The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1898-03-11

sympathy for invalids; he calls them
coughing, wheeling nuisances. After
awhile sickness comes to him. lie
does not understand what God is going
to do with him. lie says: us the Lord
angry with me?" Oh, no. with the
shepherds crook he has been pulled
into better pastures. Here is happy
household circle. The parent does not
realize the truth that these children
are only loaned to him, and he forgets
from what source come his domestic
blessings. Sickness drops upon those
children aud death swoops upon a
little one. lie says: us God angry
with me?" No His shepherds crook
pulls him back into better pastures.
do not know what would have become
of us If it had not been for the shep-
herds crook. oh, the mercies of our
troublcs You take up apples and
plums from under the shade of the
trees and the very best fruits of Chris
tian character we find in the deep
shade of trouble.
When ! was on the steamer coming
across the ocean | got c'nder in my
eye, and several persons tried to- get it
out very gently, but it could not be
taken out in that way. l was told
that the engineer had a faculty in
such cases. | went TO him. lie put
his large, sooty hand on me. took
knife and wrapped the lid of the eye
around the knife. ! expected to be
hurt very much, but without any pain,
and instantly, he removed the cinder.
Oh, there come times in our Christian
lifewhen our spiritual vision is being
spoiled, and all gentle appliances fail.
Then there comes some giant trouble,
and, black-handed, lays hold of us and
removes that which would have ruined
our vision forever | will gather all
your joys together in one regiment of
ten companies, and | will put them
under Col. Joy. Then | will gather all
your sorrows together in one regiment
of ten companies and put them under
Col. Breakheart Then | will ask:
Which of these regiments has gained
for you the greatest spiritual victories?
Certainly that under Col. Breakheart
In the time of war, you may rcmem-
Der, at the south and north, the ques-
tion was whether the black troops
would fight: but when they were put
into the struggle on both sides they
did heroically. In the great day of
eternity it will be found that it was
not the white regiment of joys that
gained your greatest successes. but the
black troops of trouble, misfortune and
disaster. Where you have gained one
spiritual success from your prosperity.
you have gained ten spiritual successes
from your auvr,...--.
Next speak of the shepherds dogs
They watch the straying sheep, and
drive them back again. Every shep-
herd has his dog-from the nomads of
the Bible times down to the Scotch
herdsman watching his noclSs on the
Grampian hills. Oar shepherd en-
ploys the criticisms and prosecutions of
the world as His dogs, There are those,
you know, whose whole work it is to
watch the Inconsistencies of christians,
and bark at them lfone of Gods sheep
gets astray. the world bowls With
more avidity than shepherds dog
ever caught stray sheep by the Hanks
or logged it by the ears, worldlings
seize the Christian astray. 1t ought to
do us good TO know that we are thus
watched. 1t ought to put us on our
guard. They cannot bite us, if we
stay near the shepherd The sharp
knife of worldly assault will only trim
the vines until they produce better
grapes. The more you pound mar.
joram and rosemary, the sweeter they
smell. The more dogs take after you,
the quicker you will get to the gate.
You have noticed that different Hooks
of sheep have different marks upon
them; sometimes red mark, some
times blue mark, metimes straight
mark. and sometimes "A crooked mark.
The Lord our Shepherd has II mark for
His sheep. 1t is a red mark the mark
of the cross. blessed are they that
are prosecuted for righteousness sake,
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven"
There is no animal that struggles
more violently than II sheep when you
corner it to catch hold of it, Down in
the glen see group of men around
n lost sheep A plowman comes along
and selves the sheep, and tries to
pacify it; but it is more frightened
than ever. A miller comes along, puts
] uONU MS PIlHls anu cdTtSSeS lnt Sntep.
and it seems as if it would die of
fright. After awhile some one breaks
/ through the thicl<et He says, Let
me have the poor thing" lie comes
up and lays his arms around the sheep,
and it is Immediately quiet. Who is
the last man that comes? 1t is the
shepherd. All, my friends, be not
| afraid of the shepherds crook 1t is
never used on you, save in mercy, to
pull you back The hard, cold ceberg
of trouble will melt in the warm
.ss?eGiii of divine sympathy.
Furthermore, consider the snep-
herds pasture grounds. The old
shepherds used to take the sheep upon
the mountains in the summer, and
dwell in the valleys in the winter.
The sheep being out of doors perpetu-
ally, their wool was better than if
they had been kept in the hot atmos-
phere of the sheep-cot. Wells were