Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1893-06-15


tended to ovcrrule for your immortal help.
ooh" you say, there is no need talking
that way to ma don't like to be cheated
and outraged" Neither does the corn like
the corn thrasher but after it has been
thrashed and winnowed it has great deal
better opinion of winnowing mills and corn
thrashers.
WELL" you say, eff I could choose my
troubles, ! would be willing to be troubled"
All, my brother, then it would not be trou-
Bile. You would choose something .fhat
would not hurt, and unless it hurts it'does
not get sanctifed. Your trial perhaps may
be childlessness You are fond of children.
You say, "Why does God send children to
that other household where they are I'M
welcome and are beaten and banged about,
when | would have taken them in the arms
Of my affectons?" You say, ANY other
trial but this" Your trial perhaps may
be a disfgured countenance or a face
that is easily carcatured, and you say,
"Oh, could endure anything if only was
good looking" And your trial perhaps is
a violent temper, and you have to drive it
like six unbroken horses amid the gun
powder explosions Of great holiday, and
ever and anon it runs away with you. Your
trial is the asthma. You say, "Oh, if it
elias but it is this asthma, and it is such
an eXhausting thing to breathe" Your
trouble is a husband short, sharp, snappy
and cross about the house and raising
small riot because button is off! How
could You know the button is off?
Your trial is a wife ever in contest with
the servants, and she is n sloven Though
She was very careful about her appearance
in your presence once, now she is careless
because She said her fortune is made Your
trial is hard school lesson you cannot
learn, and you have bitten your finger nails
until they were a sight to behold. Every
body has some veXation or annoyance or
trial, and he or she thinks it is the one least
adapted. "Anythng but this" all say,
"Anything but this
FAULT FINDERS REBUKED.
Oh, my hearer, are you not ashamed to
be complaining all this time against God2
Who manages the affairs OF this world any
how? Is it an infinite Modoc, or a Sitting
Bull savage, or an omnipotent Mana Sahib?
No; it is the most merciful and glorious and
wise Being in all the universe. You cam
not teach OmuipOtence anything. You
have fretted and worried almost enough.
Do You not think so? Some of you are max
ing yourselves ridiculous in the sight of the
angels.
Here is naval architect, and he draws
out the plan of ship of many thousand
tons Many workmen are engaged on it
for long while. The ship is done, and
some day with the flags up and the air gor-
gpous with bunting that vessel is launched
for southampton. At that time a lad 6
years OF age comes running down the dock
with II toy boat which he had made with
his own jackkn and he says: Here, my
boat is better han yours. just look at this
| jibboom and these weather cross jack
| braces" And he drops his little boat be-
| side the great ship, and there is roar of
laughter on the docks.
All, my friends, that great ship is your
| life as God planned it-vast, million ton
| ned, ocean destined, eternity bound. That
| little boat is your life us you are trying to
hew it out and fashion it and launch it.
All, do not try to be rival of the great
jehovah God is always right, and in nine
| cases ont of ten you are wrong He sends
| Just the hardships, just the bankruptcies,
| Just the cross, that it is best for you to have.
| He knows what kind Of grain you are and
! be sends the right kind of thrashing ma
| chine. 1t will be a rod or Il staff or iron
wheel just according as you are ftches or
| cummin or corn.
Again, my subject teaches us that God
keeps trial on us until we let go. The
| farmer shouts "whoap' to his horses as soon
rs the grain has dropped from the stalk
The farmer comes with his fork and losses
up the straw, and he sees that the straw
has let 60 he grain and the grain is thor
oughly thrashed. So God. Shifting rod
and turning wheel both cease as soon as
we let 90. We hold on to this world with
its pleasures and riches and emoluments
and our knucklcs are so firmly set that il
seems as if we could hold on forever. Goo
comes along with some thrashing trouble
and beats rs loose We started under the
delusion that this was II great world
We learned out of our geography that il
was so many thousand miles in diameter
and so many thousand miles in circumfer
ence, and we said, "Oh, my, what Il worldr
Troubles came in after life, and this trouble
sliced off one part of the world and thai
trouble sliced off another part of the world
and it has got to be smaller world and il
some of your estmations a very insignia
can't world, and it is depreciating all the
time as a spiritual property Ten per cen
Off, 50 per cent off, and there are those her,
who would not give 10 cents for this worlC
for the entire world-as soul possession
FRIENDSHIP.
We thought that that friendship was
grand thing. In school we used to writ,
compositions about friendship, and perhap
we made our graduating speech on com
mencement day on friendship. Oh, it wa
a charmed thing, but does it mean as mucl
to you as it used to? You have gone on il
life, and one friend has betrayed you an,
another friend has misinterpreted you, anC
another friend has neglected YOU and friend
ship comes now sometimes to mean to yol
merely another AK to grind.
SO with money. We thought if maj
had competency he was safe for all tn
future, but we have learned that mort
gage may be defeated by an unknown pre-
vious incumbrance; that signing your nam
on the back of a note may be your bushes
death warrant; that a new tariff ma
change the current of trade; that MAJ
may be rich today and poor tomorrow Ant
God, by all these msfOrtunes, is trying t
loosen our grip, but still we hold on. Go,
smites us with "A staff, but we hold on. Ant
he strikes us with rod, but we hold on