The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1895-08-23
A DIVINE COMFORTER
GOD WIPES AWAY THE TEARS OF
Tae AFFLICTED CHRISTIAN.

GOD WIPES AWAY THE TEARS OF
TIE AFFLICTED CHRISTIAN.
DIR. Taimage breaches ON the Uses of Be-
reaycmont as n Preparation For the Flu
ture Llfe-God's Loving Kindness and
, Tender Sympathy.
NEW York, Aug. 1S.-Rev, DIR. Tai
mage could not have selected more APP
propriate subject than the one of today,
considering the bereavement that has
come upon him and his household. He
had already prepared his sermon for to-
day, selecting as topic Comfort,
and taking as his text, "And God shall
wipe away all tears from their eyes,
Revelation vii, II.
Riding across western prairie, Wild
flowers up to the hub of the carriage
wheel, and while long distance from
any shelter, there came a sudden shower,
and while the rain was falling in tor
rents, the sun was shining as brightly
Us / ever saw it shine, and | thought
what a beautiful spectacle this is SO
the tears of the Bible are not midnight
storm, but rain ON pansied prairies in
Gods sweet and golden sunlight. You
remember that bottle which David Ia
beled as containing tears, and Mary S
tears, and Paul's tears, and Christ S
tears, and the harvest Of joy that is to
spring from the sowing of tears. God
mixes them. God rounds them. God
shows them where to fall God eXhales
them. A census is taken of them, and
there is a record as to 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 clip
ped from his horses and mules and
made great ado about his grief, but in
all the vases of heaven there is not one
of Alexander's tears, speak of the
tears of God S children. Alas, me, they
are falling all the timel In summer you
sometimes hear the growing thunder,
and you see there is storm miles away,
but you know from the drift of the
clouds that it will not come anywhere
near you. So, though it may be al
bright around about you, there is 9
shower of trouble somewhere all the
time. Tears Tears
Tears and Laughter.
What is the use Of them anyhow
Why not substitute laughter? Why not
make this world where all the people
are we'll and eternal strangers to pain
and aches? What is the use of an east
ern storm when we might have per
petual nor 'wester? Why, when family
is put together, not have them all stay
or if they must be transplanted to make
other homes, then have them all live
the family record telling story of mar
riages and births, but Of no death? VIII,
not have the harvests chase each othel
without fatiguing toll? Why the hare
pillow, the hard crust, the hard strug
gle? 1t is easy enough to explain {
smile, or a success, Or a congratulation
but come now and bring all your die
tionaries, and all your philosophers, anc
all your religions, and help me explain
a tear. A chemist will tell you that i
is made up of salt and lime and othe
| component parts, but he misses the chic
| ingredients-the acid of soured life
the viperine sting of a bitter memory
| the fragments of broken heart vii
| tell you what tear is 1t is agony il
| solution. Hear, then, while discours
of the uses of trouble:
First, it is the design of trouble t,
keep this world from being too attract
i've. Something must be done to max
US willing to quit this existence. If i
were not for trouble, this world woul'
be a good enough heaven for me. Yo,
and / would be willing to take a leas
of this life for 100000 years i
there were no trouble. The earth cush
Toned and upholstered and pillared AM
chandeliered with such expense, n
story Of other worlds could enchant us
We would say: Let we'll enough
alone. II you want to die and have you
body disintegrated i'll the dust and you
soul go out en- a celestial adventure
then you can go, but this world is goo
enough for mel" You might as we'll g
to man who has just entered tn
Louvre at Paris and tell him to haste
off to the picture galleries of Venice c
Florence. "Why," he would say, "Wha
is the use Of my going there? There ar
Rembrandts and Rubenses and Raphael
here that haven't looked at yet " N
man wants to 20 cut of this world, {
out of any house, until he has a bette
house. To cure this wish to stay her
God must somehow create disgust fc
onr surroundings How shall he do il
He cannot afford to defaee his horizon
or to tear off fiery panel from the SUI
set, or to subtract an anther from I'll
water lily, or to Danish the pungel
aroma from the mignonette, or to dra
the robes Of the morning in mire Yo
cannot expect a Christopher Wren I
mar his own st. Paul's cathedral, or
, Michael Angelo to dash ont his ow
Last Judgment" or a Handel to di
cord his Israel in Egypt" and yc
J cannot expect God to spoil the archite
ture and music of his own world. How
then, are. we to be made willing
leave? Here is where trouble comes in
. After a man has had good deal
trouble he says: We'll, | am ready t.
20, If there is house semewhe,
= whose roof doesn't leak, | would Ill
/, to live there. If there is an atmosphe
somewhere that does not distress Il
lungs, would like to breathe it,
Y If there lisa society somewhere whe
there is no little tattle, l would like
live there. If there is home Giro
somewhere where | can find my lo
friends, / would like to 20 there. /
used to read the first part Of the Bib
chiefly, now he reads the last part
the Bible chiefly. Why has he chang
Genesis for Revelation? All, lie used
: be anxious chiefly to know how ii
world was made and all about its &c