The central record. (Lancaster, Ky.) 18??-current, 1898-06-03

rivate p,ac~, who has had no trouble,
md whose J aIh has been smooth.
Alr, no
/ once went through an AK factory,
md | saw th,'m tax. tn. bars of iron
nd thrust them into the terrible fur
gees. Then b .>weated work men with
long toags stirred the blaze. Then
they hrou rht out bar of iron and put
it in crushing machine. and then
they put it between jaws that bit it in
twain. Then they put it Oh an anvil,
and there were great hammers swung
by machinery-each one half a ton
in weight-that went thump. thumpi
thump! If that iron could have spoken
it would have said: why all this
beating? Why must l be pounded any
more than any other iron? The
workman would have said: We want
to make axes out of you-keen, sharp
aXes-aXes with which to hcw down
the forest, and build the ship, and
erect houses, and carry on n thousand
enterprises of civilization. That is
the reason we pound YOU" Now, God
puts a soul into the furnace of trial,
and then it is brought out and run
through the crushing machine, and
it comes down on the anvil and upon
it, blow after blow, blow after blow,
until the soul cries out: 20, Lord what
does all this mean?' God says: Il
| want to make something very useful
out OF you. You shall be something
to hcw with and something to build
| with. tits practical process through
which l am putting you" Yes, my
| Christian friends. we want more tools
in the church of God; not more wedges
to split with. We have enough of
these. Not more bores with which to-
drill. We have too many borcs. What
we really want is keen, sharp,
wcll-tempered AXIS and ii there
| be any other way of making them
than in the hot furnace, and on the
hard anvil, AMI under the heavy ham
mcr, do not know what it is Re-
member that if God brings any kind of
chastisement upon you. it is only to
make you use .ul. Do not sit down dis
couraged and say: Il have no more
reason for living. L wish | were dead. :"
Oh, there never was SO much reason
for your living as now! Hy this or
deal You have been eonsecrated q
priest of the most high God. Go out
and do your whole work for the Mas
! ter,
Again, there is comfort in tn,
thought that all our troubles are a rev.
citation. Have you ever thought of it
in that connection? The man who has
nevrr been through chaStis .ment is ir-
nOrant about thousand things in his
soul he ought to know. For instance,
here is a man who prides himself on
his cheerfulness of character. He
has no patience with anybody who
is depressed in spirits. Oh, il is
easy for him to be cheerful, with
his fine house, his filed wardrobe,
and well strung instruments of music,
and tapestried parlor, and plenty OF
money in the bank waiting for soma
permanent investment. 1t is easy for
him to be cheerful. But suppose his
fortune goes to pieces, ard his house
goes down under the sheriff's ham.
mer, and the banks will not have
anything to do with his paper. Sup
pose those people who were once ele-
gantly entertained at his table get so
short-sighted that they can not recog-
nize him upon the street. How then?
Is it so easy to be cheerful? 1t is easy
to be cheerful in the home, after the
days work is done, and the gas is
turned on, and the house is full of
romping little ones. But suppose the
piano is shut because the fingers that
played on it will no more touch the
keys, and the childish voice that
asked so many questions will ask
no more. Then is it SO easy?
When a man wakes up and finds that
mis- resources are all gone he begins
to rebel, and he says: God is hard:
God is outrageous. He had no bust.
ness to do this to me-" My friends
those of us who have been through
trouble known what sinful and re-
belliOus heart we have. and how much
God has to put up with, and how much
We need pardon. 1t is only in the ligh,
of flaming furn ace that we car
learn our own weak ness and our OWL
lack of moral resource.