Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1896-06-26
GOD IN EVERYTHING.
BUT REV. DR.. TALMAGE EMPHASIZES
HIS EXISTENCE IN MINOR AFFAIRS.
Get Beyond the Limit God Has Laid
Down For Our Prosperity-so We Must
BE Content.

Down For Our Prosperity-sO We Must
BE Content.
WASHINGTON, June 21.-A most up
lifting truth is presented in DR.. Tai
mages discourse Of today. His text
was Matthew x, 90: "Are not two spar
rows sold for farthing? And one of
them shall not fall on the ground with
out your Father. "
You see the Bible will not be limited
in the choice Of symbols. There is hardly
a beast or bird or insect which has not
been called to illustrate some divine
truth-tho ox's patience, the ats in
dustry, the SPIDERS skill, the hind
surefootedncss, the eagles speed, the
doves gentleness, and even the spar
row 5 meanness and insignifnnce. In
oriental countries none but the poorest
people buy the sparrow and eat it-sO|
very little meat is there on the bones,
and so very poor is it, what there is Of
it. The comfortable population would
not think Of touching it any more than
you would think Of eating bat or al
lamprey. Now, says Jesus, if God takes
such good care Of poor bird that is not
worth a cent, will he not care for you,
! an immortal?
We associate God with revolutions.
We can see a divine purpose in the dis
covery of America, in the invention Of
the art Of printing, in the exposure Of
the gunpowder plot, in the contrivance
Of the needle gun, in the ruin of an
Austrian or NapOleOnic despotism; but
bow hard it is to see God in the minute
personal affairs Of our livesl We think
of Gcd as making a 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 a dew
drop, or finds room to stand between the
alabaster pillars Of the pond lily. Wei
can see God in the clouds. Can we seel
God in these flowers at our feet?
God In All.
We are apt to place God on some great
stage-or to try to doit-expecting him
there to act out his stupendous projects,
but we forget that the life Of a Crom-
well, an Alexander or a Washington
or an archangel is not more under di-
vine inspection than your life or mine.
Pompey thought there must be a 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 God does
not sit upon an Indifferent or unsympa-
thetic throne, but that he sits down be-
side you today, and stands beside me
TODAY. and no affair of our lives is so
insignificant but that it is Of Importance
to God
In the first place, God chooses our Oc-
cupation for us. l am amazed to see
how many people there are dissatisfied
with the work they have to do. l 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. l
want to tell you that God put into oper-
alton all the influences which led you TO
that particular choice Many of you are
not in the business that you expected to
be in. You started for the ministry and
learned merchandise; you started for the
law and you are a physician; you pre-
ferred 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, II will be a stone
mason;" God says, "You will be a
geologist A" David goes out toattend his
fathers sheep; God calls him to govern
a nation. Saul goes out TO hunt his Ia
theirs 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 usl
God saw your temperament and all the
circumstances by which you were sur
rounded, and | believe nine-tenths OF
YOU are in the work you are best fitted
for. hear a great racket in my watch
and | find that the hands, and tho
wheels, and the springs are getting out
of their places send it down to the
jewelers. and say, Overhaul that watch
and teach the wheels, and the spring,
and the hands TO mind their own busl-
ness. " You know man having q large
estate. He gathers his working hands
in the morning, and says to one, You
20 and trim that vine;" to another,
3You 20 and weed those flowers" TO
another, "You plow that tough glebe;"
and each one goes to his particular
work. The owners of the estate points
the man TO what he knows he can do
hest. and 80 it is with the Lord
He Arranges All.
remark further that God has ar
ranged 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 house, and you happen to pass up
a certain street, and happen to see
sign, and you select that house. Was 1t
all happening so? Oh, mol God guided
YOU in every step. He foresaw the fu-
ture. He knew all your circumstances,
and he selected Just that ono house as
better for you than any Of the 10, 600
habitations in the city. Our house,
however humble the roof and however
lowly the portals, is as near Gods heart
as an Alhambra or Kremlin. Prove IT.
you say. Proverbs iii, SS, "He biesseth
the habitation Of the just"
l remark further that God arranges
1Waa