Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1895-08-28
REV. DR.. TaLuaGE.
The Brooklyn Divlne's Sunday
Sermon.
Subject: "Comfort.'s

TEXT: "And God shall wipe away all
tears from their eyes. Revelation vii, IT.
Riding across a Western prairie. wild Cow
.rs up to the hub of the carriage wheai, aud
while a long distance from any shelter, there
came a sudden shower, and while ths rain
was falling in torrents. the sun was shining
as brightly as ! ever saw it shine, saA
thought what a beautiful spectccle this ia:
So the tears of the Bible are not midnight
storm, but rain on pansied prairies in Coda
sweet and golden sunlight. You remeWbet
that bottle which David labeled as contain,
ing tears. and Mary's tears. and Paurs tears
and Christ's tears. and the harvest OF joy
that Is TO sDring from the sowing OF tearsi
God mixes them. God rounds them. God
shows them where to fall. God exhaiea
hem. A census is taken OF them, and there
ls a record as to the moment when they ART
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 a gre Mt
ado about his grief. but In all the vases Of
heaven there is not one of Alexander's tears.
1 speak of the tears OF Gods children. Alas,
me, they are falling all the time! In sum-
mer you sometimes hear the growing
away. but you know from the drift OF the
clouds that it will not come any
where near you. SO though 1t may be al
bright around about you. there is a shower
Of trouble somewhere ell the time. Tears
Tears.
not substitute laughter? Why not make thii
a world where all the people are well and
eternal strangers to pain and aches? What
is the use OF an eastern storm when VIC
might have Il perpetual nor rwester? Why,
when family is put together, not have
them all stay, or il they must be transplant
ed to make other homes. then have them all
live-the family record telling a story OF
marriages and births, but OF no death? Why.
not have the harveSts chase each other with
out fatiguing toll? Why the hard pillow,
the hard crust. the hard struggle? 1t is easy
enough to explain smile. or a success, or
congratulation, but come now and bring all
your dictionaries. and all your PHILOSOPHERS,
and all your religions, and help me explain
a tear. A chemist will tell you that 1t is
made up Of salt and lime and other compo-
nent parts, but he misses the chief ingredient,
the acid of soured life, the viperne
sting of a bitter memory, the fragments OF
broken heart. 1 will tell YOU what a tear is.
1t is agony in solution. Hear, then, while
discourse OF the uses of trouble:
First II is the design of trouble to keep
:his world from being too attractive. Some
thing must be done to make us willing to
quit this existence. II ii were not Tor
trouble, this world would be a good enough
heaven for me. You and I would be willing
to take lease of this life for 100 .OOO, 900
years If there were no trouble. The earth
cushioned and upholstered and Piliared and
chandeliered with such expense, no story Of
other worlds could enchant us.
We would say: "I.et well enough alone.
If you want to die and have your body dis
integrated in the dust and your soul go out
on celestial adventure, then you can go,
but this world is good enough for me-! You
might as we'll go to n man who has Just en-
tered the Louvre at Paris and tell him te
hasten of to the picture galleries OF Venice
or Florence. why" he would say. "what
is the use of my going thsre2 There arc
Remb-andts and Rube:seS and Raphae's here
that / haven't looked at yet" No man
wants to 90 out of this world, or out OF any
house. until he has n better house. To cure
this wish to stav hero God must somehow
create disgust for our surrounding gs. How
shall He do it? He cannot afford to defact
His horizon. or to tear Off n fiery panel from
the sunset, or to subtract an anther from the
water lily, or to Danish the puhSent aroma
from the mignonetta, or to drag the robes oil
the morning in mire. You cannot expect a
Christopher Wren to mar his own ST. Paurs
Cathedral. or a Michael Angelo to dash out
his own Last Judgment" or a Handel to
discord his ''Israel in Egyrt," and 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 comes in.
After man has had good deal o. troubl
ne says: swell, am ready to go. If ther
Is house somewhere whose roof DOESN'T
leak, would like to live there. u there is
an atmosphere somewhere that does not dis
tress the lungs, would like to breathe it.
IF there is a society somewhere whert
there is no title tattle, l would like to live
there. II there is = home circle somewhere
| where I can fnd my lost friends, l would
l like to go there" He used to reld the first
part of the Bible chiefly. now he reads the
| last part of the Bible chiefly. Why has he
Il ohap Rayalati0n1
I used TO be anxious chiefly to know how this
| world was made. and all about its geological
| construction. Now he is chiefly anxious to
| know how the next world was made, and
how it looks, and who live there. and how
hey dress. He reads Revelation ten times
| now where he reads Genesis once. The old
story, "In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth" does not thrill him
| half as much as the other story, II saw a
| new heaven and new earth" The old
| mans hand trembles as no turns over this
spocalyptic leaf, and he has to take out hi
handkerchief to wipe his spectacles. Ihai
| book Of Revelation is a prospectus now OF
the country into which he is soon to immi.
CRATE; the country in which he has lots al.
ready laid out, and avenues opened, ano
| mansions built.
Yet there are people mere to whom thin
world is brighter than heaven. Well, dear
| souls, do not blame you. 1t Is natural.
But after awhile you will be ready to go. II
was not until Job had been worn out with
bereavements that he wanted to see God. 1t
was not until the prodigal got tired Of living
among the hogs that he wanted to go to his
fathers house. 1t Is the ministry OF trouble
TO make this world worth less and heaven
worth more.
Again, it is the use of trouble to make u.
seel cur dependence upon God. Men think
hat they can do anything until God shows
| hem they can do nothing at all. We lay out
lour great plans and we like to execute them.
1t looks big. God comes and takes us down.
As Prometheus was assaulted by his enemy,
when the lance struck him it opened great
dwelling that hai threatened his death, and
he got we'll. So it is the arrow OF trouble
that lets out great swelings of pride. We
never feel our dependence upon God until
We get trouble. l wes riding with my little
child along the road, and she asked IL she
might drive. said, Certainly" handed
over the reins to her, and had to admire
the glee with which she drove. But after
awhile We met team and we had
lso turn out. The road was narrow,
aud it was sheer down on both sides.
She handed the reinS over to mo and
said, 81 think you had better take charge oi
the horse" SO we are all children. and on
this road OF life we like to. drive. 1t gives
one such an appearance OF superiority and
power. 1t looks big. But after awhile wa
meet some obstacle and we have TO turn out
and the road is narrow, and it is sheer down
on both sides; and then we are willing that
God should take the rens and drive All
my friends, We get upset SO often because We
do not hand over the reins soon enough.
After man has had trouble, prayer 1:
, with him a taking hold Of the arm of God
and crying out rhelp. have heard earnest
prayers ON two or three occasions that re-
member. Once, on the Cincinnati expires:
train, going at forty miles the hour, the trair
, Jumped the track, and We were neara chasn
|, eighty feet deep, and the men who, few
, minutes before, had been swearing and bias
pheming God, began to pull and jerk at thu
bell rope and got up on the backs Of thu
,eats, and cried out, 20 God, save us"'
There was another time. about 300 miiel
,ut ut sea, on a laundering steamer, aftel
The last lifeboat had been split fner thar
kindling wood. They prayed then. Why 1:
II you SO often hear people. in reciting the
last experience of some friend say, "H'
, made the most beautiful prayer I ever
haard2n whcx alas II beautiful? II IL thu