The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-09-23

it on the other, and, pressed together,
all the faculties Of the hand give en-
phasis to the s%alutation. Five sermons
in every healthy hand urge us to hand
shaking.
LOAD UP WITH KINDNESS.
Besides this, every day when you
start out, load yourself up with kind
thoughts, kind words, kind expressions
and kind greetings. When a man or
woman does well, tell him SO, tell her
so. If you meet some one who Is i'm
proved in health, and it is demonstrated
in girth and color, say: "How well you
look" But, if on the other hand, under
the wear n tear of life he appears
pale and exhausted, do not introduce
sanitary subjects, or say anything at
all about physical condition. In the
case Of your improved health, you have
by your words given another impulse
toward the robust and the jocund, while
in the case of the failing health you
have arrested the decline by your
silence, by which he concludes: If I
were really so badly off he would have
said something about it." We are all,
especially those of a nervous tempera-
ment. susceptible to kind words and dis
couraging words. Form a conspiracy
against US, and let ten men meet us at
certain points on u way over to bust
ness, and let each one say: How sick
you look!' though we should start out
we'll, after meeting the first and hearing
his depressing salute, we would begin
to examine our symptoms. After meet
ing the second gloomy accosting, we
would conclude we did not feel quite as
well as usual. After meeting the third,
our sensations would be dreadful, and
after meeting the fourth, unless we sus-
pected a conspiracy, we would go home
and go to bed, n the other six pessi-
mists would be a useless surplus of dis
couragement.
BE AN EZEKIEL.
Do not prophesy misfortune. If you
must be a prophet at all, be an Ezekiel,
and not a jeremiah. In ancient times
prophets who foretold evil were doing
right, for they were divinely directed;
out the prophets of evil in our time are
generally false prophets. Some of our
weatherwise people prophesied we
would have a summer of unparalleled
heat 1t has been a very comfortable
summer. Last fall all the weather
prophets agreed in saying we should
ity, blizzard on the heels of blizzard.
1t was the mildest winter I ever re-
member to have passed. Indeed, the
autumn and the spring almost showed
winter out of the procession. Real
troubles have nc heralds running ahead
of their sombre chariots, n no one
has any authority in our time to an
nounce their coming. Load yourself
up with hopeful words and deeds.
The hymn once ung in our churches
is unfit to be sung, for it says:
We should suspect some danger near,
Where we possess delight.
We want something like that spirit
in the English channel, where in the
storm a boa containing three men
was upset, and all three were in the
water struggling for their lives. A
boat came to their relief, and a rope
was thrown to one of them, and he re-
fused to take it, saying: First fling
it to Tom: he is just ready to go
down. I can last some time longer"
A man like that, be he sailor or lands
man, be he in upper ranks of society
or lower ranks, will always have plenty
of friends. What is true MAYNARD is
rue Godward. We must be the friends
of God if we want him to be u friend.
We cannot treat Christ badly all our
lives and expect him to treat us low
ingly.
GODS FRIENDSHIP.
Oh, what a glorious state of things to
have the friendship of God! Why, we
could afford to ave all h world
against us and all other worlds against
US if we had God for us. He could in a
minute blot out this universe. and In
another minute make a better universe.
I have no idea tina God tried had
when he made all things. The most
brilliant thing known to us is light,
and for the creation of that he only
used a word Of command. AS out Of
a flint a frontiersman strikes a spark,
so out of one word God struck the
MONDAY sum-. For the making of the
present universe I do not read that
GA 1;ff11 ca oorrnh oc a fin Oror Tho
bible frequently speaks of Gods hand
and Gods arm and Gods shoulder and
Gods foot; then suppose he should
put hand and arm n shoulder and
foot to utmost tension. what could he
not make? That God of such demon
strated and undemonstrated strength,
you may have for our present and
everlasting friend. not a stately and
reticent friend. hard to get at, but as
apprCachable as a country mansion on
a summer day, when all the doors and
windows are wide open. Christ said,
II am the door," And he is a wide
door, a high door, a palace door, an
always open dOor.
If God is your friend, you cannot GO
out of the world too quickly or sud
denly, SO far as your own happiness is
concerned. There were two Christians
who entered heaven; he one was stand
ing at a window in perfect health,
watching a shower, and the lightning
instantly slew him, but h lightning
did not flash down the sky as swiftly
as his spirit flashed upward. The Chris
tan man Who died on the same day
next door had been for a year or two
failing in health, and for h last three
months had suffered from a disease
that made the nights sleepless and the
days an anguish. Do you no really
think tina the case of the n who went
instantly was more desirable than the
one who entered a long lane of insomnia
and congestion? In the n case it was
like your standing YEARLY at a door,
knocking and waiting, and wondering
if it will ever open, and knocking and