The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1895-08-22
DR.. TALMAGES SERMON.
TEARS AND TROUBLES.
striking Lessons Drawn from His Loss
In the Death Of His Wife.

Riding acrossa Western prairie. wild flow
srs M To the huh of the carriage wheel, aud
yhile a long distance from any shelter. there
cane sudden shower, and while the rain
Uas falling In torrents. the sun was shining
a. brightly Hs | ever saw II shine, aud
,bougbt what beautiful spectccle this Isl
- the tears OF the Bible nre not midnight
.torm. but rain on pansied prairies In Gods
.,rect aud golden sunlight. You remember
hat bottle which David labeled as contain
inc tears. and NIary's tears. and Paul's tears.
anil Christ's tears, and the harvest Of joy
,bat is tu sprng from the sowing of tears.
Cod mixes them. God rounds them. God
.hows them whore 60 fall God exhales
them. A census Il taken OF them. and there
i. a record as to the moment when they are
torn aud as to the place of their grave.
Tears of bad men are not kept. Alex
opder In his sorrow had the hair clipped
irom his horses aud mules AMI made gre at
alo about his grief. but In all the vases Of
heaven there is not one Of Alexanders tears.
sneak of the tears ot Gods children. Alas.
me they are falling all the time, In SUM
ner YOU sometimes hear the growing
thunder. and YOU see there il u storm miles
,Vay but YOU know from the drift ot the
Ilouts that IL will not come any
where near YOU. So though IL may be all
fright around about YOU. there is shower
oftrouhlc somewhere all the time. Tear.
Tear
What is the use Of them anyhow2 WHY
not substitute laughter Why not make this
world where all the people are well aud
aernal strangers 10 pain and aches; What
| the use Of an eastern storm when We
| might have n perpetual nor'westcr2 Why,
| when family l. put together, not have
hom all stay. or II they must be transplant
81 t1 make other homes. then have them all
byf-thc family record telling story Of
a 4 l..
| f.f have the haryests chase each other with
ou, iaiiguing toily Why the hard pillow.
h, hard crust. the hard struggle? II j. easy
| .nough to explain n smile. or Il success. & r a
4 ronymtulatiou. but come now and bring ali
/ YOUR dictionaries. and all your philosophers
| lrl all Your religions. and help me explain
ate1r. 4 chemist will tell you that II il
made up of salt and lime and other compo-
gert part~, but h. misses the chief ingredients
tile acid OF n sourcd life, the viperinc
..ing OF u bitter memory. the fragments of n
broken heart. will tell YOU what a tear j..
II is agony in solution. Hear, then, while |
DISCOURSE Of the uses ui trouble:
| Fr.t It is the design of trouble to keep
| this world from being too attractive. Some
/ thing mus, he done To make tis willing to
| 9ut this existence. II It were not for
| trouble. this world would be a good enough
| heaven for me- You and would hc willing
| years IL there were no trouble The earth
| cushioned and upholstered aud pillarcd and
| 0hauiclipred with such expense, no story of
. other worlds could rnchant u-.
We would .ny. Let well enough alone.
T'y0u want tp die aud have your body dis
l,egrlted ia the dust and your soul 90 out
un celestial adventure. then YOU can 90.
ut this world is good enough for me- You
might ~ we'll 90 20 n man who has Just en-
tered the Louvre at Paris and tell him 10
hasten on to the picture galleries of Venice
1r Florence. why, he would say. "what
is the use uf my going there? There are
B'mhnnlt- and l;ubenses and RnphaelS here
that | haven't looked at yet. No man
want, 10 go out Of this world. or out Of any
house, until he has bette house. 70 cure
his wish to stay here God must somehow
create u disgust for our surroundings. How
shall He doitI He cannot afford TO deidce
His horizon, orto tear of fiery panel from
the sunset, or TO subtract AN anther from the
water lily, or to Danish the pungent aroma
ron the mignonette or to drag the robes OF
the morning in mire. You cannot eXpect n
Christopher Wren to mar his own st. Paul'S
Cathedral or Michael Angelo to dash out
his own Last Judgment or II Handel to
lis'orl his Israel In Egypt, aud YOU can
not expect God to spoil the architecture and
music Of His own world. How. then. are We
to be made willing to leave? Here is where
trouble come, in.
After man ha, had good deal oftrouble
be say, well | am ready to 20. II there
, house somewhere whose roof doesn't
leak, would like to live there. If.thero is
10 atmosphere somewhere that does not dis
'''s the lungs, would like to breathe it.
III there Is u society somewhere where
here is no little tattle, would like to live
here. II there j. II home circle somewhere
mere can lind my lost friends, | would
lie to 60 there" He used to read the first
art Of the Bible chiefly. now he reads the
at part ot the Bible chiefly. Why has he
hanged Genesis for Reveation2 All. he
''l 10 he anxious chiefly to know how this
ora was made, and all about its geological
instruction. Now he is chiefly anxious Ia
how how the next world was made. and
w II looks, and who live there. and how
h'y dress He reads Revelation ton times
oW where he reads Genesis once. The old
oy, TN the beginning God created the
a'ens and the earth" does not thrill him
it as much as the other story, 81 saw u
e~ heaven and Il new earth" The old
ans hand trembes ~ he turns over this
alyTtic !eaf, and he has to take out his
indHerchici TO wipe his spectacles. That
OF revelation Is prospectus now OF
country into which he is soon to immi-
Ale' the country in which he has lots al
wy laid out, and avenues opened, aud
H'l'NN bQllt.
iH there are people here to whom this
ul Is brighter than heaven. Well. dear
u.s. do not blame you. II l. natural.
alter awhile you will be ready to 20. II
not until job had been worn out with
'aIrmcntS that he wanted to sea God. II
not until the prodigal got tired Of living
Ng the hogs that he wanted TO go to his
l'r house. II is the ministry of trouble
mako this world worth less and heaven
nh more.
Nsah' II Is the use OF trouble 10 make rs
cur dependence upon God. Men think
lhey can do anything until God shows
~ 'hel can do nothing at ALL We lay out
great plans and we like to execute them.
,oA' big God comes and takes us down,
ltohetheus was assaulted by his enemy,
~ lhe lance struck him 1t opened great
'uhS that hal threatened his death, and
5y' well. So II is the arrow OF trouble
ey' out great swelIings Of pride We
Ieel our dependence upon God until
KY trouble. | was riding with my little
~ along the road, and she asked If she
unve. | said. "Certainly." | handed
sllo slo relns to her, and had to admire
Slee with which she drove. But after
uo We met team aud we had
'uth out. The road was narrow,
u was sheer down on both sides.
hahded the reins over to mo aud