The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1898-05-05

2JA inga. The text Il
~<>2 Jobxxxvii, 81, "Ant
now nen zee NO,
the bright light which il In the clouds.
Wind east. Barometer falling. Storm
signals out. Ship reefing maintopsail
Awning taken In. Phophecies Of fou
weather everywhere. The clouds con
gregate around the sun. proposing L
abolish him. But after awhile he sssailI
the banks Of the clouds with flying ar:
tillery Of light. and here and there Il
. sign OF clearing weather. Many dit
not observe It. Many do not realise It
And now men see not the bright ligh
which 10 In the clouds" In other words
there are 100 men looking for sunshine
My object will be to get you and my
self into the delightful habit Of making
the best of everything.
You may have wondered at the sta
tistics that In India in the year 1871
there were over $1,000 people slain b,
wild beasts, and that In the year 1871
there were In India over 10000 people
destroyed by wild animals. But there
10 q monster in our own land which I,
year by year destroying more thar
that. 1t Is the old bear OF melancholy
and with gospel weapons ! propose Il
chase It back to Its midnight caverns
mean to do two sums-a sum In sub
traction and 4 sum In addition-a sub
traction from your days Of depression
and an addition to your days Of jC\
II God will help me. will compel you
to see the bright light that there is ir
the clouds and compel you to make the
best Of everything.
In the first place, you ought to make
fortunes. During the panic few year,
ago you all lost money. Some Of yol
lost 1t In most unaccountable ways. Fol
the question Of how many thousands
of dollars shall put aside this year,
you substituted the question, How
shall l pay my butcher and baker and
clothier and landlord?" You had thu
sensation OF rowing hard with two oar.
and yet all the time going down stream
You did not say much about It be-
cause 1t was not polite to speak much
Of financial embarrassment, but YOU
wife knew. Less variety Of wardrobe
more economy at the table. self denia
in art and tapestry. Compression, re-
trenchment. Who did not feel the ne
cessity of It? My friend, did you make
the best of this? Are you aware o
how narrow an escape you made? Sup
pose you had reached the fortune to-
ward which you were rapidly going
What then? You would have been a.
proud as Lucifer.
How many men have succeeded large
ly in financial sense and yet main
tained their simplicity and religious
conservation Not one man out of 100
There are glorious exceptions, but tn
general rule Is that in proportion as
man gets well off for this world he get
poorly off for the next. He loses hi
sense of dependence on God. He gets
distaste for prayer meetings. witt
plenty of bank stocks and plenty o
Government securities, what does tha
man know of the prayer, Give me thi
day my daily bread?" How few mel
largely successful in this world ar
bringing souls to Christ or shown,
self denial for others or are eminent 70
piety? You can count them all upoi
your eight fingers and two thumbs.
One of the old covetous souls, whel
he was sick and sick unto death, use'
to have basin brought in. basil
filled with gold, and his only amuse
ment and the only relief he got for hi
inflammed hands was running then
down through the gold and turning
up IN the basin. Oh, what infatuatiol
and what destroying power money ha
for many a man! Now, you We're sail
ing at thirty knots. the hour towar'
these vortices OF worldliness-what
mercy 1t was, that honest defalcation
The same divine hand that crushed
your storehouse, your bank, your office
your insurance company. lifted you ou
Of destruction. The day you honestl
suspended in business made your for
tune In eternity.
"Oh." you say, II could get alon
very we'll myself but I am 30 disap
pointed that I cannot leave a cOmpe
tence for my children" My brother
the same financial misfortune that
going to save your soul will save you
children. With the anticipation Of larg
fortune, how much industry would you
children have. without which habit o
industry there is no safety? The youn
man would say. well. there's no nee
Of my working. My father will 500
step out. and then I'll have just wha
I want" You cannot hide from hin
how much you are worth. You thin
you are hiding 1t. He knows all abou
II. He can tell you almost to a dollar
Perhaps he has been to the county of
fee and searched the records Of deed
and mortgages, and he has added 1t al
up. and he has made an estimate o
how long you will probably stay 4
this world. and IL not az much wor
ried about YOUR rheumatism and short