Semi-weekly independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1895-1897, 1896-04-18

build itd nest in the tree behind the house
to some one of the flock of birds which,
whcn lN9s9 hoisted the AXIS window
went cut to sing over Mount Ararat The
tulips that bloom in the garden this spring
were nursed by the snowfakes. The
farth@st star on one side of the universe
could not look toward the fartheSt star on
the ether side OF the universe and say,
YOU are no relation to me- for from
that bright orb voice OF light would rins
across the heavens. responding, Yes, yes,
we are sisters Nothing in Gods uni
verse swings at loose ends. Accidents are
only Gods way of turning n leaf in the
book of his eternal DEGREES. From our
cradle 10 our grave There is a path all
marked out. Each event in our life IS con-
nected with every other event in our life.
Our losses may be the most direct road
10 our gain. Our defeat and our victory
are twin brothers.
The whole direction OF your life was
changed by something which At the time
seemed 70 YOU tritling. while some occur
renee which seemed tremendous affected
You but little. Gods plans are magnif-
cent beyond all comprehension He molds
rs and turns and directs u.s. and we know
1t not. Thousands of years are 10 him as
the flight of a shuttle. The most terrific
occurrence does not make God trembe
The most triumphant achievement does
not lift him into rapture. That one great
thought of God goes out through the cen
turtles. and nations rise and fall. and eras
pass. and the world changes. but God still
keeps the undivided mastery. linking
event to event and century to century. To
God they are all one event. one history,
one plan. one development. one system.
Great and marvellous are thy works. Lord
God Almighty. | was years ago in New
Orleans at the exposition rooms. when
telegram was sent 10 the President of the
United States. at Washington, and W.
waited some fifteen or twenty minutes
and then the Presidents answer came
back. and then the presiding officer waved
his handkerchief. and the signal was sent
to Washington that we were ready to
have the machinery of the exposition
started. and the President put his finger
on the electric button, and instantly ne
great Corliss wheel began to move-ruln-
bling. rumbling. rolling. rolling 1t was
overwhelming. and 1000 people capped
and shouted. Just one finger at Wash
ington started that vast machinery. hun
dreds and hundreds of miles away. and
thought then, as | think now. that men
sometimes touch influences that respond
in the far distance. forty years from now,
MY years from now, 1000 years from
now .UOO,o0O years from ncw-one
touch sounding through the ages.
What of the Future:
We also learn from this story the pro-
priety of laying up for the future Dur
ms the seven years of plenty Joseph pre-
pared for the famine, and when it came
he had crowded storehouse. The life Of
most men in 4 worldly respect is divided
into years of plenty and famine 1t is
seldom that any man passes through life
without at least seven years of plenty.
During those seven years your business
bears rich harvest. You scarcely know
where all the money comes from. il comes
50 fast Every bargain you make seems
to turn into gold. You contract few bad
debts You are astonished with large div
idends. You invest more and more cap
ital. You wonder how men can be con-
tent with a small business. gathering in
only few hundred dollars. while you
reap your thousands. Those are seven
years of plenty. Now Joseph has time
TO prepare for the threatened famine. for
TO almost every man there do come seven
years of famine. You will be sick. you
VIII he unfortunate, You will be defraud-
ed, there will be hard times, you will be
disappointed, and if you have no store
house upon which to fall back you may be
famine struck. We have no admiration
for this denying oneself all personal COM
fort and luxury for the mere pleasure Of
boarding up, this graspihg. grasping for
the mere pleasure of seeing how large a
pile you can get, this always being poor
because as soon as n dollar comes in it is
sent out TO see if it can find another dol
lar, SO that 1t can carry it home on its
back. We have a contempt for all those
things, but there is an intelligent and
noble minded forecast which we love to
see in men who have families and kindred
depending upon them for the blessings of
education and home. God sends us to the
insects for lesson, which, while they do
not stint themselves in the present. do not
forget their duty TO forecast the future.
Go to the ant thou sluggard. Consider
her ways and be WISE which. having no
guide, overseer or ruler. provideth her
meat in the summer and gathereth her
food in the harvest
Now, there are two ways Of LAYING I'D
money. One or these is TO put it in stock
and deposit il in bank and invest it on
bond and mortgage. The other way TO
lay up money is giving it away. He is the
safest who makes both of these invest
nentS. There are in this house men who
if they lose every dollar they have in the
world would be millionaires for eternity.
They made the spiritual investment. bat
the man who devotes none of his gains TO
the cause of Christ and looks only for
his own comfort and luxury is not safe. I
care not how the money is invested. He
acts as the rose if it should say. Il will
hold my breath, and none shall have q
snatch of fragrance from me until mex,
week; then | will set all the garden a1oat
with my aroma" OF course the rose re-
fusng to breathe, died. But above all
lay up treasures in heaven. They never
depreciate in value. They never are at
discount. They are always available.
You may feel safe now with your 81 600
or $1,000 or $4,000 or $4,000 income