Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1895-04-03
Sources of Comfort.

ueTe Is 10 uOuDU GIldb we oil hCOu +"
great deal of encouragement i'll order
TO get through life profitably and COM
fortably.
A we'll rounded life is very hard
thing to achieve. There are obstacles
to be overcome, hardships to be borne,
disappointments to be met, tempta-
tions to be resisted and sorrows to be
endured. Why all these things should
be necessary to our spiritual education
we may not be able to see, since our
eyes are filled with the dust of igno-
rance, but that they are necessary and
that the grand result is nobler per-
sonally than could be obtained in any
other way is the only conclusion which
the believer in divine Providence can
entertain.
These so called evils are the common
lot of mankind. Some of us have more
and some have less, but all have mahy
to contend with and not single hu-
man being is exempt. A fortunate en-
vironment, the possession OF wealth,
the Inheritance of a sound mind and
a sound body affect us favorably to
certain extent, but none of these things
can enable us to go through life with
immunity. Whether man is rich or
poor, healthy or ill, he is still only a
man and must make fight, brave or
cOwardly, with circumstances. Tears
and temptations are in every house.
| hold, men must face disaster and wo-
men must be broken hearted, hopes
will wither like leaves in October, and
the best laid plans gang aft agley, ="
in spite of our utmost endeavor.
If we lose our faith we lose what
makes US poor indeed" Not to be-
i;ox,o ha <l,or<, N no al prnnnd of love
and wisdom for the sorrows which
stand in the foreground is the equva
lent of dismay and despair. On the
other hand, to face i'll fortune with the
consciousness that God sends us what
is best, even when the best is bitter,
aud that the unseen beings who walk
the earth both when we wake and
| when we sleep" are always within hear
ing distance-this gives to the heart a
steady beat and develops a heroic
strength which can hardly be account
ed for except as direct gift from some
one not visible.
Religion consists partly of a disclosure
of the sources of comfort. That is its
most practical aim and purpose. Re-
ligion cannot always make you happy
ia the ordinary acceptation OF the word,
but it will make you resigned, and
sometimes resignation is better than
happiness. Moreover, it will tell you
how to find whatever degree of happi
ness the circumstances admit OF. A
man who is about to undergo a surgical
operation cannot be exactly happy. bnt
the feeling that, painful as ii is, the
knife is necessary and the surgeon will
cut no deeper than he need, induces
state of mind which robs the expert
ence of it's harsh elements. There is
bridgeless chasm between the man who
sees a knife in the hand OF cruel fate
and one who sees it in the hand of a
friend.
Poor. trembling soul, if you are sure
at heart that it will be all right by and
bv: that God, who watches the spar
rows fall regards you with tender So
licitude and will give you power to en-
dure, though He cannot free you from
the suffering which you dread. you are
armed against rebellious thoughts, and
the peace that passeth understanding
will steal into your soul with its sigh of
sympathy.
Life is so short and eternity is so long
that we can afford to take what comes
serenely if it will insure the future.
You are poor, and, alas there is a whole
crowd of ills which accompany poverty
dead dreams, unsung songs and plans
which will never come to fruition; but
if God has decreed it give such cheer as
you can to every days struggle and get
from your little life all the happiness it
contains. 1t is as easy to go to heaven
from bed of straw as from a bed of
down. The journey is short one, and
after you pass middle life the minarets
of the Celestial City are always in sight.
Do the hard duty as best you may, as
sured that Gods approval is not pur-
chased by what you carry in your
purse, but by what lies hidden in your
heart.
Perhaps you are fgf ting some: CHI ps
talon. The hOOfs anu horns are COL
cealed, but you know that the devil f
destruction is at your elbow with a
thousand promises, not one of which
he will keep. The Almighty is masttr
of the universe, and He alone has made
the laws by which it is governed. In
iquity holds its head high for 'iue,
but I'll, uni led in the end. An evil
napit puts on the Disguise of "A pr.i.t,-,
hit after little it becomes a beggar
in rags and tatters. Would you have
comfort? 1t is close at hand if you
have strength to grasp it. There is
nothing in this world more admira bic
or desirable than the consciousness of
recitude, which a victory of that kind
affords. A supreme happiness pervadts
the soul which is beyond all power of
speech to express. Ask the guilty ma n
what it is worth. Recalling your own
past, decide its worth for yourself, He
who fights and wins;. he who has said
to God, Il would rather be poor and
glad than rich and wretched," walks
with the step of king and is crowned
with a jewel which money cannot pur-
chase.
Or, perhaps. sad necessity, you stand
with fearful eyes by the side of dear
one whose life is ebbing like the tide
Is any comfort to be had when the very
stars are glistening with pity and the
moon creeps behind cloud? That de
ponds. Do you know what the expert
ence means in the plan of the Almighty?
If you do. not even the open grave can
cause disInay, but if you do not, you
are indeed forlorn. If il means release
from suffering, freedom from the cares
and anxieties of earth, the green fields
of heaven in exchange for the dusty
highway of time, can you give way to
despair? Faith that He knows what
is best, and is doing what is best, makes
yon strong TO bear. The most fearful
love, the well nigh broken heart which
cries out to the solemn stiffness for help.
must needs look at that wan face with
a feeling that the freed soul will soon
be on the shores of eternity, looking
back with the fond affection of other
days, but rejoicing in the prospect of a