Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-01-19


substitute.
down in a cu.neI the stranger was still
more alarmed After awhile the man OF
the house whispered With his wife, ana
the stranger Thought his destruction was
being planned Then the man Of the
house came forward apd said to the stran
ger: stranger, we are "a rough and rude
people out here and we work hard for
living. We make our living by hunting
and when we come to the nightfall we are
tired and we are apt to go to bed early
and before retiring we are always in the
habit of reading a chapter from the word
of God and making prayer If you don't
like such things, if you will just step out
side the door until we get through, III be
greatly obliged to you" OF course the
stranger tarried In the room, and the old
hunter took hold of the horns of the altar
and brought down the blessing Of God
upon his household and upon the stranger
within their gates Rude but glorious
Christian hospitality!
The Joys of the Minister.
Again, this woman of my text was great
In her kindness toward Gods messenger.
Elisha may have been stranger In that
household, but as she found out he had
come on divine mission he was cordially
welcomed. We have great many books
in our day about the hardships OF minis
tiers and the trials Of Christian ministers.
l wish somebody would write book about
the joys of the Christian minister, about
the sympathies all around about him,
| about the kindness, about the genial con-
| siderations Of him. Does sorrow come to
our home, and is there q shadow on the
cradle, there are hundreds OF hands tC
help, and many who weary not through
the night watching and hundreds OF
prayers going up that God would restore
the sick. Is there burning brimminp
cup Of calamity placed on the pastors ia
BILE? Are there not many to help him drink
of that cup and who will not be comfortcd
because he is stricken? Oh, for somebody
| to write book about the rewards of the
| Christian ministry-about his surround
| ings Of Christian sympathy!
| This woman of the text was only type
| of thousands of men and women who come
down from mansion and from cot to dc
kindness to the Lords servants. could
tell you of something that you might think
a romance, A young man graduated from
New Brunswick Theological seminary wa
called to village church. He had not thu
means to furnish the parsonage. Aftel
three or four weeks of preaching a com
mittee of the officers of the church waitct
on him and told him he looked tired ant
thought he had better take vacation of
few days. The young pastor took it as al
| intimation that his work was done or no
acceptable He took tho vacation, and n
the end of few days came back, when al
old elder said: Here Is the key of tn
parsonage, We have been cleaning 1t up
You had better go up and look at It,. s.
the young pastor took the key, went up t,
the parsonage, opened the door, and lo l
was carpcted and there was the hatracl
all ready for the canes and the umbrella
and the overcoats, and on the left hand o
the hall was the parlor, sofaed chaircd
pictured He passed on to the other side O
the hall, and there was the study table il
the center of the floor with stationery upol
It, book shelves built, long ranges of ncy
volumes, far beyond the reach of the mean
Of the young pastor many Of these vol
umes. Tho young pastor went up stair
and found all the sleeping apartments fun
nished, came down stairs and entered til
pantry, and there were the spices and tn
| coffees and the sugars and the grocere
, for six months He went down into tn
, cellar, and there was the coal for a
, the coming winter. He went into the dir
ing hall, and there was the table alread
set--ths glass and the silver ware. He wcr
! into the kitchen, and there were all tn
culinary implements and great stov,
The young pastor lifted one lid of the stoy
and he found the fuel all ready for ign
ton. Putting back the cover of the stove
: he saw in another part Of 1t lucifC
match, and all that young man had to d
, In starting to keep house was to strike ii
+, match. You tell me that is apocrypha
=, Oh, mol that was my own experience
Oh, the kindnesses, OH the enlarged syn
, pathies sometimes clustering around thor
who enter the gospel ministry. suppo
the man of ShuneIn had to pay the bill
, but it was the large hearted Christian w
man of Shunem that looked after Il
Lord s messenger.
Great Even In Trouble.
Again, this woman Of the text W,
great in her behavior under trouble, II
only son had died on her lap. A vel
bright light went out in that household
The sacred writer puts 1t very tersc
when he says, "He sat on her knee unit
noon and then he died" Yet the writ
goes on to say that she exclaimed, 1T
wcll!' Great in prosperity, this woms
was great In trouble.
Where are tho feet that have not bct
blistered on the hot sands Of this great 5
1 hara? Where are the soldiers that have IL
bent under the burden of grief Where
. the ship sailing over CLASSY sea that h
not after awhile been caught in a cyclon
: Where is the garden Of earthly comic
but trouble hath hitched up its fiery al
painting team and gone through 1t wi
burning plowsharc of disaster? Under t
pelting OF ages Of suffering the great hea
. of the world has burst with woe. Nav
II gators tell us about the rivers and t
Amazon and the Danube and the Miss
sppi have been explored, but who CT
tell the depth or the length OF the gre
river of sorrow, made up of tears al
NJ blood, rolling through all lands and I
ages, bearing the wreck Of families and
communities and Of empires, foamin