Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1896-07-01
1EY. Or. TaLuaGE.
he Eminent Divine's Sunday
Sermon.
Subject: "God in Everything."

farthing? And one of them shall not fall on
the ground without your Father. er."-MattheW
V. 90
You sec the Bible will not be limited in tia
choice of symbols. There is hardly beast
or bird or insect which has not been called
to illustrate some divine truth-the ox's
patience, the ants industry, tho spiders
skill, the kinds surefootedness, the eagles
speed. the doves Centleress, and even the
sparrow's meanness and jnsignifcance. In
oriental countries none but the poorest peo-
pie buy the sparrow and eat it-so very little
| meat is there on the bones, and so very poor
| is II what there is Of 1t. The comfortable
| population would not think of touching II
any more than you would think Of eating
| bat or lamprey. Now. says Jesus. II God
takes such good care OF poor bird that Is
not worth n cent, will He not care for you,
| an immortal?
We associate God with revolutions. We
| can see n divine purpose in the discovery OF
America. in the invention OF the art Of print
| ing. In the exposure Of the gunpowder plot.
| in the contrivance OF the needle gun, in the
ruin OF an Austrian or Napoleonic despo-
| tism; but how hard 1t is to SEQ God in the
minute personal affairs OF our lives! We
think o. God as making record Of the starry
host. but cannot realize the Bible truth that
| he knows how many hairs are on our head.
1t seems grand thing that God provided
| food for hundreds of thousands of Israelites
| IN the desert but We cannot appreciate the
| truth that, when a sparrow is hungry, God
| stoops down and opens its mouth and puts
the seed In. We are struck with the idea
| that God fills the universe with his presence,
| but cannot understand how he encamps in
the crystal palace Of dew drop, or finds
| room 10 stand between the alabaster pillars
| of the pond lily. We can see God in the
clouds. Can We see God in these flowers at
| >ur feet?
We are apt to place God on some great
stage-or to try to do it-expectng Him
there to act out His stupendous projects. but
We forget that the life OF a Cromwell, an
Alexander or n Washington or an archangel
is not more under divine inspection than
your life or mine. Pompey thought there
must be mist over the eyes Of God because
He so much favored Caesar. But there is no
such mist. He sees everything. We say
| Gods path is IN the great waters. True
enough; but no more certainly than He is in
the water in the glass on the table. We say
God guides the stars in their courses.
Magnificent truth! But no more certain
truth than that He decides which road or
| street you shall take in coming to church.
| Understand that Col does not sit upon an
Indifferent or unsympathetic throne, but that
He sits down beside you to-day, and stands
beside me to-day, and no affair of our lives
is so Insignificant but that it is Of import
| snce to God.
In the first place. God chooses our occu.
patton for us. Iam amazed to see how many
| Ftopic lutTe uTb u1sSdtlSleu WITH tue WOEk
| they have to do. think three-fourths wish
| they were in some other occupation, and they
| spend great deal of time in regretting that
they got in the wrong trade or profession.
want to tell you tina: God put into operation
all the influences which led you to that par
ticular choice Many of you are not in the
business that you expected to be in. You
| started for the ministry and learned mer'
| chandise; you started for the law and yor
are physician; you preferred agriculture
and you became n mechanic. You thought
one way; God thought another. But you
| ought not TO sit down and mourn over the
past You are to remember that God
arranged all these circumstances by which
YOU were made what you are.
Hugh Miller says, Il will be stone
masoD;" God says, You will be a geolo-
gist." David goes out to attend his fathers
sheep: God calls him to govern a nation.
Saul goas out to hunt his fathers asses. and
before he gets back finds the crown of regal
dominion. How much happier would we be
II We were content with the places God gave
US! God saw your temperament and all the
circumstances by which you were surround
ed. and believe nine-tenths of you are in
the work you are best fitted for. l hear a
great racket in my watch. and find that
the hanis, and the wheels, and the spring
are getting out of their places. ] send IL
down to the jewelers. and say, "Overhaul
that watch and teach the wheels. and the
spring, IND the hands to mind their own
business" You know Il man having n large
estate. He gathers his working hands in the
that vne;" to another, "You go and weed
those flowers" to another, "You plOw that
tough gebe;" and each one goes to his par
ticular work. The owner of the estate
points the man TO what he knows he can dc
best. and so it is with the Lord.
| remark further that God has arranged
the place Of our dwelling. What particular
city or town. street or house you shall live
in seems to be mere matter Of accident
You go out to hunt for a house, and you
happen to pass up n certain street, and hap
pen to see a sign, and you select that house.
guided you in every step. He foresaw the
future. He knew all your circumstances
and He selected just that one house as bet
ter for you than any of the 10000 habita-
tions in the city. Our house. however hum
BILE the roof and however lowly the portals,
Is as near Gods heart rs an Alhambra or a
Kremlin. Prove 1t, you say. Proverbs ill.,,
33, He blesseth the habitation OF the just. "
remark further that God arranges all oui
frien iships. You we're driven to the wall.
You found a man just at that crisis who sym.
pathized with you and helped you. You
say, .'How lucky l was!' There was nc
luck about 1t. God sent that friend just as
certainly He sent the angel to strengthen
Christ. Your domestic friends, your busi-
ness friends. your Christian friends, God sent
them TO bless you, and II any OF them have
proved traitorous, 1t is only to bring out the
value of those who remain. II some die, il
is only that they may stand at the outposts
of heaven to greet you Mt your coming.
You always will have friends, warm heart.
cd friends, magnanimOus friends, and when
} sickness comes to your dwelling there will
be watchers. When trouble comes to youI
heart, there will be sympathizers. Wher
death comes there will be gentle fingers &c
close the eyes and fold the hands and gentle
lips 10 tell Of a resurrection. Oh, We are com
, passed by a bodyguard OF friends! Every
man, IL he has behaved himself well, is sur
rounded by three circles Of friends-those o
the outer circle wishing him we'll; those IL
the next circle willing to help him; whil'
close up to his heart are q few who would di'
for him. God pity the wretch who has moi
my friends,
/ remark again, that God puts dow,
the limit to our temporal prosperity
The world Of finance seems to have NJ
God in it. You cannot tell where "a man viii
land. The aiiluent fall; the poor rise. Th'
ingenious fail; the ignorant succeed. Al
enterprise opening grandlv, shuts in bank
ruptcy, while out Of the peat dug up from
some New England marsh the millionaire
builds his fortune. The poor man thinks !
is chance that keeps him down; tho ricf
man thinks it Is chance which hoisis him
and they are both wrong. 1t is so hard t.
realize that God rules the money market
anu Hts u uObk III tHo hooO VI tho stcoi
gambler, and that all the commercial revo
lutions of the world shall result in the YER!
BEST for Gods dear children.
My brethren. do not kick against the divin
allotments. God knows just how mucl
} money il is best for you to lose. You neve
!. gain unless II is best for you to gain. Yo,
= go up when it is best for you to go up ant
3 go down when it Is best for YOU to go down
. Prove if. you say. will. Romans viii. q
.AlI things work together for good to then
that love God. You go into a factory an
you see 20 or 80 wheels, and they are goin
I in di iferent directions. This band IL rollinl
of this way and another band another way
one down and another up. You say. "Wha
confusion in factoryr' Oh. no! all thes
different bands are only different parts OF tn
machinery. So go into your life and sr
strange things. Here Is one providence pull
y ing you one way and another in anothe
! way, But these are different parts OF on