The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1893-11-11


your swords and muskets. Then you would
go out in the face of the enemy and contend
for your country. Now, take the Sabbath
day and the church to be only the armory
where we are to get equipped for the great
battle of life, and that battlefield is Mon
day, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Fri
day and Saturday. Antioch" and "St.
Martins" and "Old Hundred" are not
worth much if we do not sing all the week.
A sermon is of little account il we cannot
carry it behind the counter and behind the
pillow. The Sabbath day is of no value If it
last only "a hours.
oh" says some one, "if l had a great
sphere l would do that; if / could have
lived in the time of Martin Luther, If |
could have been Paups travelling compan-
ion, If | had some great and resounding
work to do-then | should put into applica-
ton 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 smithies: the classic
mansion at Ashland has been cut up into
walking sticks; the muses. have retreated
before the emigrant's AK and the trappers
gun, and Nermouter might go over the
Allegheny and the Rocky mountains and
see neither an Dread nor a Sylph. T.,
The groves where the gods used to dwell
have been cut up for tirewood, 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 COM
mon 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
| i II
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 tax on pins and n
tax on buckles, and tax OH shoes. The
| individual taxes do not amount to much,
but in the aggregate to millions and mil
lions of dollars. And | would have you, oh,
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 a great revenue of spiritual
strength and satisfaction.
| A bee can suck honey even out of net
tie, and if you have the grace of God in
your heart you can get sweetness out of
| that which would otherwise irritate and
annoy A returned missionary told me
| that a company of Adventures rowing up
| the Gauges were stung to death by flies
| that infest that region at certain seasons.
| | have seen the earth strewed with the car
cases 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 u soldier should say: This is
only Il skirmish, and there are only II few
enemies. l won't load my gun. Wait until
get into some great general engagement
That man is coward and would be a cow
| ard in any sphere Ii man does not serve
his country in skirmish, he will not in a
| Waterloo. And if you are not faithful 60
| ing out against the single handed misfor-
tunes of this life you would not be faithful
when great disasters, with their thunder
| ing artller,, come rolling down over the
| soul.
This brings me to another point. We
ought to bring the religion of Jesus Christ
| into ali our trials. If we have "a bereave-
| Incnt, if we lose our fortune, if some great
| trouble blast like the tempest, 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.
|
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 | have lost my property, | have
been very different man from what was -
My brother, it is the little annoyances of
your life that are souring your disposition,
clipping your moral character and making
you less and less of a man.
| You 20 into an artists studio You see
him making a piece of sculpture. You say,
I"Why don't you strike harder?" 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 hard
err" "Oh," he replies, that would shatter
the statue. | must make it in this way,
stroke by stroke" And he continues on
by week and month until after awhile ey-
cry man that enters the studio is fascinated.
Well, find God dealing with some man.
He is shaping him for time and shaping him
for eternity. | say, 20 Lord, why not with
one tremendous blow of calamity shape that
man for the next world?' God says:
That's not the way deal with this man.
| 1t is stroke after stroke, annoyance after an
noyance, irritation after irritation, and
after awhile he will be done and glad
spectacle for angels and men"
| Not by one great stroke, but by 10000
| little strokes of misfortune, are men fitted
for heaven. You know that large fortunes
can soon be scattered by being paid out in
small sums of money, and the largest es-
tate of Christian character is sometimes
entirely lost by these small depletions
We must bring the religion of Jesus
Christ to help US in these little annoyances.
| Do not say that anything is too insig-
niticant to affect your character Rats
may sink ship. One lucifer match may
destroy temple a queen got her death
| by smelling of a poisoned rose. The
scratch of siXpenny nail may give you
the lockjaw. Columbus, by asking for a
| piece OF bread and "A drink of water at a
FRANCISCAN convent, came to the discovery
of new world And there is a great con.
nection between trifles and immensities, be-
tween nothings and everythings.
Doyou not suppose that God cares for YOU
insignificant sorrows? Why, my friends
there is nothing Insignificant in your life.
How dare you take the responsibility of
saying that there is? Do you not know
that the whole universe is not ashamed to
take care of one violet' | say: What are
you doing down there in the grass, poor lit
Gle violet Nobody knows you are here
Are you not afraid nightsH You will die
with thirst; nobody cares for you; you will
suffer; you will perish" NO" says a star,
"Tll watch over it tonight" No" says
the cloud, IN give it drink" No" says
the sun, "Ill warm it in my BOSOM"