Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-09-17

for she has her beautiful babe upon her
arm. She turns her eyes for a moment
and the little child, chirping and cooling,
makes a sudden movement, and is out at
the window. 1t falls down on the pave
ment below and is picked up bleeding and
mangled-maimed for life. If you had
been the governor Of the world, with your
particular affections, with your attention
to the little, and the individual, you
would have interfered to save the child.
God could have done it, but that would
have been miracle-that would have been
to govern the world upon the principle Of
miracle But the law exists, and it must
act, in spite of everything. If the twelve
Apostles were walking upon a railroad
when the train was rushing along it
would go over them If they did not get
out of the way. You are to understand
then, that it is the general law. If we go
back to the question, why should things
be SO eonstituted?" we may ask further,
why should there be a world like this
at ALP" Enough for us, however, to know
that it is so. But we believe that along
with these general laws, there is a place
for prayer, there is a sphere for Cod 8
agency; but we are to remember that
there is a constant operation of these
laws. 1t could not be otherwise without
miracle, and it is better that we should
not be living under the reign of miracle,
that God should not be constantly interfer-
ing with the particular. If 1t were so,
we should never learn the lessons of man.
hood-never learn the lessons of self-gov-
eminent and self direction-never be
trained up into men, able to regulate our
selves, and to act on the principle of cal
culation and forethought. 1t is because
we are living under the constant operation
of general laws because we know what
the issue will be if we stand in the way,
| that we come to be what we are. If every
time we get into danger or trouble, there
was to be divine interposition-as an in
dulgent mother always comes in between
the child and the consequences of its
faults-we should never be anything.
g. Hence, we can understand the great
lesson of our own Lord, when He said to
those that told him of the Galileans,
! whose blood PLATE had mingled with their
sacrifices, Suppose we that they were
sinners above all the Galileans, because
they suffered such things? Or those
eighteen upon whom the tower in Sloan
fell and slew them, think We that they
were sinners above all men that dwelt in
jerusalem" No; they were standing
there when the tower fell, and they were
killed; it would have been the same
whether they were saints or sinners. We
are not to judge Of God as if the calami-
ties that happen to men were indications
of peculiar Divine sentiments, and were
judgments upon the individuals.
But these things may we'll teach us our
own littleness, and the necessity of humil-
ity, that we may have to adore where we
cannot comprehend. His judgments are
great Deep, which we cannot fathom
and yet when we look up, our religious
faith may help us to say, in the words
that Immediately precede these, 'Thy
righteousness is like the great noun
tains;" our consciousness of the rectitude
of God stands out like the mountains in
the sunlight, visible even in spite of this
dark tumultous ocean which we cannot
fathom. We are sure that there is a God
who rules and governs, whatever the mys-
teries that surround his operations
Hence you have religious faith You have
it in job when he says, Though He slay
me, yet will 1 trust Him" There Is the
childs heart uttering itself from beneath
the mans understanding. Though his I'M
derstanding was perplexed and baffled,
his faith remained firm. You hear 1t in
David. Was there ever anything sublimer
in this world than that little sentence Of
David, which may teach US to look at
distress, calamity and the terrible judg-
ments of God-"I was dumb, opened not
my mouth because Thou didst it ?" I cam
not comprehend 1t; If 1 were to open my
mouth at all I should speak foolishly. It
is to me q great deep and so I will be
dumb, for it is Cod Thou didst it. Ah
there is the sublmity of religious faith
the universe is not a machine. 1t is not
a number of wheels grinding out its re-
suits without feeling, without thought,
without purpose, and grinding me in the
midst of them. No. THOU--a personality
with feeling, forethought, purpose. my Fa-
ther-"Thou didst it." And / will wait
till the time comes when in Thy light
shall see light-shal know what / know
not now-and my mouth shall then be
opened with praise and alteration, because
Thou hast done all things we'll.
4. Let this truth also be impressed upon
us, that all duty involves sacrifice in one
form and another. There will be some-
| thing to be foregone. 1t is the law God
| has sent us into the world to do some
| thing, and to do 1t In danger, in peril, in
temptation, in trial and tears. This being
so, it is a grand thing, my hearers, to look
| upon all the circumstances and events of
| life as what indeed they are-not so much
| important in themselves as they are i'm
portant as instruments of discipline, and
! in relation to the man. The greater mat
| ter is, have we learned the lesson? Have
we got out of the events of life what it
was meant we should? Poverty, riches,
| prosperity, calamity are alike Instruments
| to an end. The world is a great school
| life is a grand discipline; and we have to
! look rather to the results than to the
means.
Then there is another thing we should
not forget-the way in which a calamity
| like this calls out human sympathies Who
can tell whether q far greater number of
hearts have not been softened and better
ed by this calamity than have been caused
to suffer by it?
zone Touch of Nature"-And when it
comes in the shape of sorrow-'Makes the
whole world kin" Is 1t not beautiful to
see how all ranks and conditions all ex-
ternal circumstances are forgotten in the
sympathy of grief2 All classes far and
near are striving to soothe the sufferers
and TO mitigate the distress How MANY