The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1899-10-11

| lamity. Instead of the thunderbolt give
us the hornet. If you have a bank you
| would a great deal rather that fifty men
would come in with checks less than 500
| than to have two depositors come in the
same day, each wanting his $4,000. In
| this latter case you cough and look down
! to the floor and you look up to the ceiling
| before you look into the safe. Now my
| friends, would you not rather have these
| small drafts of annoyance on your bank
| of faith than some all staggering demand
| upon your endurance? But remember
| that little as well as great annoyances
| equally require you to trust in Christ for
succor and for deliverance from impa-
| thence and irritability ''Thou wilt keep
him in perfect peace whose mind is stay
| ed on thee"
| In the village of Hamelin, tradition
says, there was an invasion Of rats, and
| these small creatures almost devoured
| the town and threatened the lives of the
population; and the story is that piper
came out one day and played very
sweet tune, and all the vermin followed
him, followed him to the banks of the
Weser, and then he blew a blast, and
they dropped in and disappeared forever.
Or course, this is q fable, but | wish
could on the sweet flute of the Gospel
draw forth all the nibbling and burrow-
ing annoyances Of your life and play
them down into the depths forever.
"Oh," you say, If l only had the cir
cumstances of some well-to-dc man L
would be patient too" You might as
we'll say, eff it were not for this water,
l would SWIM" or, II could shoot this
gun if it were not for the cartridge"
When you stand chin deep in annoyanccs
is the time for you to swim out toward
the great headlands of Christian ataln-
ment, so as to know Christ and the
power Of his resurrection and to have
fellowship with his sufferings.''
Patience Is Required.
How many touches did Mr.. Church
give to his picture of "Cotopaxi" or his
Heart of the Andes?" 1 suppose about
$4,000 touches. l hear the canvas say
ing: ''Why do you keep me trembling
with that pencil so long? Why don't you
put it on in one dash? mo-" says Mr..
Church; II know how to make paint
ing. 1t will take $4,000 Of these touches"
And l want you, my friends, to under
stand that it Is these ten thousand an
noyances which, under God, are making
up the picture of your life, to be hung at
last in the galleries Of heaven, fit for an
gels to look at. God knows how to make
a picture.
You know that large fortune may be
spent in small change, and a vast amount
of moral character may go away in small
depletions. It is the little 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
l lost my child, since lost my property,
L have been a different man." But you
do not recognize the architecture of little
annoyances that the hewing, digging,
cutting, shaping, splitting and interJoin-
ing your moral qualities. Rats may sink
a ship. One lucifer match may send de-
struction through block of storehouses.
Catherine de- Medici got her death from
smelling poisonous rose. Columbus, by
stopping and asking for a piece Of bread
and drink of water at a Franciscan
convent, was led to the discovery of q
new world. And there is an intimate
connection between trifles and immensi-
ties, between nothings and everythings.
Now, be careful to let none Of those
annoyances go through your soul unar-
raigned. Compel them to administer to
your spiritual wealth. The scratch Of
sixpenny nail sometimes produces lock-
jaw, and the clip of most infnitesimal
annoyance may damage you forever. Do
rot let any annoyance or perplexity come
across your soul without its making you
better.
Conquer Small Things.
Our national government when it want
ed money did not think it belittling 70
put a tax ON pins and tax on buckles
and tax on shoes. The individual taxes
do not amount to much, but in the aggre-
gate to millions and millions of dollars.
And l 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
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 sweet
ness out of that which would otherwise
irritate and annoy.
A returned missionary told me that
company of adventures rowing I'D the
Ganges were stung to death by flies that
infest that region at certain seasons The
earth has been strewed with the car
cases Of men slain by insect annoyances.
The only way to get prepared for the
great troubles of life is to conquer these
small troubles. What would you say Of
soldier who refused to load his gun or to
go into the conflict because it was only a
skirmish, saying: II am not going to ex-
pend my ammunition on skirmish. Wait
until there comes a general enga cement,
and then you will see how courageous I
am and what battling I will do?' The
general would say to such man, eff you
are not faithful in a skirmish, you would
be nothing in general engagement"
And have to tell you, 0 Christian men,
If you cannot apply the principles Of
Christ's religion on small scale you will
never be able to apply them on larger
scale. God meant this world to be only
the yestibule Of heaven, that great gal
lery Of the universe toward which we are
aspiring. We must not have it too good
in this world, or we would want no
heaven.
POIycaru was condemned RI ho hurnod