The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-09-12

the prophets of evil in our time are gener-
ally false prophets. Some of our weather
wise people prophesized we would have
summer of unparalleled heat 1t has been
a very comfortable summer Last fan
all the weather prophets agreed In saying
we should have q winter of extraordinary
severity, blizzard on the heels of blizzard.
1t was the mildest winter I ever remember
10 have passed. Indeed, the autumn and
the spring almost showed winter out of
the procession. Real troubles have no
heralds running ahead of their sombre
chariots. and no one has any authority in
our time 10 announce their coming. Load
yourself up with hopeful words and deeds.
The hymn once sung in our churches is
unfit to be sung, for it says:
I'VE should suspect some danger near.
Where we possess delight"
In other words, manage to keep mis-
cradle all the time. The old song sung
at the pianos a quarter of a century ago
was right Kind words can never die"
Such kind words have their nests in kind
hearts, and when they are Matched out
and take wing, they circle round in flights
that never cease, and sportsmans gun
cannot shoot them, and storms cannot
ruf1ie their wings, and when they cease
flight in these lower skies of earth they
sweep around amid the higher attitudes
of heaven. AT Baltimore, 1 talked into a
monograph. The cylinder containing the
words was sent on to Washington, ana
the next day that cylinder from another
Photographic instrument when turned.
gave back to me the very words l had
uttered the day before, and with the same
intonations. Scold into a photograph,
and ii will scold back Pour mild words
into a photograph and it will return the
gentleness. Society and the world and
the church are Photographs. Give them
acerbity and rough treatment, and acer-
bity and rough treatment you viii get
back. Give them practical friendliness,
and they will give back practical friendli-
ness A father asked his little daughter:
Mary, why is it that everybody loves
you?' She answered. Il don't know, I'M
less ii is because 1 love everybody" "A
man that hath friends must show himself
friendly"
We want something like that spirit of
sacrifice for others which was seen in the
English channel, where in the storm a
boat containing three men was upset, ana
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 refused to take it, saying First
fling it to Tom he is just ready TO go
down. l can last some time longer" A
man like that be he sailor or landsman,
be he in upper ranks of society or lower
ranks, will always have plenty of friends.
What is true MAYNARD is true Godward
We must be the friends of God if we
want him to be our friend. We cannot
treat Christ badly all our lives and expect
him to treat us lovingly. l was reading
of a sea fight, in which Lord Nelson
captured a French officer, and when the
French officer offered Lord Nelson his
hand Nelson replied, First give me your
sword, and~ then give me your hand"
Surrender of our resistance to God must
precede Gods proffer of pardon to us.
Repentance before forgiveness. You must
give up your rebellious sword before you
can get a grasp of the Divine hand.
Oh, what a glorious state of things to
have the friendship of Cod Why, we
could afford to have all the world against
US and all other worlds against US il we
had God for us. He could in a minute
blot out this universe, and in another
minute make a better universe. l have
no idea that God tried hard when lie
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 frontiersman strikes a
spark, so out of one word God struck the
monday sun. For the making of the
present universe 1 do not read that God
lifted so much as a finger. The Bible
frequently speaks of Gods hand and
Gods arm and Gods shoulder and Gods
foot; then suppose he should put hand
and arm and shoulder and foot to utmost
tension, what could he not make? That
God of such demonstrated and unde-
monstrated strength, you may have for
your present and everlasting friend not
a stately and reticent friend, hard to get
at, but as approachable as a country
mansion on a summer day, when all the
doors and windows are wide open. Christ
said, Il am the door" And he is a wide
door, high door, a palace door, an al
ways open door.
My 4-year-old child got hurt and did not
~ hours "
came home, and then she burst into
weeping, and some of the domestics, not
understanding human nature, said to her,
| why did you not cry befOre?" She an
swered: There was no one to cry to.
Now l have to tell you that while human
sympathy may be absent. Divine SYM
pathy is always accessible. Give God
your love, and get his love; your service,
and secure His help; your repentance. and
have His pardon. God a friend? Why,
that means all your wounds medcated,
all your sorrows soothed, and If some
sudden catastrophe should hurl you out
of earth it would only hurl you into
heaven.
If God is your friend. you cannot go
out of the world too quickly or suddenly,
so far as your own happiness is con-
cerned. There were two Christians who
| entered heaven; the one was standing at
| a window in perfect health, watching a
shower. and the lightning instantly slew
him; but the lightning did not flash down
the sky as swiftly his spirit flashed
! upward. The Christian man who died
| on the same day next door had been for
| a year or two falling in health, and for
/ the last three months had suffered from
! disease that made the nights sleepless
| and the days an anguish. Do you not
/ really think that the case of the one who
! went instantly was more desirable than
the one who entered The shining gate
! through a long lane of insomnia and con-
| gestion? In the one case it was like your
| standing YEARLY at a door, knocking and
waiting, and wondering if it will ever
! open, and knocking and waiting again.
| while in the other case it was a swinging
open of the door at the first touch of your
! knuckle. Give your friendship to God
/ end have Gods friendship for you, and
| even the worst accident will be a victory
How refreshing is human friendship:
! and true friends, what priceless treasures!