The Penn's Grove record., 1896-06-26
REV. DR.. TaLuaGE.
he Eminent Divine's Sunday
Sermon.
Subject. "God in Everything"

TExa cara not two snarrows sold for a
farthing2 And one OF them shall not fall on
the ground without your Father. Matthew
Y, 20.
You gee the Bible will not be limited In tta
5hoiee of symbols. There is hardly a beast
or bird or insect which has not been called
to Illustrate some divine truth-the ox's
patience, the ants industry, the spiders
skill, the binds surefootedness, the eagles
speed, the doves gentleness. and even the
sparrOw's meanness and insignifcanee. In
oriental countries hone but the poorest peo-
pie buy the sparrow aud eat it-so very little
meat is there on the homes, and so very poor
is 1t what there is of 1t. The comfortable
population would not think of touching II
any more than you would think of eating a
bat or a lamprey. Now. says Jesus. II God
takes such good care OF a poor bird that Is
not worth a cent, will He not care for you,
On immortal2
We associate God with revolutions. We
can see a divine purpose in the discovery of
America, in the invention of tho art OF print
ing, in the exposure of the gunpowder plot,
in the contrivance Of the needle gun, in the
ruin Of al Austrian or Napoleonie despo-
tism but how hard it is to see God in the
minute personal affairs of our llvesi We
think o. God as making q record OF the starry
host. but cannot realize the Bible truth that
he knows how many hairs are on our head.
II seems a grand thing that God provided
food for hundreds of thousands Of Israelites
in the desert; but we cannot appreciate the
truth that, when q 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 a dew drop, or fnds
room 10 stand between the alabaster pillars
| nj the nOnh Hlv Wa pQn GpR Gnd In tha
clouds. Can we see God In these flowers at
sur feet?
We are apt to place God on some great
stage-or to try to do it-expecting Him
there to act OUT His s~tupendous projects. but
we forget that the life of a Cromwell, an
Alexander or a Washington or IN archangel
is not more under divine inspection than
your life or mine. Pompey thought there
must be a mist over tho 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 a in coming to church.
Understand that God 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 40 affair of our lives
is so Insignificant but that it is of import
qnce to God.
In the first place, God chooses our occu-
patton for us. lam amazed to see how many
people there arc dissatisfied with the work
they have to do. i think three-fourths wish
they We're in some other occupation, and they
spend a great deal Of time in regretting thai
they got in the wrong trade or profession. .
want to tell you that 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 aw and yor
are a physician; you preferred agriculture
and you became a 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, 81 will be a stone
mason;" God says, you will be a geolo-
gist." David goes out to attend his fathers
sheep; God calls him to govern q nation.
Saul goes out to hunt his fathers asses. and
before he gets back finds the crown OF regal
dominion. How much happier would we be
if we were content with the places God gave
us! God saw your temperament and all the
circumstances by which you were surround
ed, and l believe nine-tenths of You are in
the work you are best fitted for. l hear a
great racket iu my watch, and / find that
the hands, and the wheels, and the spring
ara getting out of their places. ] send II
down to the jewelers. and say, "Overhaul
that watch and teach the wheels. and the
spring, and the hands to mind their own
business" You know a man having a large
estate. He gathers his working hands, In the
morning, and says to one, "You go md trim
those fowers;'' to another, "You pillow that
tough g!ebe;" 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.
1 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 a mere matter of accident.
You go out to hunt for a house, n you
happen to pass up a certain street, and hap.
pen to see a sign, and you select that house.
Was 1t all happening so9 Oh, no! God
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-
tons In the city. Our house. however hum-
Bile the roof and however lowly the portals,
is as near Gods heart as an Alhambra or a
Kremlin. Prove it, you say. Proverbs lii,
39, "He blesseth the habitatfon OF the lust"
l remark further that God arranges all our
friendships. You were driven to the wall.
You found a man just at that crisis who sym.
pathized with YOU and helped you. You
say, elbow lucky / wasi" There was nc
luck about II. God sent that friend Just as
certainly as He sent the angel to strengthen
Christ. Your domestic friends, your busi-
ness friends. your Christian friends, God sent
them 10 bless you, and II any OF them have
proved traitorous, 1t is only 10 bring out the
value of those who remain. II some die, 1t
is only that they may stand at the outposts
II heavent to greet you at your coming.
You always will have friends, warm heart
cd friends, m-agnanimous friends, and when
sickness comes to your dwelling there will
be watchers. When trouble comes to your
heart, there will be sympathiZers. When
death comes there will be gentle fingers to
close the eyes ana fold the hands and gentle
lips to tell Of resurrection. Oh, we are COM
passed by a bodyguard OF friends! Every
man, If he has behaved himself well, is sur
rounded by three circles OF friends-those Of
the outer circle wishing him well; those In
the next circle willing to help him; while
close up to his heart are a few who would die
for him. God pity the wretch who has not
my friends.
/ remark again, that God puts down
the limit to our temporal prosperity.
The world OF finance seems to have no
God In it. You cannot tell where a man will
land. The afiuent fall; the poor rise. The
ingenious fail; the ignorant succeed. An
enterprise opening ~grandly. shuts in bank
Iuptcy, Wnho Out OF tue peRt Jug up from
some New England marsh the millionaire
builds his fortune. The poor man thinks it
is chance that keeps him down; tho rich
man thinks II is chance which hoisis him
and they are both wrong. 1t Is so hard to
realize that God rules the money market.
and has IA hook in the nose OF the stock
gambler, and that all the commercial revO-
buttons Of the world shall result in the very
best for Gods dear children.
My brethren, do not Rick against the divine
Allotmeuts. God knows Just how much
money it is best for you 10 lose. You never
gain unless II is best for you to gain. You
go up when it is best for you to go up and
go down when il is best for Won TO go down.
Prove it, you say. l will. Romans viii. 2s,
HAl things work together for good TO them
thai love God. You go into a factory and
you soc 20 or 80 wheels, and they are going
in different directions. This band Is rolling
on this way and another band another way;
ono down and another up. You say, "What
confusion In a factoryr' oh, mol all these
different bands are only different narts OF the
machinery. SO I 20 into your life q see
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