Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1898-06-02

the street How then? Is it SO easy
&c De cheerful? 1t is easy to be cheer
full 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 1t will no
more touch the keys, and the childish
voice that asked so many questions
will ask no more. Then is 1t So easyp
When a man wakes up and finds that
his resources are all gone he begins to
rebel, and he says: God is hard; God
is outrageous. He had no business to
10 this to me-" My friends, those OF
US who have been through trouble
know what sinful and rebellious
heart we have, and how much God has
to put up with, and how much God
has to put up with, and how
much we need pardon. 1t is only
in the light of flaming furnace
that we can learn our own weakness
and our own lack Of moral resource.
once went through an AK factory,
and saw them take the bars of iron
and thrust them into the terrible
furnaces. Then besweatcd workmeu
with long tongs stirred the blaze,
Then they bought out n 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 on
an anvil, and there were great
hammers swung by machinery
each one half ton in weight
that went thump! thump! thump! Ii
that iron could have spoken it would
have said: why all this beating?
Why must be pounded any more than
any other iroup," The workman would
have said 1--WE want to make axes
out of you-keen, sharp axas-axes
with which to hew down the forest, and
build the ship, and erect houses, and
carry on thousand enterprises of civ
ilization. That is the reason we pound
YOU" Now, God puts soul in the fur
mace of trial, aud then it is brought out
and run through the crushing machine,
and then it comes down on the anvil,
and upon it, blow after blow, blow
after blow until the soul cries out:
"0h, Lord, what does all this mean?"
God says: II want to make something
very useful out of you. You
shall be something to hew with
and something to build with. 1t
is a 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 bores. What
we really want is keen, sharp, well.
tempered axes and if there be any 9TH
er way of making them in the hot fur
mace, and ON the hard anvil, and under
the neavy hammer,l do not know what
it is. Remember that if:God bring any
kind of chastisement upon you 1t is
only to make you useful. Do not sit
down discouraged and say: II have no
more reason for living. wish l were
dead" Ohio there never was SO much
reason for your living as nowl BY
this ordeal you have been consecrated
a priest of the most high God. Go out
and do your whole work for the Mas.
ter.
Oh, how much coincidence til ere is
in this thought! l expect to see my
kindred in Heaven-I expect to see
them just as certainly as l expect to go
home to-day. Aye, shall more Ger.
: tainly see them. Eight or ten will
come up from the graveyard back OF
Somerville, and one will come from
the mountains back of Annoy,
China, and another will come up
I tl,a nH Hot
and 80 will come up from Green.
wood; and shall know them better
than | ever knew them before. And
| your friends-they may be across the
sea, but the trump that sounds here
will sound there. You will come up
on just the same day. Some morning
you have oversight yourself, and you
open your eyes and see that the sun ID
! high in the heavens, and you say: 81
have oversight, and / must be up
and away" So you will open
your eyes on the morning of the
resurrection, in the full blaze of Gods
light, and you will say: Il must be up
and away" Oh, yes, you will come,
and there will be reunion, a recon.
struction of your family. / like what
Halliburton Il think it was)--good old
Mr.. Haliburton-said in his last mo.
ments: Il thank God that | ever lived,
and that | have father in Heaven,
| and a mother in Heaven, and | am now
going up to see them.
| remark once more: Our troubles
in this world are preparative for glory.
What transition it was for Paul
| from the slippery deck of laundering
ship To the CAIN presence OF Jesus!
! What transition it was for Latimer
! from the stake TO the throne! What a
| transition it was for Robert Hall
from insanity to glory What q
transition 1t was for Richard
I Baxter-from the dropsy to the
saints Everlasting Rest" And what
| a transition it will be for you-from a
world OF sorrow TO world of Joy.
| John Holland, when he was dying,
said: What means this brightness in
the room? Have you lighted the can.
! dles?" No" they replied, I'VE have
not lighted any candles. Then said