The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1898-05-27

private place, who has had no trouble.
aud whose path has been smooth
All, no.
once went through an ax factory,
and | saw them take the bars of iron
and thrust them into the terrible fur.
naces. Then besweated workmen with
long tongs stirred the blaze Then
they brought out bar OF iron and put
IL la n crushing machine, and then
they put IL between jaws that bit IL in
twain. Then they put II on an. anvil,
and there were great hammers swung
by -machinery-each one half ten
in weight-that went thvmp! thumpi
thumpl IL that iron could have spoken
IL would have said why all this
beating? Why must I be pounded any
more than any other irou?" The
workman would have said. 1--WE want
to make axes out OF you-keen. sharp
axcs-axes with which to hew down
the forest, and build the ship, AMI
erect houses, and carry on a thousand
enterprises OF civilization. That 10
\ PMS : ooaf ints-the fuunske OF tr1sl,
aud tben IL IL brought out and run
through the crushing machine, and
, u 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- hew with and something to build
with. tits practical process through
which ] am putting you" Yes, my
Christian friends, we want more tools
in the church OF God; not more wedges
10 split with. We have enough OF
these. Not more bores with which to
driil. We have too many bores What
we really want is keen, sharp,
well.tempered axes, aud 10 there
be any other way of making them
than in the hot furnace. and on tho
hard anvil, and under the heavy ham.
mer, | do not know what IL is Re-
member that IL God brings any kind OF
chastisement upon You. II is only TO
make you useful DO not sit down dis.
couraged and say: II have no more
reason for living. | wish were dead. y
Oh, there never was so much reason
for your. living As nowl Ky this or
deal you have been consecrated a
priest OF the most high God Go out
and do your whole work for the Mas
ter.
Again. there is comfort in the
thought that all our troubles are a rev.
citation. Have you ever thought of it
in that connection? The man who has
never been through Establishment is ig-
norant about a thousand things in his
soul he ought TO know. For instance.
here is n man who prides himself on
his chcerfulness OF character. lie
has no patience with anybody who
is depressed in spirits Oh, il is
easy for him to he 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 some
permanent Investment II is easy for
him to be cheerful But suppose his
fortune goes to pieces, ard his house
goes down nader the Sherins ham.
mer, and the banks will not have
pose Nose rcSr,r ssso Wa: ss....s s.. -.s
gantly entertained at his table get 50
short-sighted that they can not recog-
nize him upon the street How then2
Is II SO easy 20 be cheerful? II is easy
to Ice 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 il 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 il SO easy?
When a man wakes up and finds that
his resources are all gone he begins
To rebel, and he says; tod is hard:
God is outrageous. lie had no bust
ness To do this TO me- My friends
those Of us who have been througi
trouble known what sinful and -
bellious heart we have, and how mus h
God has to put up with, and how mus h
we need pardon. 1t is only in the light
of flaming furn ace that we can
learn our own weakness and our own
lack OF moral resource.