The free press., 1893-12-28

= so-n under nervous prostration and feel
that YOU are as far down as David Wneh ho
| cried, "Out OF the depths OF hell! =.
| What opened all those chapters tuas
hitherto had no appropriatenessI fsI, rosss
| For q long while the Bible seemed lopsiu9I
] ann "A dispropoftionate amount OF It gwen
up 10 the consolatory. Why page after page
AMI chapter after chapter ana Dook altoA
| hook Ia the Bible taken up with AileS"a
| tions, with pacifcatiOns, with cohuoieno1t
/ The book seems like an apothecafy st9Io ;Ip
/ with ono-half OF the shelves occupied Wl'h i
I halsaIns. Why such "a supfrnulty OF pai
| sans Bat alter awhile the memoraheous
| croup carries on your child, or your healtn
gives way under the grip, or your properly
/ is swept on by bad investment, or pefhaps
| all three troubles come NJ ohce-paiA
| ruptcy, sickness and bereavement. now
the eonsolatJry parts OF the BiDie 90 no.
/ seem to bs disproporionate. foN want
[ eomethIng of almost all the shelves OF that
sacrad dispensary Nhat mas uhcoNS'ou
and exposed 90 sou the usefulness o. 50
/ much Of the Bible that was before htddenE
The frosts have been fulfilling their mission.
Put down all the promises Of the Bibie on
a table for study and put on one side the
tnbie a man who has never hal any troubis,
or very little OF il. but pile upon the taple
beside him all encyclopedias and al dlctloh-
ariea and all arehmOlOges and all COM
rnentarie,s and on the other side OF the tablo
nut a rnau who has had trial upon trial, dis-
aster upon disaster, and let him begin tho
study Of the promises without leAcon, WIFI
ont commentary, without any doom 10 eX-
plain or help. aud this hitter man VIII uhuer
stand far more Of the height and depth, and
Ienath and breadth OF those promises than
tho learned oxeget opposite, almost SUD-
merged in sacrel literature. The one mas
the ADVANTAGE over the other because ne has
felt the mission ot tho frosts. on, take the
consolation OF this theme, ye 10 whom ne Is
n struggle and a disappointment, and a
cantlet and pang. That IL a beautiful
proyerb among the Hebrews which says,
i.When the tale OF bricks is doubled, then
Moses comes a.,
Mild doses Of medicine will do for mild
sickness but violent pains need strong doses,
and so | stand over YOU anI count out some
drops that will alleviate your worst troubles
If you will only take the medicine, AMI nero
II is "In the world yo shall have tribula-
ton. but be OF good cheer / have overcome
the world" "Weeping may endure Tor a
night, but Joy cometh in the morning.
Thank God for frosts What helped make
Milton the greatest OF poets? The frost OF
blindness. What helped make Washington
tho greatest OF generals? The frosts OF VAL
ley Forge. What made 1t appropriate for one
passing John Bunyan's grave to exclaln,
"Sleap on, thou prince oil dreamersF Ihe
frOsts of Imprisonment.
The greatest college from which we can
graduate is the college Of frusts Especial
trial fits for especial WORK. just now watch
and you will see that trouble IS prcparative
and educational. That i the grindstone on
which battle axes are sharpened. | have
always noticed in my own case that whrnthe
Lord had some special w'r. for me 70 do 1t
was preceded by especial attack upon me.
This is so proyerbiai in my own house that II
for something | say or do ] get poured upon
me "a voley Of censure and anathema, my
HN4s.N ON
portunity of usefulness is about TO openf
Something good and grand Is surely COM
ing i'
What is true in my case is true on a larger
or smaller scale in the history o: every man
and woman who wants TO serve the Lord.
Without complaint take the hard knocks.
You will sec after awhile, though you may
not appreciate It now, that by the breath OF
a good and loving God frost IS giyon. Let
tho corners of your mouth. 80 long drawn
down in complaint be drawn up IN smiles OF
content.
For many years poats and essayists hayo
celebrated the grace and swltness OF tho
Arabian horses. The isost wonderful exhi-
bition OF horscmanship that / ever witnessed
was Just outside the city OF Jerusalen,-an
Arabian steed mounted by an Arab. Do you
know where these Arabian horses got their
feetness and poetry OF notion Long crn-
turies ago Mohammed, with 80 600 cavalry
of water for three days. Coming 10 the top
OF a HILL river was in sight With wild
dash the 80. 900 horses started for th" str'a'n,
minute after an armed host W., ta'n adj
vancing and 1T MQhammed's GO liand 100
buees blew for the horses to fall lu line. but
ali the 30 900 continued the wild gallop to
the river except five, and they, almost dead
with thirst wheeled into line OF battle.
Nothing in human bravery and sell snrri-
fee excels that bravery and self sacrifice Of
those five Arabian war horses Those i've
splendid steeds Monammci chose for his own
use. and from those five came that race Of
Arabian horses for ages the glory Of tine
equestrian world. And let me say that in
this great war Of truth against error, OF hol-
ness against sin and heaven against hell, tho
best war horses arc descended rom those
who under pang and self denial andtroublc,
answered the gospel trumpet and wheeled
into line. Out OF great tribuation, ont of
great fires, out OF great irosts, they cam.
And let me say il will not take long iOr
God to make up to you in tne next world Tor
all you have suffered in this. As you cntar
heaven He may say. GIVE this man one OF
those lowered .and cOionnaded palaces on
that ridge Of gold overlooking the sea Of
glass. Give this woman home among
those amaranthine blooms and between those
fountains tossing in the everlasting sunlight.
Give her a couch canopied with rainbows 70
pay her for all tho futigues OF wiehood aud
motherhood and housekeeping, from which
she had no rest for forty years.
"Cupbearers OF heaven, give these newly
arrived souls from earth the cOstliest beyer-
ages, and roll 10 their door the grandest
chariots, and hang on their walls the sweet-
est harps that ever thrummed TO fingers
seraphic. Give to them rapture on rapture,
celebration on celebration, jubilee On jubi-
lee, heaven on heaven. They had a hard
time on earth earning "A livelihood or nurs-
ing six children,