The Bossier banner., 1894-01-04

CiAS pCAICto w CiiS SOAN'
and no physician SO skillful or SO
mighty as the frost. Scotland has had
great physicians, but her greatest doc
tors have been the Abernethies and
Abercrombies that have come down
over the highlands horsed on the north
wind. England has had her great ply
sicians, but her greatest doctors have
been the Andrew Clarkes and the Mac
kenzies who appeared the first night
the fields of England were trimmed
" it'll white. America has had its
great physicians, but her great
est doctors have been the Will
lard Parkers and Valentine Motifs who
landed from bleak skies while our
ears tingled with the cold. Oh, it is
high time that you add another line
to your liturgy. 1t is high time that
you make an addendum to your pray
crs 1t is high time that you enlarge
the catalogue of your blessings. Thank
God for frost! 1t is the best of all ger
micides. 1t is the only hope in bacte-
riology. 1t is the medicament of
continents. 1t is the salvation of
our temperate zone. 1t is the
best tonic that God ever gave
strong stimulant that has no reaction.
The best commentary on it | had while
walking near here one cool morning
with my brother John, who spent the
most of his life as missionary in
China, and in that part of it where
there are no frosts. He said there was
tingling gladness in his nerves indie
scribable, and an almost intoxication
of delight from the fact that it was the
first time for years he had felt the SEN
sation of frost. We complain of it, we
scold it, we frown upon it, when we
ought to be stirred by it to gratitude
and hoist it on doxology.
But | must go further and speak of
the Frost as jeweler. AS the snow
is frozen rain, so the frost is frozen
dew. God transforms it from liquid
into crystal. 1t is the dew glorifed.
In the thirty-eighth chapter of that
inspired drama, the Book of Job, God
says to the inspired dramatists, with
ecstatic interrogation: 'The hoary
frost of Heaven, who hath gendered
it?' God there asks Job if he knows
the parentage of the frost. He in
quires about about its pedigree. He
suggests that Job study up the frost's
genealogical line. A minute before
God had asked about the parentage of
a rain-drop in words that years ago
gave a suggestive text for sermon:
Hath the rain father?" But now
the Lord Almighty is catechising
Job about the frost. He practically
says: ''Do you know its father? Do
you know its mother? In what cradle
of the leaves did the wind rock it?
But go a step further and speak of
the Frost as an evangelist, and text
of Scripture is not of much use to me
unless l can find the Gospel in it. The
lsraelites in the wilderness breakfasted
on something that looked like frozen
| dew. The mamma fell on the dew, and
the dew evaporated and left pulver-
| lied material, white, and looking like
frost, but it was mamma, and of that
they ate So now this morning, mixed
with the frozen dew of my text, there
is mama on which we may brerkfaSt
our souls. You say the frost kills Yes,
| it kills some things, but we have al
| ready seen that it gives health and life
| to others. This Gospel is the SAVIOR OF
lie unto life or of death unto death. AS
the frost is mighty, the Gospel is
mighty. AS the frost descends from
Heaven, the Gospel descends from
| Heaven. BY the breath of God frost
is given. By the breath of God the
| Gospel is given. AS the frost purifes,
so the grace of God purifes. AS the
| frost bestars the earth, so grace be-
| jewels the soul. AS the frost prepares
for food many things that otherwise
would be inedible, SO the frost of trial
ripens and prepares food for the soul.
In the tight grip of the frost the
| hard shells of the walnut and chestnut
and hickory open, and the luxuries of
the woods come into our laps or upon
our tables; SO the frost of trial takes
many hard and prickly shell and
| crushes it until that which stunp the
soul now feeds it. There are passages
of Scripture that once were enigmas.
puzzles, riddles, and impossible for you
| w DuU tIlt 1IOSIS O1 UrOu Ole
after awhile exposed the full meaning
to your soul. You said: II do not see
why David keeps rolling over in his
psalms the story of how he was pur-
sued and prosecuted" He describes
himself as surrounded by bees. He
says: ''They compassed me about like
bees; yea, they compassed me about
like bees" You think what an exag-
gerating thing for him to exclaim:
''Out of the depths of hell have l cried
unto Thee, Lord" And there is SO
much of that style of lamentation in
his writings you think he overdoes it,
but after awhile the frost comes upon
you in the shape of persecution, and
you are stuck with this censure and
stuck with that defamation, and stuck
with some falsehood and lies; it's
swarms are buzzing, buzzing abont
your ears, and at last you understand
what David meant when he said:
| ''They compassed me about like bees:
yea, they compassed rae about like
bees and you go down under nerv-
GUS prostration, and feel that
you are as far down as David when
he cried: "Out of the depths of hell -
IL