The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-09-04

NHN MLan AIEt MNN AEaa4EE AldA AnNA
I knows every dishonest dollar he has In
+ his pocket that God is looking right
b through the iron wall OF his money safe
/ and that the day Of judgment is coming,
/ and that "as the partridge sittith on eggs
! and hatcheth them not; so he that gett-
7 eth riches, and not by right, shall leave
Z them in the midst of his days, and at his
+ END shall be a fool" But how many
/ there are who do not bring the religion Of
/ Christ into their everyday occupation.
/ They think religion is for Sundays.
I Suppose you were TO 90 out 10 fight for
I your country in some great contest,
would you 90 to do the battling at Troy
or at Springfield, No, YOU would go
/ there 10 get your swords and muskets.
Then you would 60 out in the face Of the
enemy and contend for your country.
Now, | take the Sabbath day and the
1 church TO be only the armOry where we
are to get equipped for the great battle of
life, and that battlefield is Monday.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
and Saturday Antioch, " and st. Mar
tins and "Old Hundred" are not worth
much if we do not sing ali the week. A
! sermon is of little account if we cannot
carry it behind the counter and behind
the plough. The Sabbath day is Of no
value if it last only twenty four hours.
ON says some one. IF / had great
sphere I would do that; if | could have
3 llNtA III LIAC LlIilC OF NldILlA LII UCIs II 1
could have been Paul's travelling com
panion, if had some great and resound-
ing work to dO-then / should put into APP
plicatiOn all that you say" | must admit
that the romance and knight errantry
have gone out Of life. There is but very
little of it left in the world. The temples
of Rouen have been changed into smith
les the classic mansion at Ashland has
been cut up into walklng-StIckS; the
muses. have reJreated before the emf
grants ak and the trapper's gun, and a
Nermonter might go over the Allegheny
and the Rocky mountains and see neither
an Dread nor a Sylph. The groves where
the gods used to dwell have been cut up
for firewood, and the man who is looking
for great spheres and great scenes for ac-
ton Will not ind them. And yet there
are Alps to scale and there are Helles-
points TO swim. and they are in common
life. 1t is absurd for you to say that you
would serve God if you had 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
nudge, how could you endure the breath
of basiliskl
Our national government does not
think il belittling to put tax on pins,
and tax on buckles, and a tax on shoes.
The individual taxes do not amount TO
much, but in the aggregate to millions
and millions of dollars. And l would
have you, o Christian man. put high
tariff on every annoyance and veXatiOn
that comes through your soul. This
might not amount to much, in single
cases, but in the aggregate it would be
great revenue of spiritual strength and
1 satisfaction. A bee can suck honey even
out of a nettle; and if you have the grace
of God in your heart, you can get sweet
ness out of that which would otherwise
irritate and annoy. A returned mission
airy told me that a company of adventur
ers, rowing up the Ganges, were stung to
death by flies that infest that region at
certain seasons l have seen the earth
strewn with carcasses of men slain by
insect annoyances. The only way to get
prepared for the great troubles of life is
to conquerthese small troubles.
Suppose a soldier should say, This is
only skirmish, and there are only few
enemies won't load my gun until l can
get into some great general engagement. W
/ That man is a coward, and would be a
coward in any sphere. If a man does not
serve his country in skirmish, he will
not in a Waterloo. And if you are not
I faithful going out against the single
/ handed misfortunes of this life, you would
notbe faithful when great disasters with
! their laundering artillery came 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 tempest,
then we go TO God for comfort; but yes
terday in the little annoyances of your
store, or office, or shop or factory, or
banking house, did you go to God for COM
fortl You did not.
My friends, you need to take the relig-
ion of the tI9qrds Jesus Christ into the
| most~ ordinary trials of your life. You
/ have your misfortunes, you have your
! anxieties, you have your veXations.
/ "Ohp1 you say, they don't shape my
4 character. Since | lost my child, since
/ have lost my property, / have been a very
/ different man from what l was. y My
! brother it is. the little annOyances of your
! life that are souring your disposition,
clipping your moral character, and max
/ ing you less and less of a man.
You go into an artists studio. You see
! him making piece of sculpture. You
say, why don't you strike harderl'
/ With his mallet and his chisel he goes
click, click, click and you can hardly see
from stroke to 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 re
plies, that would shatter the statue:
must make il in this way, stroke by
stroke. Ana ne continues on Dy week
and month until after awhile everym mar
that enters the studio is fascinated
Well, find God dealing with some man
He is shaping him for time, and shaping
him for eternity. l say, "Oh Lord why
not with one tremendous blow of calamity
shape that man for the next world Z"
God says, That's not the way deal with
this man; it is stroke after stroke, an
noyance after annoyance, irritation after
irritation; and after awhile he will b.
done, and glad spectacle for angels an(
men,
Not by one great stroke, but by ter
thousand little strokes of misfortune ar,
men fitted for heaven. You know tina
large fortunes can soon be scattered by
being paid out in small sums of money
and the largest estate of Christian char
acter is sometimes entirely lost by thesS
small depletions.
We must bring the religion of Jesu.
Christ to help US in these little annoy
ances. DO not say that anything is toe
Insignificant to affect your character
Rats may sink ship. One lucifer mattel
may destroy temple. a queen got hei
death by smelling of poisoned rose. The
scratch of a sixpenny nail may give vol
the lockjaw. Columbus, by asking for &
piece of bread and drink of water at {
TO