Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1895-08-24
USES OF AFFLICTION.
OR. TALMAeE FINDS CONSOLATION IN
GODS WORD.

GODS WORD.
A Sermon From the Very Appropriate
Text. "And God Shall Wipe Away All
Tears From Their Eyes--rhe Comforts
of Reiigion.
NEW YORK, Aug ls.-Rcy. DIR. Tai.
mage could not have selected more ap-
propriate subject than the one Of today,
considering the bereavement that has come
upon him aud his household He had al
ready prepared his sermon for today, select
ing rs n topic Comfort" and taking as
his text, And God shall wipe away all
tears from their eyes, :" Revelation VII, IL.
Riding across n western prairie, Wild
flowers up 20 the hub Of the carriage wheel.
and while long distance from any shell
ter, there came sudden shower, and
while the rain was falling In torrents the
sun was shining rs brightly rs ever saw
1t shine, and I thought. What beautiful
spectacle this Isl So the tears Of tho Bible
are not midnight storm, but rain on PAN
sled prairies In Gods sweet and golden
sunlight You remember that bottle which
David labeled AS containing tears, and Ma
rvs tears, and Paul's tears, and Christ's
tears, and the harvest Of Joy that Is 70
spring from the sowing Of tears. God
mixes them. God rounds them God
shows them where to fall. God exhaies
them. A census Is taken OF them, and
there Is n record as 20 the moment when
they are born and as to the place OF their
grave.
Tears OF bad men are not kept. Alex
ander In his sorrow had the hair clipped
from his horses and mules and made
great ado about his grief. but In all the
vases OF heaven there Il not one OF Alexan-
der's tears. speak Of the tears of Gods
children. Alas, me. they are falling all
the timel In summer you sometimes hear
the growling thunder and you see there is
a storm miles away. but you know from
the drift OF the clouds that IL will not come
anywhere near you. so. though Il may
be all bright around about you. there Is
shower Of trouble somewhere at the time.
Tears, Tears
The Uses OF Tears.
What Is tho use Of them, anyhow Why
not substitute laughter? Why not make
this n world where all the people arc well
and eternal strangers TO pain and nchess
What Is the use OF an eastern storm when
we might have perpetual nor'westeri
Why, when n family Is put together, not
have them all stay, or II they must be
transplanted TO make other homes then
have them all live. the family record tell
ing n story OF marriages and births, but Of
no deathsf Why not have the harvests
chase each other without fatiguing toll?
Why the hard pillow, the hard crust, the
hard struggled IL Is easy enough 10 ex-
plain smile, or n success, OF n congratu-
lation; but, come now. and bring all your
dictionaries and all your PHILOSOPHERS and
all your religions, and help mo explain
tear. A chemist will tell you that II In
made up Of salt and lime and other COM
ponent parts; but he misses the chief In
gredients-the acid Of sourcd life, the
viperine sting OF a bitter memory, the
fragments OF broken heart. I will tell
You what a tear Is; It is agony In solution.
Hear then. while discourse of tho uses Of
trouble.
First, IL Is the design Of trouble TO keep
this world from being too attractive
Something must he done to make us will
ing TO quit this existence IL IL were not
for trouble this world would DO good
enough heaven for me. You and / would
be willing TO take lease OF this life for .
hundred million years n there were NO
holstercd and pillared and chandelicrcd
with such expense, no story OF other worlds
could enchant us.
wcwould shy: "Let well enough alone.
II you want TO die and have your body dis.
intcgrated in the dust and your soul 20
out ON a celestial adventure then you can
go, but this world Is good enough for mel"
You might as well go TO man who has
just entered the Louvre mt Paris. and tell
him to hasten of TO the picture galleries
81 Venice or Florence. why" he would
say, what Is the Use Of my going theref
There are Rembrandts and Rubcnscs and
Raphacls here that I haven't looked at
yet"
No man wants to go out Of this world or
ont Of any house until he has a better
house. To cure this wish TO stay here God
must somehow create a disgust for our
surroundings. How shall he do its He
cannot afford to deface his horizon, or TO
tear of n fiery panel from the sunset, or
10 subtract an anther from the water lily.
or to Danish the pungent aroma from the
mignonette, or to drag the robes Of the
morning in mire. You cannot expect .
Christopher Wren to mar his own Sc.
Paul's cathedral, or q Michael Angelo 10
dash out his own Last Judgment" or .
Handel 10 discord his Israel In Egypt"
and You cannot expect God to spoil the mr.
chitccture and music OF his own world
How, then, are we to be made willing TO
leave? Here is where trouble comes In.
After q man has had good deal OF trou-
bic he says: well, am ready TO go. II
there Is house somewhere whose roof
doesn't leak. would like 20 live there
II there Is an atmosphere somewhere that
does not distress the lungs, / would like
10 breathe IL. II there Is a society some
where where there Is no little tattle, /
would like TO live there. II there is home
circle somewhere where I can find my lost
friends, would like to go there"
From Genesis to Revelation.
He used to read tho first part OF the b.
BILE chiefly, now he reads the last part OF
the Bible chiefly. Why has he changed
Genesis for Rcyelationi Ali he used to
be anxious chiefly to know how this world
was made and all about Its geological con-
struction. Now he Is chiefly anxious TO
know how the next world was made and
how IL looks, and who lives there, and
how they dress. He reads Revelation ten
times now where he read Genesis once
The old story, I'm the beginning God Gre
atea the heavens and the earth, does not
thrill him half as much rs the other sto-
~, II saw new heaven and a new earth"
The old mans hand trcmbles as he turns
over this apocalyptic leaf. and he has 70
take out his handkerchief to wipe his spec
tacles. That book Of Revelation Is pro-
spectus now Of the country into which he
Is soon TO immigrate, the country In which
he has lots already laid out and avenues
opened and mansions built
Yet there are people here TO whom this
world Is brighter than heaven. Well, dear
Souls, do not blame you. II is natural
But after awhile you will he ready 20 go.
IL was not until Job had been worn out
with bcreayenlcnts that lac wanted to see
God. IL was not until the prodigai got
tired Of living among the hogs that he
wanted to 60 TO his fathers house IL IL
the ministry 81 trouble TO make this world
worth less and heaven worth more.
Again. IL is the use of trouble TO make
US feel our dependence upon God. Men
think that they can do anything until
God shows them them can do nothing nj
all. We lay our great plans, and we like
To execute them. IL looks big. God comes
and takes rs down. As PrOmetheus was
assaulted by his enemy. when the lance
struck him II opened great swelling that
had threatened his death, and he got well.
30 II Is the arrow Of trouble TINT let's out
great swellings OF pride We never feel our
dependence upon God until we get trou-
BILE. l was riding with my little child
along the road, and she asked II she might
drive. ! said. Certainly" ] handed
pyeR The rains In her and \ had to adt,tra