Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1896-06-19
mutabllity and uncertainty Of the popular

favor.
And you will have trial of some sort. You
have had 1t already. Why need propnesyI
I might better mention an historical 1act IN
vour history. You are merchant What a
time YOU had with that old business partnerl
How hard it was to get rid of him! Before
you bought him out, or he ruined both Oh
You. what magnitude Of annoyance! Then
after YOU had paid him down certain SUM
of money to have him go out and to promise
he would not open a store OF the same Klnd
of business In your street, did ne not
open the very same kind OF pusl-
ness as near to you as possible ana rake
all your customers as far as he could take
themf And then, knowing all your fraiities
and weaknesses, after being in your business
firm for 30 many years, is he not now spend
NC his time In making Commentary On
what YOU furnished as text2 You are
physician. and in your sickness, or IN your
absence, you get a neighborlng doctor 10
take YOUR place in the sick room, and he IN
eratiates himself into the favor OF that fam
jly. so that YOU forever lose their patronage.
Or, you take a patient through the serious
stages of fever and some day the impatient
father or husband Of the sick one rusnes
out and gets another medical pract-
toner, who comes in Just In time to get the
credit of the cure. Or. you are lawyer,
YOUR profession, and in your absence, and
contrary to agreement, he moves noWnt
or the dismissal of the case. Or the ludge
on the bench, remembering an old polilicai
grudge, rules against you every time ne gets
q chance, and says with q snarl, III you
don't like my decision, take an exception.
Or. sou are a farmer and the curculio stings
the fruit. or the weevll gets into the wheat
or the drought stunts the corn, or the long
continued raius give you no opportunity lot
catberino the harvest Your best COW gets
tbe bo low horn: YOUR best horse gets toun-
dered. A French proverb said that trouoie
comes on horseback AMI goes away on ioot'
So trouble dashed In on you suddeny; ou',
oh. how long IT was in getting away! Oaln I'a
on horseback, goes away on 1901. hIpIu Al
coming. slow In going. Tnat Is tns n'S.p,5
| ~ nearly all YOUR troubles. Again anu
aoain and again you have experienced the
nower of the eqst wind. 1t may be blowing
| from that direction now. .,.,o.
NV friends. God intended these troubles
| rnd trials for some particular purpose. Anoy
do not come at random. Here is the promise:
HHe staveth His rough wlnt In the 1ay w
| the east wind" In the tower OF honu0n'no
swords an the guns of other ages are purn l
ished and arranged into huge passion ~ ,,o,,
ore and sunaoycrs and bridal cakes. aud you
wonder how anything so hard as sleel co1lu
be nut into such floral shapes. have 10 zen
Won that the hardest, sharpest, most cuttinS
most piercing sorrows of this life may De
made to bloom an1 bosom and put on
bridal festivltv The Bible says they snail
he m1tigated. they shall be assuaged they
snail be graduated. God is not going 10 al
| low you to be overthrown. ChrIstan Wo'
man. very much respondent, was holding
her child In her arms, an the pastor tryInH
| a.. Al. In pr 0enrpS-
sion. said. "There. you will let your chi nc,
drop." ooh. no." she said, II couldn't lei
the child drop" He said, "You will let tne
child drop" "Why," she said, "lf SHOULD
dron the child here. 1t would dash his lie
ontl' dwell. now" said the Christian MIN
lister. "don't you think God Is a. good as
Won are? Won't Col. your Father. take as
good care of you. His child: rs you take care
of your child2 God won't let you drop. -,
isuppose God lets the east wind blow ]usl
hard enough to drive us into the harDor o
Gods protection. We all feel we can man,
age our own affairs. We have helm anc
compass and chart and quadrant. Give u:
plentv of sea room and we sail on ana sal
on: but after while there comes Cari0Deal
whir;yind I'D the coast, aud we are helpless
In The gale. and We cry out for harbor. Al
our celebrations upset, we say with tue poet
Change and decay on all around see
Oh. Thou who changest not, abide with me
The south wind of mild Providence makes
ne throw off the cloak Of Christian charac
fer aud we catch cold, but the sharp cas-
wind OF trouble makes us wrap around u
theaEarm promises. The best thing tina
ever happens to us Is trouble. Ihat Is
hard thing perhaps TO say; but L repeat II
for God announces it again ana again. III
best thing that happens TO US Is irouoIo'
Egypt under Napoleon, an engineer, ID 9ig
oine for fortress. came across table
which has been called the Rosetta stone
.. There were inscriptions in three or lou
languages on that Rosetta stone. Scnolar
studying out the alphabet OF hlerogiypnlc
fr.m that stone were enabled to read anclen
inscriptions on monuments ana on tonr
|, stones. WELL many OF the handwiltlngs Z
God in our life are indecipheraDle heIogS
; | phics We cannot understand tnem until W
lake IN the Rosetta stone Of divine inspire
ton and the explanation all comes out, an
I, tbe mysteries oil vanish, and what was Of
fore beyond our understanding now Is pial
in it's meaning, as we read, "All tnlne
, work together for good to those VINO IoV
; God" So we decipher the hieroglyphicl
Oh. nv friends, have you ever cacuia
! ed what trouble did for David? 1t mao
: him the sacred minstrel for all age
, What did trouble do for Josepn9 M"u
him the keeper Of the corncrlbs, {
-, Ervpt. What did it do for Paul2 Made hi
the great apostle to the genties: What a.
!, II do for Samuel Rutherford2 Made his II
7 yaldism more illustrious than robust healtl
= What did it do for Richard BaxteIf Ga'
i him capacity to write of the Saints Eve
y lasting Rest" What did it do for John Bul
:, yanY Showed him the shining gates OF II
|, civ What has it done for your Since t
! loss OF that child your spirit has been pure
: Since the loss of that property you ha'
: found out that that earthly investments a
y insecure. Since you lost your health yC
d feel rs ever before rapt anticipation
!, eternal release. Trouble has humoled yo
}. has enlarged you, has multiplied your r
Y sources. has equipped you, has loosene
1 vonr grasp from this world and tightent
II your grip on the next. Oh, bless God !
y the east wind! 1t has driven you Into u
5, harbor Of Gods sympathy.
Nothing like trouble to show US that IL
r world is an insufficient portion. Hogar
}. was about done with life. and he wanted
10 paint the end Of all things. He put on canv
l, a shattered bottlp, cracked bell, an u
IS strung harp, q sign board of tavern call
It srThe Worlds End" falling down, a shi
,r wreck. the horses OF PhGbus lying dead
g the clouds, the moon in her last quarter, al
It the world on fire. zone thing more, " So
If aogartb. "and my picture is DONE" In
- o5do3 iba hroken nnlette of paint'