Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1899-01-29

| De IL part VI lu6 ledNeDlnB IOTCe WneTe-
by infinite love assures the coming Of
that "far off divine event"
believe in law and in its integrity.
The lawless must become law abiding
or endure the consequences Of their
violations. A man cannot indulge in
drunken debauch and escape the con-
sequent physical and moral degreda-
ton. The penalty must be paid, and
he, the violator of law, must pay It,.
Not until he is law abiding can he es-
cape the penalty attached to law. But
love is sovereign and law is servant.
Where sin abounded, grace did abound
more exceedingly" In other words,
God is love and infinite and the wound
in the worlds heart will be healed.
Life will triumph over death and
righteousness over wrong. You may
hear a discordant note now; but wait
until the symphony is perfected. Then
am sure the counter point will
appear and the harmony will be COM
plete. The law of compensation is
steadfast, and for every sorrow, for ev-
cry bitter disappointment, every be-
reavement corresponding elevation of
character, deepening of sympathy or
other wise and desirable ends will ap-
pear. Sin is never righteousness; but
God is able to make the wrath of men
| N
thought
lii"That not worm is cloven IN vain;
II That not moth with vain desire
| Is shrivel'd in fruitess fire,
| Or but subserves another's gain" 20
evn then the harmony begins to be ap-
parent and that Divine event toward
which the whole creation moves" seems
nearer at hand. We can endure the
shriveling of the moth, once we see
that it is not in vain. But some of my
friends tell me that the trying exper-
fences of thir lives have hardening
effect, that they drive them away from
the Father in stead of drawing them
nearer to him. AYE, tits true tbs nifty
and pity It's, 'tis true" But wait a
year, perchance a decade. A short
time ago we were children, ,fretting un-
der the restraints and duties upon
which our parents insisted, imagining
sometimes that our hearts were being
hopelessly hardened and our whole
lives spoiled. And this only few
short years ago, but now, seeing that
our parents were wiser than ourselves
we thank them for remaining steadfast
in spite of our childish temper and ap-
peals. There was purpose in what
! they did too deep for our child minds
to fathom, but once that purpose was
revealed to our growing intelligence,
we saw that in essence the thing
which prompted them was love and
that their wisdom surpassed ours.
Some time in the future the deep, holy
and steadfast purposes of God will be-
come clear to us and when they do it
may be that we will render most sin
sere thanks for the very things of
which we now bitterly complain. In
the form of some great disappaoin
ment or deep grief, there may come in
to our lives a most trying experience;
| but let us remember the eXhortation of
| Jesus to his disciples and in patience
| possess our souls. Such experiences
are not punishments arbitrarily in
iicted upon u.s. but the result of the
operation of immutable law. God nev-
er killed a mothers child in order to
lash her into obedience to his will;
sad bereavement and use it as a dis
ciplianary and Transforming power.
John Bunyan was not forced to en-
list in the Parliamentary army, nor
was he afterwards thrown into Bed
ford jail in order to compel him to
write "Pfgrim's l'rogress," but that
both experiences were made to con-
tribute to that end nobody doubts
When we get far enough away from
our own bitter trials to study them
with reference to their moral as we'll
as material effects, their infinite rela-
tions and enduring fruits we will see
that they too have been been made to
serve in the working out of far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory
Meantime let faith rest securely upon
che eyrlasting sovereignty of that in
finite love whicn as the balm that will
ultimately heal the wound in the
worlds heart. ALFRED.