The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1896-06-12

helpless in the gale, and we cry out for
harbor. All our calculations upset, We
say with the poet,
Change and decay or all around see:
On Thou who changes not. able with ne
The south wind of mild Providence
makes Us throw off the cloak Of Chris
tiau character and we catch cold, but
the sharp east wind Of trou5 de makes
Us wrap around Us the warm promises
The hest thing that ever happens to US
Is trouble. That IS nard timing, per-
haps, 10 say; bui / rereat it, for God
announces il again ana again, the best
thing that happens 10 u IS trouble
When the French army went down
into Egypt under Nappleon, an eDgi-
neer, in digging fO~ fortress. came
across a tablet " L ch ms been called
the Rosetta stOne. L. re were in
scriptions in three OF four languages
on that Rosetta stone. Scholars study
ing out the alphabet of hieroglyphies
from that stone were enabled to read
ancient inscriptions on monuments
and on tOmbstOnes. Well. many of
the handwritings of God in our life
are indescipherable hierogiyphics; we
cannot understand them Until we take
up the Rosetta stone of divine inspira-
ton, and the explanation all comes
out, and the mysteries all vanish, aud
what was before beyond our under.
standing now is plain in its meaning,
as we read: ''All things work together
for good to those who love God!" So
we decipher the hieroglyphicS Oil
friends! have you ever calculated
what trouble did for David? It made
him the sacred minstrel for all ages
What did trouble do for Joseph? Made
him the keeper of the corncribs of
Egypt What did it do for Paul2
Made him the great apostle to the
Gentiles- What did it do for
Samuel Rutherford? Made his inva-
lidism more illustrious than robust
health What did it do for Richard
Baxter? Gave him capacity TO write
of the Saints Everlasting Rest"
What did it do for John Bunyan?
Showed him the shining gates of the
city. What has it done for you? Since
the loss of that child your spirit has
been purer. Since the loss of that
property, you have found out that
earthly investments are insecure. Since
you lost your health. you feel as never
before rapt anticipation of eternal
release Trouble has hunt led you,
has enlarged you, has multiplied your
resources, has equipped you, has loos-
ened your grip on the next Oh! bless
God for the east wind It has driven
you into the harbor of God sympathy.
Nothing like trouble to show as that
this world Is an insufficient portion.
Hogarth was about done with life, and
he wanted to plant the end of all
things He put on canvas q shattered
bottle; a cracked bell; an unstrunE
harp; a signboard of a tavern called
THE Worlds End" falling down; .
shipwreck; the horses of Phebus lying
dead in the clouds; the moon in her
last quarter and the world on FIRE
lone thing more" said Hograth, land
my picture is done" Then he added
the broken palate of a painter. Then
he died But trouble. with a hand
mightier and more skilful than Ho-
garth's, pictures the falling, falling,
moldering, dying world And we
want something permanent to lay hold
of, and we grasp with both hands
after God, and say: The Lord is my
light, the Lord is my lore, the Lord is
my fortress. the Lord is my sacrifice,
the Lord, the Lord is my God"
Bless God for your trials. Oh, my
Christian friend! keep your spirits mp
by the power of Christ's gospel Do
not surrender. Do you not know that
when you give up, others will give mp?
There is near Bombay tree that
they call the Borrowing tree" the pc
culiarity of which is it never puts forth
any bloom in the daytime, but in the
night puts out all its bloom and all its
redolence. And l have to tell you that
though Christian character puts forth
its sweetest blossoms in the darkness
of sickness, the darkness of financial
distress, the darkness of bereavement,
the darkness of death, weeping may
endure for night, but JOY cometh in
the morning" Across the harsh dis
cords of this world rolls the music of
the skies-musie that breaks from the
lips, music that breaks from the harps
ana ruSCteS from the palms,
music like falling water over
rocks, music like wandering winds
among leaves, music like caroling
birds among forests, music like ocean
pillows storming the Atlantic beach:
They shall hunger no more, neither
thirst any more, neither shall the sun
light on them nor any more heat; for
the Lamb which is in the midst of the
throne shall lead them TO living foun-
tains of water. and God shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes" see
a great Christian feet approaching
that harbor. Some of the ships come
in with sails rent and bulwarks
knocked away, but still afioat Nearer
and nearer the shining shore. Nearer
and nearer eternal anchorage Haul
away, my lads! haul away! Some of
the ships have mighty tonnage,
and others were shallops easily
lifted Of the wind and wave Some
were men-of-war and armed of the
thunders of Christian battle, and
others were unpretendiny tugs taking