Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-10-24


SlIa God
Fox much thai concerns as We have
20 responsibility. and Ne need not make
appeal u The Lord for direction. We
ara not rsspousl Ole for mosE of Cur SUP
rouadinzs. We ars lot responsible for
tas covatry Ok our blEth, nor for whether
We are Americ4Es, Or AOrwesl&ns, ~
seotchnen, OK Irlshmea OF English
men We are no< responsible for the
age IN which We 1--we. We are not re-
spouabls for oar temperament, DC It
nervous or phlegmztic, bilious or san
gtline. We are not responsible FOR orr
features, b they h0mely or beautiful
We are not responsl Die for the height or
suallness II our stature. We ara not
responsible for the fact thar We are men-
tally duh or brilliant. For the host II
cur environments we have no more re-
spansbility than we have for the mol
lusks az the bottom Of the Atlantic
ocean. Oh. am so glad that there are
about i've hundred thousand things that
We are not responsible for - - not blame
u for beingin our manner cold as an
-
Of Fourth of July hrecrackers. Ii you
are determined 10 blame somebody
blame our great-grandfathers or great
grandmothers who died before the Revo-
lnrionaTy war, and who may have had
habits depressing and ruinous. There
are wrong things about Us all which
MAKE me think that one hundred aud
fifty years ago there was some terrible
crank IN our ancestral line. Realize
that and IL will be relief semi-inhnite.
Let Us take ourselves as we are this mo-
ment. and then ask (which way?' Get
al the direction you can from careful
and constant study Of the Bible, and
then look up and look out and look
around and see If you can find the finger
OF God
LISCOLN's WISE DELAY.
IL is remarkable thing that some
times no one can see that finger but
Yourself year before Abraham Lin
colin signed the proclamation of emanci-
patton the White House was thronged
with committees and associations. minis
ters and layrnen. advising the president
10 make that proclamation. But he wait
ed and waited amid scof and anathema,
because he did not himself see the finger
az God. After awhile, and at just the
right time, he saw the divine pointing
and signed the proclamation. The dis
tinguished Confederates, Mason and
Slidell. were taken off an English vessel
by the United States government. Don't
give them up, shouted all the northern
states. LET Us have war with England
rather than surrender them, was the al
most unanimous cry Of the north. But
William II. Seward saw the finger of
God leading in just the opposite direc-
ton. and the Confederates were given
up and We avoided war with England,
which AT that time would have been the
demolition of the United States govern
ment. In other words, the finger Of God
as it directs you may be invisible to
everybody else. Follow the divine point
ing as you see it, although the world may
cali You fool. There has never been
man or a woman who amounted 10 any
thing that has not sometimes been called
a fool. Nearly all the mistakes that you
= W. I&fN IiltAC nave tOuAF WI
following the pointing of some other I'm
ger instead of the finger of God. But.
now. suppose all forms of disaster close
in upon a man. Suppose his business
coilspses. suppose be buys goods aud
cannot sell them. Suppose by a new in
vention others can furnish the same
goods az less price. Suppose a cold
. - TIM -
Of an epidemic corners a man, and M
notes come due and ne cannot meet
them, aud MS rent must be paid and
there Is nothing with which TO pay IL,
and the wages OF the employees ara due
and there Is nothing with which 10 meet
that obligation, and the bank will not
discount, snd the business friends to
whom he goes for accommodation are N
/ the same predicament. and he bears up
and struggles on until, after awhile,
/ crash goes the whole concern.
BETTER TREASURES THAN MONEY.
He stands wandering and saying: Il
I do not see the meaning of all this. |
have done the best / could. God knows
I would pay my debts if | could, but
here | am hedged in and stopped. ="
| What should that man do in that case?
Go TO the Scriptures and read the
promise about al things working to-
Cetber for good and kindred passages2
| That is we'll. Bat he needs TO do some
| thing besides read the Scriptures. He
needs % look for the finger Of God that
ia pointing toward better treasures; that
! IL y III. 4.
urging him % higher realms. Nohuman
/ finger ever pointed 70 the east or west
| OF north OF south 80 certainly "a the
/ finger of God IA pointing that troubled
/ man 20 higher and better spiritual re-
/ sources than he has ever enjoyed. There
/ are men OF vast wealth who are - rich
fer heaven "a they are for this world.
ms they are exceptions II man
crows in grace. 1t IS generally before he
/ gets 500 GOO or after he loses It. If a
nan has plenty Of railroad securities
| and has applied 70 his banker for more:
II the lots he bought have gone mp fifty
| per cent. in value. II he had hard work
/ e. get the door of his freproof safe shut
becsuss 81 a new foll Of securities he
rat I'm there just before locking up At
night. II he % specializing IN falling
market or rising market and things
| tase for hin a right turn. be does not
/ grlw IN grace very much that week DO
| You know what made the great revival
= 1857. when more people were con
verified 20 God probably. than in sny
year since Christ was boru2 Il was the
tefslcsuoDs and bankruptcy that swept