The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-05-23
not give them aqusfortis when they need

| AcCtuTC tuC HdtuIC VI u buoWhdhcy 4,
never saw snowflake, and those people
who have always lived in the summer OF
prosperity cannot talk to those who. are
frozen In disaster. God keeps aged people
in the world, think, for this very work
of sympathy. They have been through all
these trials. They know all that which
irritates and all that which soothes. II
there are men and women here who have
old people in the house or near at hand,
SO that they can easily reach them, con-
graduate you. Some Of us have had trials
in life, and although we have had many
friends around about us We have wished
that father and mother were still alive
that we might go and tell them. Perhaps
they could not say much, but it would
have been such a comfort to have them
around. These aged ones who have been
all through the trials of life know how to
give coincidence. Cherish them; let they
lean on your arm, these aged people. If
| when you speak to them they cannot hear
just what you say the first time, and you
| have to say it second time, when you
say 1t a second time do not say it sharply
If you do, you will be sorry for it on the
day when you take the last look and brush
back the silvery locks from the wrinkled
brow just before they screw the lid on.
Blessed be God for the old peoplel They
may not have much strength to go around,
but they are Gods appointed ministers Of
comfort to broken heart.
People who have not had trials them
selves cannot give comfort to others. They
may talk very beautifully, and they may
give you great deal of poetic sentiment;
but, while poetry is perfume that smells
sweet it makes very poor salye. II you
have a grave in pathway, and somebody
comes and covers 1t all over with flowers,
it is grave yet. Those who have not had
grief themselves know not the mystery of
d broken heart. They know not the
meaning Of childlessness, and the having
no one to put to bed at night or the stand
ing in a room where every book and pic
ture and door is full of memories-the
doormat where she sat, the cup out Of
which she drank, the place where she stood
at the door and clapped her hands, the odd
figures that she scrubbed, the blocks she
built into house. All, no, you must
have trouble yourself before you can COM
fort trouble in others. But come all ye
who have been bereft and ye who have
pSSA SOlIllol SN Ill JouE bUEEOWo buu blttLu
around these afflicted souls and say to
them: II had that very sorrow myself
God comforted me, and he will comfort
you" And that will 20 right to the spot
In other words, to comfort Others we must
have faith in God, practical experience
and good, sound common sense.
But there are three or four considera-
tions that I will bring to those who are
sorrowful and distressed and that we can
always bring to them, knowing that they
will effect a cure. And the first consider
alton Is that God sends our troubles in
love- often hear people in their troubles
say, "Why, wonder what God has against
me?" They seem to think God has somo
grudge against them because trouble and
misfortune have come. Oh, mol Do you
not remember that passage Of Scripture,
"Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth2"
A child comes in with very bad splinter
In Its hand, and you try to extract 1t. 1t
Is very painful operation. The child
draws back from you, but you persist.
You are going to take that splinter out, SO
you take the child with gentle but firm
grasp, for although there may be pain in
1t the splinter must come out. And it is
love that dictates it and makes you persist
My friends,sI really think that nearly all
our sorrows in this world are only the
hand of our Father extracting some thorn.
II all these sorrows were sent by enemies
I would say arm yourselves against them
and as in tropical chimes when tiger
comes down from the mountains and car
ries off a child from the village the neigh
bors band together and go into the forest
and hunt the monster so I would have
you, II thought these misfortunes were
sent by an enemy, go out and battle
against them. But no, they come from
Father 80 kind, SO loving, SO gentle that
the prophet, speaking of his tenderness and
mccoy, drops the idea of q father and says,
GAS one whom his mother comforteth, so |
will comfort you"
Comfort In Usefulness.
Again, remark there Is comfort in the
thought that God by all this process is 60
ing to make you useful Do you know
that those who accomplish the most for
God and heaven have all been under the
harrow Show me man that has done
anything for Christ in this day in public
or private place who has had no trouble
and whose path has been smooth All, no!
l once went through an ak factory and
saw them take the bars of iron and
thrust them into the terrible furnaces.
Then besweated workmen with long tongs
stirse the blaze. Then they brought out
bar of iron and put it in crushing ma
chine, and then they put it between jaws
that bit it in twain. Then they put it on
an anvil, and there were great hammers
swung by machinery-each one half ton
in weight-that went thump, thump,
thump! If that iron could have spoken, it
would have said: why all this beating?
Why must I be pounded any moro than
any other iron2" The workmen would
have said, 1--WE want to make axes out of
you, keen, sharp axes axes with which to
hew down the forest and build the ship
and erect houses and carry on thousand
enterprises of civilization. That Is the
reason we pound you"
Now, God puts q soul into the furnace
If trial, and then 1t is brought out and
run through the crushing machine, and
hen it comes down on the anvil and upon
It, blow after blow, blow after blow, until
The soul cries out, 80 Lord, what does all
his mean?" God says: II want to make
very useful out of you You
'hall be something to hcw with and some
hing to build with. 1t is a practical proc
'ss through which I am putting you"
Yes, my Christian friends, we want more
ools in the church of God; not more !
wedges to split with. We have enough of
hese Not more bores with which to
lrill. We have too many hores What we
eally want is keen, sharp, well tempered ..
xes, and If there be any other way of
making them than in the hot furnace, and Q
n the hard anvil, and under the heavy |!
ammer, do not know what it is Re- D
member that if God brings any kind of +,
hastisement upon you it is only to make g
on useful. Do not sit down discouraged
nd say: II have no more reason for liv- >
lg. I wish l were dead" Oh, there never II
'as SO much reason for your living as q
ow! BY this ordeal you have been con- "
scrated priest Of the most high God. Il
o out and do your whole work for the 7,
[aster.
Again, there is comfort in the thought u
nat all our troubles are revelation. 's
ave you ever thought Of it in that con. d
ection? The man who has never been ;c
trough chastisement is ignorant about "
lousand things in his soul he ought to :,
now. For instance, hero is man who :,