The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1896-07-03

trouble comes to your heart there viii
be sympathizers; when death comes,
there will be gentle fingers to close
the eyes and fold the hands, and gentle
lips to tell of resurrection. Oh. we
are compassed by a body-guard of
friends! Every man, if he has be-
haved himself well, is surrounded 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 few
who would die for him. God pity the
wretch who has not any friends.
! remark again that God puts down
the limit to our temporal prosperity.
The world of fiance seems to have no
God in it. You can not tell where a
man will land. The affluent fall; the
poor rise. The ingenious fail; the ig-
norant succeed. An enterprise open
ing grandly shuts in bankruptcy, while
out of the peat dug up from some New
England marsh the millionaire builds
his fortune. The poor man thinks it
is chance that keeps him down; the
rich man thinks it Is chance which
hoists him; and they are both wrong.
It is hard to realize that God rules the
money market, and has hook in the
nose of the stock gambler, and that
all the commercial revolutis MS of the
world shall result in the very best for
Gods dear children.
My brethren, do not kick against the
Divine allotments. God knows just
how much money it is best for you to
lose. You never gain unless it is best
for you to gain. You go up when it is
best for you to go up, and go down
when 1t Is best for you to go down.
Prove it, you say. 1 will. Rom, viii,
PSI "All things work together for good
to them that love God" You go into
factory and see 20 or 80 wheels, and
they are going in different directions.
This band is rolling off this way, and
another band another way; one down
and another up. You say, What con-
fusion in a factory" Oh, no! all these
different bands are only different parts
of the machinery. So go into your
life and sec strange things. Here is
one providence pulling you one way
and another in another way. But these
are different parts of one machinery
by which He will advance your ever
lasting and present well-being.
Now you know that a second mort
gage, and a third and fourth mort.
gage, are often worth nothing. 1t is
the first mortgage that is good in
vestment. [ have to tell you that
every Christian man has first mort
gage on every trial, and on every dis
aster, and it must make payment of
eternal advantage to his soul. How
many worriments it would take out of
your heart if you believed that fully.
You buy goods and hope the price
will go up, but you are in a fret and a
frown for fear the price will go down.
You do not buy the goods using your
best discretion in the matter, and
then say: 80, Lord, have done the
best ] couldj l commit this whole
transaction into Thy hands!' That is
what religion is good for or it is good
for nothing.
There are two things, says an old
proverb, you Ought not to fret about:
First, things that you can help; and;
second, things which you can not help.
If you can help them, why do you
not apply the remedy? If you can not
help them, you might as well surrender
first as last. My dear brethren
do not sit any longer moping about
your ledger. Do not sit looking so
responding upon your stock Of un-
salable goods. Do you think that God
is going to allow you, Christian man,
to do business alone? God is the con-
trolling partner in every firm; and,
although your debtors may abseond,
although your securities may fall al
though your store may burn; God will,
out of an inflnity of results; choose for
you the very best results.
Do not have any idea that you can
overstep the limit that God has laid
down for your prosperity: You will
never get one inch beyond it. God has
decided how much prosperity you can
stand honorably, and employ usefully,
and control righteously; and at the
end of the year you will have SO many
dollars and cents, just SO much ward
robe, just SO much furniture, just so
many bonds and mortgages, and moth
ing iiorsl l Will give you Sioo for
every penny you get beyond thdti God
has looked over your life. He knows
what is best for you; and He is going
to bless you Id THE and bless you for
eternity; and He will do it in the bsst
way. Your little child says: Papa, l
wish you would let me have that knife. -
mo" you say, ''it is a sharp knife,
and you Will cut yourself" He says:
II must have 1t. ''Bht you can not
have it," you reply. He gets angry
and red in the face, and says he will
have it; but you say he shall not have
it. Are you not kind in keeping it
from him. So God treats His children,
II say: II wish, Heavenly Father; to
get that" God says: mo, my child"
L say: 81 must have it." God says:
You can not have it" get angry
and say! II will have it," God says:
"You shall not have it," and | do not
get it. Is He not kind and loving, and
the best of fathers2 Do not tell me
there is no rule and regulation Id these
things? Tell that to the men who be-
lieves in no God and no Bible Tell it
not to lie7
A man of large business concludes Go
go out of his store; leaving much of his
Investments in the business; ard he
says to his sons: NOV, ain going to
leave this business in your hands |
Perhaps may come back in 4 little
while, and perhaps not While l am gone
you will please to look after affairs.
After awhile the father comes back |
and finds everything at loose ends, and |
the whole business seems to be going |
WRONG: He says: II am going to take |
III 1 - l.