Milford chronicle., 1895-03-01

YOU 1851 AlkE 10 NIu hAAAAt EANtAeA AA~AA VIZ
thirtieth psalm, flfth verse, Weeping
may endure for a night, but joy cometh IN
the morning, and much oolige a down
town business man.
So to all down town business men and
to all up town business men I say II you
have on hand goods that you cannot sell
and debtors who viii not or cannot pay,
and you are also suffering from uncertain
ty as to what the imbeoile American con
gress will do about the tariff, you have
three troubles and enough to bring you
within the range Of the consolation of my
text, where you find the triumph Of Be
naiah over a lion and a pit and a snowy
day If you have only ono trouble, l can
not spend any time with you today. You
must have at least three and then remem-
Der how many have triumphed over such
a trial of misfortune. Paul had three
roubles-sanhedrin denounoing him
that was one great trouble; physical mir
nifty. which he called "a thorn in the
flesh and although we know not what
the thorn was We do know from the figure
be used that it must have been something
that stuck him-that was the second trou-
BILE; approaching martyrdom-thatm made
the three troubles Yet hear what he
says: If / had only one misfortune
could stand that, but three are two too
many?' No, l misinterpret. He says;
- 'Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing Poor
yet making many rich; having nothing,
yet possessing all things Thanks be
unto God, who giveth us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ. "
David had three troubles-a bad boy, a
temptation to dissoluteness and dethrone-
mont. What does he sayg God is our
refuge and strength, very present help
in time of trouble. Therefore will not
we fear, though the earth be removed and
though the mountains DO cast into the
midst of the sea. "
John Wesley had three troubles-defa-
nation by mobs, domestic infelioity, IA
tigue from more sermons preached ana
more miles travelled than almost any man
of his time. What does he saya Tho best
of all is, God is with u.s. And when his
poet brother, Charles Wesley, said TO him,
!. Brother John, if the Lord wore to givo
me wings, I'd fly, Johns reply was,
Brother Charles, if the Lord told me to
hy I'd do it and leave him to find the
wings
George White6eld had three troubles
rejection from the pulpits Of England be-
cause he was too dramatic-that was one
trouble; strabismus, or the crossing OF hls
eyes-that subjected him to the caricaturt
Of all the small wits of the day vermin
and dead animals thrown at him while ne
preached on the commons-that made
three troubles. Nevertheless his sermons
were so buoyant that a little child dying
soon after hearing him preach said in the
intervals of pain, Let me go to Mr.
Whitefeld's Godl' Oh, I am so glad that
Benaiah Of my text was not the only one
who triunphed over a lion in pit on a
snowy day.
Eject of Temperature.
Notice in my text a victory over bad
weather. It was a snowy day, when ones
vitality is at low ebb, and the spirits are
naturally depressed, and one does not feel
like undertaking great enterprise, when
Benaiah rubs his hands together to warm
them by extra friction, or thrashes his
arms around him to revive circulation OF
the blood, and then goes at the lion, which
was all the more fierce and rayenous be-
cause of the sharp weather. Inspiration
here admits atmospheric hindrance. The
snowy day at Valley Forge well nigh put
an end to the struggle for American indie
pendenoe. The snowy day demolished Ma
poleon's army on the way from Moscow.
The inclemenoy of January and Fehru-
ary weather has some years bankrhpted
thousands of merchants. Long succession
of stormy Sabbaths has crippled innumer-
able churches. Lighthouses yelled by the
snow on many a coast have failed to warn
off from the rocks the doomed frigate.
Tens of thousands of Christians Of Derv-
GUS temperament by the depression Of a
snowy day almost despair of reaching
heaven. Yet in that style of weather Be
naiah Of the text achieved his most eele-
brated victory, and lot us by the grace OF
God become victor over influences atmOs-
pheric. If we are happy only when the
wind blows from the clear northwest, ana
the thermometer is above freezing point,
and the sky is an inverted blue cup OF sun
shine poured all over US, it is religion 80
per cent of Thank God there are Chris
tians, who, though their whole life through
sickness has been a snowy day, have killed
every lion of dependency that dared to
put its cruel paw against their suffering
pillow. 1t was a snowy day when the Pill
grim fathers set foot, not on bank Of
flowers, but on the cold New England
rock. and from a ship that might have
been more appropriately called after De
oember hurricane than after a May
flower" they took possession of this great
continent And amid more chilly world
" circumstances many a good man or a
good woman has taken possession OF
whole continent Of spiritual satisfaction
valleys Of peace, and rivers of gladnessi
and mountains Of joy Christ landed II
opr world not In the month of May but
in the stormy month of December, to show
us that we might have Christ in winter
weather and on a snowy day.
BY the Strength Of God
Notice everything down in the pit thai
snowy day depended upon Benaiah'
weapon. There was as much strength II
one muscle Of that lion as in all the mus
cles of both arms Of Benaiah. 1t IS the
stronQest Of beasts and has been known tC
carry off an OK. Its tongue IS SO rougi
that it acts as a rasp tearing of the test
it lioks. The two great CANNES at eaoi
side of the mouth make escape impossipl
for anything it has once seized, YET be
naiab nuts his heel on the neck of thil
'sking Of beasts" Was it daggerf wa
it a iavelinf Was it a knifef l oanno
tell, but everything depended on It, bu
for that Benaiah's body under one orunol
] oil Ele UlOl5LbE. .WDulu hANp h11AA -A-a-t -.
tuinbled in the snow, and when you and
90 into the fight with temptation, II w
/ have not the right kind of weapon, instead
Of our Staying the lion the lion will sla!
us. The sword of the Spiritl Nothing II
earth or he'll can stand before that VIC
/ tory with that, or no victory at all Is,
that mean prayer to God confidence il
his rescuing power, saving grace al
mighty deliverance. do not care wha
YOU call It. call It sword of the Spirit,
and If the lions Of ell the jungles OF per
dition should at once spring upon you
soul by that weapon Of heavenly meta
Won can thrust them back, and cut then
down, and stab them through, and leay
I them powerless at your feet. Your goo
resolution welded against the power
which assault you is a toy pistol agains
an armstrong gun, is a penknife held on
against the hrandished sabers OF a Hein'
zelman's cavalry charge Go into th
fight against sin on your own strength
and the result will be the hot breath Of th
lion In your blanched face, and his from
1.4rq for fh