Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1892-01-14
are not very big things to him. and he can

THE FLIGHT OF TIME
At the opening of the new year people
are moraliziny on the fight of time. You
all feel that you are moving on toward SUN
down and many of you are under a conse-
quent depression. propose this morning
TO set the hands on your watches and clocks
to going the other way. propose to show
you how you may make the shadow of your
dial like the shadow on the dial of Ahaz to
stop going forward and make it 30 back
ward. You think have big undertaking
on band, but it can be done if the same
Lord who reversed the shadow in Heze-
kiah's courtyard moves upon us. While
looking at the sundial of Hezekiah and
we find the shadow retreating we ought to
learn that God controls the shadows We
are all ready to acknowledge his manage
ment of the sunshine. We stand in the
glow of bright morning and we say in
our feelings if not with SO many words,
This life is from God, this warmth is from
God" Or, we have rush of prosperity
and we say, "1hCse successes are from God
What providcntial thing it was bought
that lot Just before the rise of real estate!
How grateful to God | am that made
that investment Why, they have declared
10 per cent. dividend What "a mercy it was
that sold out my shares before that col
lapsen Oh, yes; we acknowledge God in
the sunshine of bright day or the sun
shine of a great prosperity. But suppose
the day is dark? You have to light the
gas at noon. The sun does not show him
self all day long There is nothing but
shadow. How slow we are to realize that
the storm is from God and the darkness
from God and the chill from God. Or we
buy the day before the markets retreat, or
we make an Investment that never pays, or
we purchase goods that we cannot dispose
Of, or crop Js grain we sowed is ruined
by drought or freSLct, or when we took ac-
count of stock on the LIST of January we
found ourselves thousands of dollars worse
of than we expected Who under such
circumstances says. This loss is from God.
| must have been allowed to go into that
unfortunate enterprise for some good rea-
son; God controls the east wind as well as
the west wind"
GOD CONTROLS THE SHADOWS.
Ny friends, cannot look for one moment
on that retrograde shadow on Ahaz's dial
without learning that God controls the
shadows and that lesson we need all to
learn. That he controls the sunshine is not
SO necessary lesson, for anybody can he
happy when things go right. When you
sleep eight hours night and rise with an
appetite that -annOt easily wait for break
fast and YOU go over to the store and open
your mail to read more orders than you can
I'll, and in the next letter you find a divi-
dend far larger than you have been prom
Used, and your neighbor comes in to tell
you some ilattering thing he has just heard
said about you, and you find that all the
styles of goods in which you deal have adj
Yanccd - per cent. in value, and on your
way home you meet your children in full
romp and there are roses on the center Of
the tea table and roses of health in checks
all around the able, what more do you want
of consolation? don't pity you bit. You
feel as if you could boss the world. But
for those in just opposite circumstances my
text comes in with an omnipotence of mean
ing. The shadow Oh, the shadow! Shad-
ow Of bereavement Shadow Of sick ncssl
Shadow of Bankruptcy Shadow of mental
depression! Shadow of persecution! Shad
ow of death! Speak out, oh, sun dial Of
Ahaz, and tell all the people that God
manages the shadow AS Hezekiah sat IN
his palace window wrapped in invalislism
and surrounded by anodynes and cata-
plasms and looked out upon the black hand
OF the only clock known at that time and
saw it move back ten degrees, he learned d
need this hour to learn-thatt the best friend
man ever had controls the shadow. The
setbacks are sometimes the best things
that can happen. The great German au-
thor, Schiller, could not work unless he had
in his room the scent Of rotten apples, and
the decay of the fruits Of earthly prosperity
may become an inspiration instead of a de-
preston. Robert Cham bers' lame feet
shut him up from other work, and he be-
came the world renowned publisher, and
helped fashion the best literature of the
ages. Tine painful disorder like that Of
Hc2ekiah called carbuncle is spelled eX-
actly the same as the precious stone called
the carbuncle, and the pang Of suffering
may become the jewel of immortal value.
Your setback, like that of Ahaz's sundial
may be recovery and triumph. Inever had
setback but it turned out to be a set for
ward You never would have become a
Christian if you had not had a setback
Ehe highest thrones in heaven are for the
sctbaCkS. In 1861 the shadow of the sun
dial of this nation was set back. and all
things seemed going to ruin, and it was set
back further in 1862, and further in 1863,
and still further in 1853, but there is not
an intelligent and well balanced man
north or south, east or west--but feels it
was SCI DdCk toward the sunrise.
HOW THEY MAY BIZ TURNED DACK.
But promise to show you how the shad-
oWs might be turned back. First, by going
much among the young people. In most
family circles there are grandchildren. BY
this divine arrangement most of the people
who have passed the meridian of life can
compass themselves by iuyeniity 1t is 4
bad thing for an old man or old woman TO
sit looking at the vivacity Of their grand
children shouting, stop that racketw
Better join in the fun. Let the eighty
year-old grandfather join the eight-year-
young grandson or granddaughter. NV
father and mother lived to see over eighty
children and grandchildren and great.
grandchildren, and more boisterous crew
We're never turned out on this subluuary
sphere, and they all seemed to cry to the
old folks, Keep young" and they did keep
yuung Don't walk with Il cane unless you
have to or only rs L defense in a city afflicted
with too many CANNES Don't wear glasses
stronger than necessary, putting on mum
Der tens when cighteeIs will do as well.
Don't 20 into the company Of those who
are always talking about rheumatism and
umbago and sholtneNs Of breath and the