The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1897-05-14

Ock toward you. FOUR reneI VIII
come from the most unexpected quar-
ter. The Providence which seemed
ominous will be to you more than that
which seemed suspicious. 1t will not
be a chaffinch with breast and wing
dashed with white and brown and
chestnut; it will be a black raven.
Here is where we all make our mis-
take. and that is in regard to the color
Of Gods providence. A white provi-
ience comes to us, and we say, ooh, it
is mercy~ Then a black providence
comes toward us, and we say, "Oh, that
is disasterr The white providence
comes to you, and you have great
business success, and you have $780,
300. and you get proud, and you get in
dependent of God, and you begin to
feel that the prayer, Give me this day
my daily bread" is inappropriate for
you, for you have made provision for
100 years. Then a black providence
comes, and it sweeps everything away,
and then you begin to pray, and you
begin to feel your dependence, and be-
gin to be humble before God, and you
cry out for treasures in Heaven. The
black providence brought you saliva
ton. The white providence brought
you ruin. That which seemed to be
harsh. and fierce, and dissOnaut was
your greatest mercy. 1t was a
raven. There was a child born
in your house. All your friends
congratulated you. The other chill
dren of the family stood amazed, look
| ing at the newcomer, and asked great
many questions, genealogical and
chronological You said-and you said
truthfully-that a white angel flew
through the room and left the little
one there That little one stood with
its two feet in the very sanctuary of
your affection, and with its two hands
/ it took hold of the altar of your soul.
| But one day there came one of the
three scourges of children-scarlet
fever. or Group, or diphtheria-and all
that bright scene vanished. The chat
| tering, the strange questions, the pull
| ing at the dresses as you crossed the
fOor-all ceesed.
As the great Friend of children
stooped down and leaned toward that
cradle. and took the little one in His
arms and walked away with it into the
bower of eternal summer, your eye be-
gan to follow Him. and you followed
the treasure He carried, and you have
been following them ever since; and
instead of thinking of Heaven only
once week. as formerly, you are
thinking of it all the time, and you
are more pure and tender-hearted
than you used to be, and you are pa
tientlv waiting for daybreak. 1t is
not self-righteousness in you to ae-
knowledge that you are better man
than YOU used to be. What was it
that brought you the sanctifying
blessing? oh, it was the dark shadow
on the short grave; it was the brood
ing of a great black trouble; it was a
raven! Dear Lord teach this people
that white prOvidences do not always
mean advancement, and that black
providences do not always mean retro
gression.
Ny friend, you have a right to argue
from precedent that God is going to
take care of you. Has He not done 1T
two or three times every day? That Is
most marvellous. | look back and won
der that God has given me food three
times a day regular all my lifetime,
never missing but once, and then l was
lost in the mountains; but that very
morning and that very night | met the
ravens.
Oh, the Lord is so good that | wish
all His people would trust Him with
the two lives-the life you are now liv-
ing and that which every tick of the
watch and every stroke of the clock
inform you is approaching. Bread for
your immortal soul comes to-day. See!
They alight on the platform. They
alight on the backs of all the pews.
They swing among the arches.
Ravens! Ravens blessed are they
that hunger after righteousness,
for they shall be filed To all
the SHINING, and the sOrrowing,
and the tempted, deliverance comes
this hour. Look down, and you see
nothing but your spiritual defOrmities.
Look back, and you see nothing bat
wasted opportunity. Cast your eye for
ward, and you have fearful looking
for Judgment and fiery indignation
which shall devour the adversary. But
look up, ana you DehoId the whipped
shoulders of an interceding Christ, and
the face of pardoning God. and the
irradiation of an opening Heaven: Do
you not feel the rush of air on your
cheek? Ravens. Ravens!
There is only one question l want to
ask: How many of this audience are
willing to trust God for the supply of
their bodies, and trust the Lord Jesus
Christ for the redemption of their i'm
mortal souls? Amid the CHATTER of the
hoofs and the ciang of the wheels of
the Judgment chariot, the whole mat
ter will be demonstrated.
QUEER MARRIAGE CUSTOM.