The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-10-20
SMALL ~ANNOYANCES.
Or. TALMAGE SAYS THEY ARE lNFLlCT-
ED FOR A PURPOSE.
We should Strive to Overcome the
Troubles of Life With the Help of
Gods Grace Petty Grievances Be-
come Blessings.

with a SuDJ6CU WHICH dFpSdIS 70 ali
classes and conditions Of men. His
text is Deuteronomy vii, 20, The Lord
thy God will send the hornet"
It seems as if the insedtile world
were determined TO expirate nhe hu-
man race. 1T bombards the grainfields
and the orchards and the vineyards,
The Colorado beetle, the Nebraska
~grasshopper, the New Jersey locust,
the universal potato beetle, seem to
carry on the work which was begun
ages ago when the insects buzzed out
of Noah's ark as the door was opened.
In my text the hornet flies out On it's
. mission. 1T is a species Of wasp, swift
in its motion and violent in ts sting.
It's touch is torture to man or beast.
We have all seen the cattle run below
ing under the cut Of it's lancet. In boy
hood we used to stand cautiously look
ing at the globular nest hung from the
tree branch, and while we were look
ing at the wonderful covering we We're
struck with something that sent US
shrieking away. The hornet goes in
swarms. 1t has captains over hun
1dreds, ard 20 Of them alighting on one
man will produce certain death.
The Persians attempted to conquer a
J Christian city, but the elephants and
JUe beasts on WHICH iU1e TSTSldHS TOUe
were assaulted by the hornet, so that
the whole army was broken up and the
besieged city was rescued. This burn
ing and anxious insect Stung out the
Hittftes and the Canaanites from their
country. What cleaning sword and
chariot of war could not accomplish
was done by the p%uncture of an insect.
1.-THE Lord sent the hornet"
My friends when we are assaulted by
great behemOthS of trouble We become
chivaIric, and we assault them. We
get OIL the high mettled Steed of our
courage, and we make a cavalry charge
at them, and if God be with US we
come out stronger and better han
when we went in. But alas for these
inSectile nnOyanceS of life, these foes
too small ito shoot, these things with
out any a~voirdupois weight, the gnats
n the midges and the flies and the
wasps and the hornets! In other
wards it is the small, singing annoy
ances Of our life which drive us out
and use us Up. In the best conditioned
life for some grand and glorious pur-
pose God has sent the hornet.
HUMANITY OVERWORKED
1 remark, in the first place, that these
small, stinging annboyances may come
in the shape of a nervous organization.
People who are Frustrated under ty-
phoid fevers or with broken bones get
plenty of sympathy, but who pftieS
anybody that is nervous? The doctors
say and the family say and everybody
avs "Oh she's only a little nervous
that's ALL" The sound of a heavy foot,
the harsh clearing of a throat, a dis
cord in music, a want of harmony be
tween the shawl and tine glove on the
same person, "a cut answer, a passing
slight, the wind from the east any one
7 of ten thousand a~nnoyances, opens the
door for the hornet. The fact is that
the vast majority of the people in this
country are Overworked, and their
nerves are the first to give out. A
great multitude are Under the strain of
Leyden who when he was told by his
physician that if he did not stop work
ing while he was in such poor physical
health he would die, responded, Doc
tor, whether I live or die. the wheel
must keep going round" These sensi-
tive persons of whom / speak have a
bleeding constituencies. The flies owe
to light on anything raw, and these
people are like the Canaanites spoken
of in the text or in the c~ontext-they
have 81 very thin covering and are vul-
nerable at all points. "And the Lord
sent the hornet"
Again, the small insect
may come Ito us in the shape of friends
and acquaintance who are always say
ing disagreeable things. There are
some people you cannot be with fol
half am hour but you feel cheered anG
comforted. Then there are other peo-
Pile o cannot be with for five minutes
before you feel miserable. They do no
mean to disturb you, but they stins
you to the bone. They gather up al
the yarn which the gossips spin anC
retail it. They gather up all the aid
verse criticisms. about your person
about your business, about your home
about your church. and they make you,
49, H. ---z 49, II: -
They laugh heartily when they tel
you, as though it were a good joke, ant
you laugh, tOO-outside.
JOBS CoMFoRTERs.
These people are brought to our at
tention in the Bible. in the book o
Ruth. Naomi went forth. beautifu
and with the finest OF worldly pros
Il pects,, into another land, but afte
Aawhile she came back widowed an,
? sick and poor WHAT did her friend
do when she came to the city? The,
all went out, and, instead Of giving he
common sense consolation what di
they do? Read the book of Ruth an,
find out. They threw up their hand
and said. rs this Naomf?" as much a
to say, How awful bad you do lookl
When I entered the ministry, / locke
very pale for years, and every yeal
for four or five years, many times
yCdI L Was dShGu IL l. Idu lOt COIl
sumption, and, passing through tin
room, / would sometimes hear peopl
sigh and say, "A-ah not long for thi
world" I resolved in those times tina
[ never in any conversation would sa
anything depressing, and by the hel
of God I have kept the resolution
These people of whom I speak rea
and bind in the great harvest field {
encouragement. Some day you gree
them with a hilarious Good morning,
and they come buzzing at you wit
some depressing information. eth
Lord sent the hornet"
1t is astonishing how some Peep
prefer to write and to say disagreeab
things. That was the case when Her
ry NJ. Stanley returned after his mas
nificent exploit of finding David Lily
ingston. When Mr.. Stanley stood b.
fore the servants Of Europe and man
of the small cities Of the day, undo
p%retense Of getting geographical il