The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-09-06

eggs and hatcheth them not, so he that
getteth riches and not by right shall
leave them In the midst of his days and
at the end shall be a fool" But how
many there are who do not bring the
religion OF Christ into their everyday oc-
cupation! They think religion is for Sun
days.
Suppose you were to go out TO fight
for your country in some great contest
would you go to do the battling at Troy
or at Springfield? No, you would go
| there to get your swords and muskets.
| Then you would go out in the face of
the enemy and contend for your coun-
| try. Now, take the Sabbath day and
the church to be only the arlnory where
, we are to get equipped for the great
battle of life, and that battlefield is
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thurs
day. Friday and Saturday. Antioch"
and est. Martins and "Old Hundred"
are not worth much if we do not sing
all the week. sermon is. of little ac-
count If we cannot carry 1t behind the
counter and behind the pillow. The Sab
bath day is of no value If 1T last only
twenty-four hours.
"Oh," says some one. eff 1 had
great sphere 1 would do that If 1 could
have lived in the time of Martin Luther,
If l could have been PauPs travelling
companion, if l had some great and
resounding work to do-then 1 should
put into application all that you say?"
1 must admit that the romance and
knight erraptry have gone out Of life.
There is but very little of it left in the
world. The temples Of Rouen have
been changed into smithies; the classic
mansion at Ashland has been cut up
into walking sticks; the muses. have re-
treated before the emigrant's ak and
the trapper's gun, and Vermonter
might go over the Allegheny and the
Rocky mountains and see neither an
Dread nor q Sylph.
The groves where the gods used to
dwell have been cut up for frewood,
and the man who is looking for great
spheres and great scenes for action
will not find them. And yet there are
| Alps to scale. and there are Tablespoons
to swim; and they are in common life.
| 1t is absurd for you to say that you
! would serve God if you had a great
sphere. If you do not serve him on a
small scale. you would not on large
scale. If you cannot stand the bite Of
a nudge, how could you endure the
breath of basilisk?
The Value of Small Things.
Our national government does not
| think it belittling to put a tax on pins.
and a tax on buckles, and a tax on
| shoes. The individual taxes do not
| amount to much, but in the aggregate
| TO millions of dollars. And 1 would
1
| high tariff on every annoyance and vex-
alton that comes through your SOUL
This might not amount to much in sin
gle cases but in the aggregate it would
be a great revenue Of spiritual strength
and satisfaction.
| A bee can suck honey even out Of a
| nett1e, and if you have the grace of God
in your heart you can get sweetness
| out Of that which would otherwise irri-
| tate and annoy. A returned missionary
| told me that a company of adventures
rowing up the Ganges were stung TO
| death by flies that infest that region at
| certain seasons. I have seen the earth
strewed with the carcasses of men slain
/ by insect annoyanceS. The only way to
| get prepared for the great troubles OF
| life is TO conquer these small troubles.
| Suppose a soldier should say: This is
! only skirmish, and there are only few
enemies. 1 won't load my gun. Wait
| until L get into some great general en-
| gagementr' That man is a coward and
would be a coward in any sphere. If a
| man does not serve his country in a
/ skirmish, he will not in a Waterloo.
| And If you are not faithful going out
| against the single-handed misfortune of
| this life you would not be faithful when
great disasters with their laundering ar
tillery, come rolling down over the soul.
| This brings me to another point. We
| ought to bring the religion of Jesus
| Christ into all our trials. If we have a
bereavement, if we lose our fortune, If
some great trouble blast like the temp
| pest, then we go to God for comfort,
| but yesterday, in the little annoyances
| of your store or office or shop or factory
or banking house, did you go to God
for comfort? You did not
| My friends, you need to take the re-
| ligon of the Lord Jesus Christ into the
most ordinary trials of your life. You
have your misfortunes; you have
| your anxieties; you have your
vexations. oh you say, they don't
shape my character. Since / lost my
| child, since L have lost my property, ]
| have been a very different man from
what 1 was" My brother, it is the lit
tie annoyances of your life that are
| souring your disposition, clipping your
moral character and making you less
and less a man.
You go into an artists studio. You
see him making a piece Of sculpture
You say, why don't you strike
harder?" With his malIet and his
chisel he goes click, click, click, and
you can hardly see from stroke Ia
stroke that there is any impression
made upon the stone, and yet the work
is going on. You say, why don't YOU
strike harder?" ''Oh,' he replies, that
would shatter the statue. 1 must make
\ IL IN InlS way, stroke Dy stroke. AnC
he continues on by week and month
until after awhile every man that enters
the studio is fascinated.
Well, 1 find God dealing with some
man. He is shaping him for time and
shaping him for eternity. I say, &C
Lord, why not with one tremendous
blow OF calamity shape that man fol
the next world?" God says: That's
not the way I deal with this man. II
Is stroke after stroke, annoyance after
ton, and after awhile he viii
and men,"
600 little strokes of misfortune, are meI
fortunes can soon be scattered by beinl
the largest estate of Christian character
is sometimes entirely lost by these
small depletions.
Christ to help us in these little annoy
ances. Do not say that anything is to,
| Insignificant to affect your character
Rats may sink a ship One Iucife
match may destroy temple. A queer
got her death by smelling Of a poisone,
rose. The scratch of a sixpenny mai
| may give you the lockjaw. Columbus
by asking for a piece Of bread and
drink of water at a FRANCISCAN convent
came to the discovery of a new world
And there is a great connection between
trifles and immensities, between moth
ings and everythings.
Do you not suppose that God care
for your Insignificant sorrows? Why