge against the old monster? If l
could would give him bigger bounce
than Satan got when, hurled out of
heaven, the first thing he struck was
the bottom of perdition.
Whatever your work and wherever
you work for God-forward. You in
your way and l in my way. With
holy pluck fight on with something of
the strength of Thomas Troubridge,
who, at Inkermann, had one leg shot
off, and the foot of the other leg. and
when they proposed TO carry him off
the field, replied: mo, do not move
until the battle is won" Whatvever be
the rocking of the church or state, have
the calmness of the aged woman
in an earthquake that frightened
everybody else, and who, when asked
if she was not afraid, said: "No, am
glad that have God who can shake
the world" Whether your work be TO
teach a Sabbath class, or nurse an i'm