Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1897-12-17

ta-l., Then y0u viii appreciate what my
text SAYS. a. Il declares. ' By the breath Of
God frost l. given" You viii see ON the
window pane. traced there BY the frost,
whole gardens Of beauty, ferns, orchids,
dAnOdils heliOiropes, china asters, toun-
tains. statues. hounds on the chase roe
bucks plunging into the stream battle
scenes with diving and dead, catAfAlques OF
kings. triumphant professions, and ~ the
morning sun breaks through YOU will see
cities on fire and bombardment with burst
ing shell and Examinations as for some
great victory, coronAtions and angels on
the wing. All night long, while you were
sleeping, the frost was working, and you
ought not 70 let the warmth obliterate the
scene until you have admired Il, studied II,
absorbed IL, set il up In your memory Tor
perpetual refreshment. and realize the
force and magnitude and intensity OF my
text; by the breath Of God frost Is given
He is stupid Christian who thinks so
much Of the printed and bound Bible that
he neglects the Ola Testament of the fields.
nor reads the wisdom and kindness and
beauty Of God written in blossoms on the
orchard. in sparkles on the lake, IN stars
in the sky, in frost on the meadows. The
greatest jeweler of all the earth Is the
frost
But go astep further and speak Of the
frost as an evangelist, and text Of Scrip
ture is not OF much use to me unless can
ilnd the gospel init. The Israelites in the
wilderness breakfasted on something that
looked like frozen dew. The mamma fell on
the dew aud the dew evaporated and left a
pulyerZed material, white and looking
like frost; but il was mama, and of thas
they ate. So now, this morning, mixed
with the frozen dew Of my text, there is
mama ON which we may breakfast our
souls. You say the frost kills. Yes, il
kills some things, but we have already
seen that il gives health and life to others
This gospel is the saver Of life unto life, or
death unto death. As the frost is mighty
the gospel is mighty. As the frost de-
sccnds from heaven, the gospel descends
from heaven. BY the breath of God frost
is given. By the breath of God the gospel
is given. As the frost purilies so the grace
Of God purihes. As the frost vests the
earth, SO grace bejewels the soul. As the
frost prepares for food many things that
otherwise would be inedible, so the frost
OF trial ripens and prepares food for the
soul.
Thank God for frosts. What helped
make Milton the greatest OF poets? The
frost OF blindness. What helped make
Washington the greatest Of generals? The
frosts Of Valley Forge. What make It APP
propriate for one passing John Bunyan's
grave to eXclaim, "Sleep on, thou prince OF
dreamersy The frosts of imprisonment
The greatest college from which we can
graduate is the College Of Frosts. Especial
trials 1T for especial work. Just now
watch, and you will see that trouble is pre-
paratiye and educational. That is the
grindstone on which battle axes are sharp
ened. without complaint take the hard
knocks. You will see that after a while,
though you may not appreciate it now,
that by the breath of God frost Is given.
Let the corners OF your mouth, so long
drawn down in complaint, be drawn up in
smiles of content.
For years poets and essayists have cele-
brated the grace and swiftness Of the Ara
bian horses. Do you know where these
Arab horses get their heetness and poetry
Of motion? Long centuries ago Mahom-
med, with 80, 600 cavalry horses on the
march, could find for them not drop Of
water for three days. Coming to the top Of
a hill a river was in sight. With wild dash
the 80 900 horses started for the stream.
A minute after an armed host was seen ad-
vancing, and at Mohammed's command
one hundred bugles blew for the horses to
fall In line, but all the 80, 600 continued the
wild gallop to the river, except five and
they, almost dead with thirst wheeled into
line of battle. Nothing in human bravery
and self-sacrhce excels that bravery and
selt-snCritiCe of those five Arabian war
horses. Those five splendid steeds Moham-
med chose for his own use, and from those
five came that race OF Arabian horses, for
ages the glory of the equestrian world.
And let me say that, in this great war of
truth against error of holiness against sin
and heaven against hell, the best war
horses are descended from those who, after
pang and set-denial and trouble. answered
the Gospel trumpet and wheeled into line.
Out of great tribulatiOn, out of great fires
out of great trosts they came. And let me
say, it will not take long for God to make
up to you in the next world for all you
have suffered In this.
AS you enter heaven God may say Give
this man one of those lowered and colon
naded palaces on that ridge OF gold over
looking the Sea Of Glass. Give this wom-
an home among those amarathine blooms
and between those fountains tossing in the
everlasting sunlight. Give her q couch
canOpied with rainbOws to pay her for all
the fatigues of wifehood and motherhood
and housekeeping, from which she had no
rest for forty years. Cup-bearers of heaven,
give these newly-arrived souls from the
earth the costliest beverages and roll to
| their door the grandest chariots, and hang
on their walls the sweetest harps that ever
thummed to fingers seraphic. Give to
them rapture on rapture, celebration on
celebration, jubilee on jubilee, heaven on
heaven. They had a hard time on earth
earning livelihood, or nursing sick chill
drsn, or waiting on querulous old age, or
battling falsehOods that were told about
them, or were compelled to work after they
got short breathed and rheumatic and dim
sighted. Chamberlains of heaven! Keepers
of the Kings robes! Banqueters of eternal
royalty! Make up to them hundredfold,
thousandfold, "a millionfold, for all they
suffered from swaddling clothes to shroud,
and let all those who, whether on the hills,
or in the temples, or on the thrones, or on
jasper wall, were helped and sanctifled and
prepared for this heavenly realm by the
Mission OF the Frosts stand up and wave
their scepters" And Hooked, and behold.
nine-tenths of the ransomed rose to their
feet, and nine-tenths of the scepters swayed
to and fro in the light of the sun that never
sets, and then understood, far better than
ever did before, that trouble comes for
beneiicent purpose, and that on the cold
est nights the Aurora is brightest in the
Northern heavens, and that "by the breath
of God frost is given"