Democratic messenger., 1893-09-09

| A bee can suck honey even out OF a nettle.
/ and II you have the grace of God in your
| heart you can get sweetness out OF that
| which would otherwise irritate AMI annoy.
| A returned missionary told me that con-
| pany of adventurers rowing up the Ganges,
were stung TO death by flies that infest that
! region at certain seasons. | have seen the
| earth strewn 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 soldier should say, "This is oaiy
a skirmish. and there are only n few enemies
| Il won't load my gun wait until get into
some great general engagement. That
man Is n coward AMI would be n coward In
any sphere. II man does not serve his
country in a slir nish. he will not in
| Waterloo. And il you are not faithful going
out against the sin sle-handei mis!ortunrs o.
this life you would not be faithful when
great disasters with their laundering
artillery came rolling down over the soul.
This brings me TO au other point. We
ought to bring the religion of Jesus Christ
| into our trials. II We have n bereavement, If
| We lose our fortune. II some great trouble
| blast like the tempest then we 90 to God for
comfort, but yesterday in the little annoy
I anses of your store or Office, or shop or fac
tory, or banking house. did you go to God
for comfort? You did not.
Ny friends. you need to take the religion
OF the Lord Jesus Christ into the most ordi-
nary trials OF your life. You have your mis-
fortunes, you have your anxieties. you have
! your vexltions. "ol." yol say. .'thcy don't
| shape my character. Since lost my child.
/ since have lost my property, have been
very different man from what WAS" Ny
brother. II is the little annoyances of your
life that are souring your disposition, clip
| ping your moral character and making you
/ less and less of man.
You go into an artists stuiio. You see
him making piece OF sculpture. You say.
"Why don't you strike harder?' With his
! mallet ami 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
4 say, why don't you strike harder ''oh =
I he replies. THAT would shatter the statue.
! must make il in this way, stroke by stroke. T"
/ And he continues on by week and month
| until after awhile every man that enters the
studio is fascinated.
! Well, lind God dealing with some man.
| He is shaping him for time and shaping him
for eternity / say, 10 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 mar ii is stroke
after stroke, annoyance after annoyance. ir-
+; ritation after irritation, AMI after awhile he
! will be done and glad spectacle for angels
and men,"
Not by one great stroke. but by ten thou
sand little strokes OF misfortune are men
fitted for heaven. You know that large for
tunes can soon be scattered by being paid out
in small sums OF money. and the largest estate
of Christian character is sometimes entirely
lost by these small depletions.
We must bring the religion OF Jesus
Christ 10 help us in these little annoy
ances. Do not say that anything is too
Rats may sink a ship. One lucifer
match may destroy a temple queen
got her death by smelling of poisoned
rose. The scratch of sixpenny nail
may give you the lockjaw. Columbus by
asking for piece of brea an drink OF
water at a Franciscan convent came To- the
discovery OF Il new world. AMI there is
great connection between triiies AMI I'm
mensitics, between nothings aud every
things.
Do you not suppose that Col caras for
your insignificant sorrows? Way. my fren Is,
there is nothing insignificant in your life
How dare you take the responsibility OF say
ing 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 little
violet? Nobody knows yol are here. Are
you not a:raii nights? lo1 will die with
thirst. No5oiy cares for you. You will
suffer YOU will perish. NO, says stlr,
I'm watch over it tonight" NO" says
the clouI. I'm give it drins." No, says
the sun, '.I'll warm 1t in my bose H." AMI
then the wini ris, ani cones b'nin:
down the grain AMI sounding its
psalm through the forest, and | say,
''Whither away. y wini. on such swift
wing?" and il answers, Il am going to cool
the cheek of that violet And then | SEQ
pulleys at work in the sky. AMI the clou Is
ara drawing wafer. and say, What are you
doing there. o clouds?" They say, I'VE are
drawing water for that violet" AMI then
-at.- FAnn
be that God takes care of poor thing ike
you?" and the answer comes up, 'ies, yes.
Col clothes the grass OF the field. AMI He has
never forgotten M a POOR violet. o. nv
irienis. II the helvens bend down TO SUI n in.
significant ministry as TINT. tell YOU Go il
within; to heni down to yolr clra. since H.
Is iiI>; rs careful abnrt the con>tri.tlon Of IA
spiders "ye rs IL Il i'll ths conformation OF
flaming Salaxies.
Plato hal fable wlich have now nearly
forgotten, but il ran somethin like this H.
said spirits OF the other worli cane back to
this world TO lnd "A bo iy AMI fni a sphere OF
WORK. One spirit m. anil took the ho " of
king and did his WORK. Another spirit came
an took the bo ~ OF a po Il aui did his WORK
Alter awhile Ulysses cane, AMI he saiis
why. all the fine bo lies are taken AMI all
the grani work is taken There is nothin..
left FOR me. AMI some one replied, ..Ah.
the best one has been left for you.' Ulysses
saii, whats that?" AMI the reply was,
" Fhe " OF u go nmon man. doing con-
mon work AMI for common reward" 4
COOL fable for the world an lust as goo
fable for the church.
But. remark again. we ought to brin tho
religion o! Jesus Christ into our or,linary
blessings. Every autumn the President OF
the United States AMI the governors make
proclamation. an W. are clllei together in
our churches TO give thanks to Col for His
a bail
giving day. We take most OF tho blessings
OF life as a matter Of cours. We have hal
ten thousand blessin: = this morning for
which W. have not thanked God. Before tn,
night comes We will have a thousand mors
blessings you VIII never think OF mentioning
before God
We must u bin man led along by his
dog before We learn what grlni thin; il is
to have ones eyesight. We must sec n man
with 81. Vitu,'s dan - before We learn wnat a
grand thing it is 10 have the use OF our phys.-
cal energies. We must see some soldier
cripple !. iimp.ns along on his crutch or his
empty coatsleeve pinned up. before We leara
what grani thing il is to have the use OF
all our physical faculties. In other woris
we are so stupid that nothing hut the misfor
tunes % others can wake up To an appr,-
citation OF our common blessings.
We get on boar a train an start for Bps-
ton ami come 10 Norwalk bridge. and the
draw i OF AMI crash go"s the train.
Fifty lives dashed ont. We escap,. We
CON" home in great excitement AMI call oar
friends around US and they congratulate IA.
AMI w all knali down and thank Go for oar
escape while many perished. Bat to
morrow morning you get o n train Of ears
for Boston. You cross that bridge at Nor
walk you cross all the other bridges you
get to Boston in safety. Then you return
home Not an accident, not an alarm. NJ
thanks.
In other words. You seem to be more CRATE
ful when 80 people los. their lives ani YOU
get OF than you are grateful TO God when
Won all get of and you have no alarm at all.
Now. YOU ought to he thankful when you 49,
cape from accident. but mors thankful when
they all escape. III the one case your graft
ude is somewhat selfish in the other it IS
more like " nat il Gu yht to be.
Oh. these common mercics. these common
blessings how liit!s W. appreciate them ani
how soon We forget them. Like the OK
-. a