The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1898-01-07

uleS OF the sea. WAT small creations
amounting to What vast aggregation,
Who, can estimate the ages betweeI
the time when the madrepores- laid the
foundation of the islands and the time
when the madrepores put on the cap
stone of completed work? 1t puzzle.
all the scientists to guess through how
many years the corallines were build
ing the Sandwich and Society island.
and the Marshall and Gilbert groups
But more slowly and wonderfully &C
Cumulative is grace in the heart. Yor
sometimes get discouraged because the
upbuilding by the soul does not go on
more rapidly. Why, you have all eter
nifty to build in! The little annoyances
of life are zoophite builders, and there
will be small layer on top of small
layer, and fossilized grief on the
top of fossiIized grief. Grace
does not go up rapidly in your soul,
but, blessed be God, it goes up. Ten
thousand million ages will not finish
you. You will never be finished. On
foreveri Up forever! Out of tile sea
of earthly disquietude will gradually
rise the reefs, the islands, the cohti-
nents, the hemispheres of grandeur
and glory. Men talk as though in this
life we only had time to build; but
what we build in this life, as compared
with what we shall build in the next
life, is as a striped shell to Australia.
You go into an architects study and
there you see the sketch Of temple,
the cornerstone of which has not yet
lott In
architectural sketch of what you will
be after eternity has wrought I'M
on you! What pillars of strength!
What affairs of supernal worship! What
pinnacles thrusting their glitter1ng
spikes into the sun that never setsl
You do not scold the corallines because
they can not build an island in a day.
Why should you scold yourself because
you can not complete temple of holt
ness for the heart in this short tife-
time? You tell me we do not amount
to much now, but try us after thou
sand million ages of hallelujah. Let
US hear the angels chant for a million
centuries. Give us an eternity with
God, and then see if we do not amount
to something. More slowly and
marvelously accumulative is the grace
in the soul than anything l can think
of. mo mention shall be made of
coral"
Lord, help US to learn that which
most of US are deficient in-patience.
If Thou canst take, through the sea-
millions of years to build
one bank of coral, ought we not to be
willing to do work through ten years
Or 80 years without complaint, without
restlessness, without chatting of spirit?
Patience with the erring; patience that
we can not have the millennium in
few weeks; patience with assault of
patience at what seems
slow fulf1llment of Bible promises; pa
.ience with physical ailments; pa
-ience under delays of Providence.
Grand, glorious, all-enduring, all
patience! Patience like
hat which my lately assembled friend,
DIR. Abel Stevens, describes when
writing of one of Wesley's preachers,
John Nelson, who, when man had
him put in prison by false charges,
md being for long time tormented
by his enemy, said: The Lord lifted
lp a standard when the anger was
coming on like flood, else l should
rave wrung his neck to the ground and
ct my foot upon it." Patience like
hat of Pericles, the AtheniaD states
nan, who, when a man pursued him to
lis own door, hurled at him epiGhets,
nd arriving there when it had be-
ONE dark, sent his servant with a
orch to light his enemy back to his
lone. Patience like that eulogized by
he Spanish proverb when it says:
i have lost the rings, blu t |
Iere are the fingers still"
'atience! The sweetest SUI
ar for the sOurest cup; the balance
Wheel for all mental and moral ma
hinery; the foot that treads into pla- |
idity stormiest lake; the bride for |
therwise rash tongues; the sublime |
Hence that conquers the boisterous |
nd blatant. Patience like that of the |
lost illuStrious example of all the ages
Jesus Christ; patient under betrayal; |
atient under the treatment of Pilates
yer and terminer; patient under the
xpectoratiOn of His assailants; patient
nder fagellatiOn; patient under the
harging spears of the Roman cavalry;
atient unto death. Under all exas-
erations employ it. Whatever comes,
land it; hold on; wait, bear up.
Take my hand again. and we will go
little further into this garden of the
"a, and we shall find that in proper
on as the climate is hot the coral is
ealthy. Draw two isOthermal lines
90 degrees north and south of the
luator, and you will find the favorite
ONE of the coral. Go to the hottest
art of the Pacific seas and you find
lie finest specimens of coral. Coral is
child Of the fire. But more wonder
lily do the heats and fires of trouble
ring out the jewels of the Christian
'ul. These are not the stalwart men
no are asleep on the shaded lawn, but
lose who are pounding amid the fur
aces. do not know of any other way
getting a thorough Christian charac-
r. l will show you a picture. Here
'e- a father and a mother 80 or 80 years
age, their family around them. tits
ibbath morning. They have prayers.
hey hear the children's catechism.
hev have prayers every day of the
eek. They are in humble circum-
ances. But, after awhile the wheel
fortune turns up, and the man gets
S $50, 600. Now he has prayers on the
lbbath and every day of the week, but
: has dropped the catechism. The
heel of fortune turns up again, and
gets his $50, 600. Now he has prayers
l Sabbath morning alone. The wheel
fortune keeps turning up, and he has
90, 600, and now he has prayers on
lbbath morning when he feels like 1T
Id there is no company. The wheel
fortune keeps on turning up, and
: has his 100000 and no prayers at
l. Fouf-leaf clover in pasture field ;
not so rare as family prayers in the
1uses of people who have more than
90, 900. But now the wheel of for