Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1899-10-19

to make painting; II will take nifty
thousand of these touches" And
want you, my friends, to understand
that 1t is these ten thousand annoy
ances which, under God, are making
up the picture of your life. to be hung
ct last in the galleries Of heaven, fit
for angels to look at God knows how
10 make picture.
go into a sculptor's studio and see
him shaping statue. He has a chisel
in one hand and mallet in the other,
and he gives very gentle stroke
click, click, click! l say, why don't
you strike harder?" "Oh." he replies,
that would shatter the statue. l
can't do 1t that way; l must do 1t this
way" So he works on, and after a
| while the features come out, and
| everybody that enters the studio is
charmed and fascinated. Well, God
has your soul under process of develop
ment, and it is the little annoyances
and vexations of life that are chiseling
out your immortal nature. 1t is click.
| click, click! / wonder why some great
! providence does not come. and with
one stroke prepare you for heaven.
All, no; God says that is not the way.
| And so he keeps on by strokes of lit
tie vexations, until at last you shall
be glad spectacle for angels and for
men.
You know that a large fortune may
be spent in small change, and vast
amount Of moral character may go
away In small depletions. 1t is the lit
tie troubles of life that are having
| more effect upon you than great ones
| A swarm of locusts will kill grain
field sooner than the incursion of three
or four cattle. You say, Since / lost
my child, since l lost my property, |
have been different man." But you
| do not recognize the architecture of
little annoyances, that are hewing
digging, cutting, shaping, splitting and
interjoining your moral qualities.
Rats may sink ship. One lucifer
match may send destruction through
block of store-houses. Catherine de
Medicis got her death from smelling
a poisonous rose. Columbus, by stop
ping and asking for a piece of bread
| convent, was led to the discovery OF a
new world. And there is an intimate
| connection between trifies and i'm
mensities, between nothings and
everythings.
Now, be careful to let none Of those
| annoyances go through your soul I'M
arraigned. Compel them to admins
ter to your spiritual wealth. The
scratch of a six-penny nail sometimes
produces lockjaw, and the clip OF a
most infnitesimal annoyance may
damage you forever. Do not let any
annoyance or perplexity come across
your soul without it's making you bet
ter.
Our national government, when 1t
wanted money, did not think it belit-
Ting to put tax on pins, and a tax
| on buckles, and tax on shoes. The
| individual taxes do not amount to
much, but in the aggregate to millions
and millions of dollars. And | would
have you, o, Christian man, put high
tariff on every annoyance and vexation
that comes through your soul. This
might not amount to much, in single
cases, but in the aggregate it would be
a great revenue of spiritual strength
| and satisfaction. A bee can suck
| honey even out of a nettle; and If you
have the grace of God in your heart
you can get sweetness out of that
which would otherwise irritate and
annoy.
A returned missionary told me that
a company of adventures rowing up
the Ganges were stung to death by flies
that infest that region at certain sea-
sons. The earth has been strewed
with the carcasses of men slain by in
sect annoyances. The only way to get
prepared for the great troubles Of life
is to conquer these small troubles.
What would you say of a soldier who
refused to load his gun, or to go into
the conflict because it was only
skirmish, saying, II am not going to
expend my ammunition on a skirmish
wait till there comes a general en-
gagement, and then you will see how
courageous ! am, and what battling |
will dol" The general would say to
such a man, IF you are not faithful in
a skirmish, you would be nothing in a
general engagement" And / have to
tell you, o, Christian men, if you can
not apply the principles of Christ's re-
ligion on small scale, you will never
be able to apply them on a large scale.
If | had my way with You / would
have you possess all possible worldly
prosperity. / would have you each
a., In n
it, geraniums and shrubs on the sides.
and the grass and flowers as beautiful
as though the rainbow had fallen.
would have you house, a splendid
mansion, and the beds should be COW
cred with upholstery dipped in the set
ting sun. l would have every hall in
your house set with statues and stat
uettes, and then | would have the four
quarters of the globe pour in all their
luxuries on your table, and you should
have forks Of silver and knives of gold,
inlaid with diamonds and amethysts.
Then you should each one of you have
the finest horses, and your pick Of the
equipages of the world. Then l would
have you live hundred and fifty
years. and you should not have pain
or ache until the last breath.
Not each one of us?" you say. Yes;
each one of you. Not to your enc
mies?" Yes; the only difference l
would make with them would be that
would put little extra gilt on their
walls, and little extra embroidery on
their slippers. But, you say, why
does not God give us all these things?"
hotb wi 10 &c uic