The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1901-03-16

L
alone. If you want to die and hav
your body disintegrated in the dusta
your soul 60 out on. a celestial adven
ture, then you can go, but this worl
is good enough for me.v You might a
we'll go TO a man who has just entere,
the Louvre at Paris and tell him I,
hasten Off to the picture galleries 0
Venice or Florence. why" he woul,
say, "what is the use of my goinl
there? There are Rembrandts and Ru
benses and Titians here that have no
looked at yet" No man wants to &c
out of this world or out of any house
until he has a better house.
To cure this wish to stay here God
must somehow create disgust for ouI
surroundings. How shall He do iii
| He cannot afford to efface His horizon
or to tear of fiery panel from the
sunset or to subtract an anther from
the water lily or to Danish the pungent
aroma from the mignonette or to drag
the robes of the morning in mire. You
cannot expect a Christopher Wren to
mar his own st. Paul's cathedral or q
Michael Angelo to dash out his own
LAST Judgment" or a Handel to dis
cord his Israel in Egypt" and you can
not expect God to spoil the architecture
and music Of His own world. How,
then, are we to be made willing to
leave? Here is where trouble comes in
After a man has had a good deal of
trouble he says: "Well, am ready to
mn ic ba
whose roof does not leak, would like
to live there. If there is an atmosphere
somewhere that does not distress the
lungs, / would like to breathe il. If
there is society somewhere where
there is no little tattle. would like to
live there. Ifthere is home circle some
where where can find my lost friends,
would like to go there" He used to
read the first part of the Bible chiefly;
now he reads the last part of the Bible
chiefly. Why has he changed Genesis
for Revelation? All, he used to be anx-
ious chiefly to know how this world was
made and all about its geological con-
struction. Now he is chiefly anxious to
know how the next world was made
how they dress. He reads Revelation
ten times now where he reads Genesis
once. The old story, "In the beginning
God created the heavens and the
earth" does not thrill him half as much
as the other story, 81 saw new Heaven
and new earth" The old mans hand
trembles as he turns over this apoc-
a ha hae 10 tal -
his handkerchief to wipe his spectacles.
That book Of Revelation is prospectus
now of the country into which he is
soon to immigrate; the country in
which he has lots already laid out and
avenues opened and mansions built.
1t is trouble, my friends, that makes
us feel our dependence upon God. We
do not know our own weaknessor Gods
strength until the last plank breaks. 1t
S contemplate in us that only when
there is nothing else to take hold of we
'atch hold of God. Why, do you know
who the Lord is? He is not an autocrat,
seated far up in a palace, from which
He energies once a year, preceded by
heralds swinging swords to clear the
way. No. He is a father. willing t
our call to stand by us in every crisis
and predicament of life. Itell you what
some of you business men make me
think of. A man Is unfortunate in his
business. He has to raise a good deal
)f money, and raise it quickly. He bor-
rows on word and note all he can bor-
row. After awhile he puts a mortgage
IN his house. After awhile he puts a
second mortgage on his house. Then
ne makes over his life insurance. Then
ne assigns all his property. Then he
goes TO his father-in-law and asks for |
help. Well, having failed everywhere,
completely failed, he gets down on his
knees and says: "Oh. Lord, l have
ried everybody and everything; now
help me out of this financial trouble" |
He makes God the last resort instead |
Of the first resort.
Again, it Is the use of trouble to
appellate us for the Office of SYM
,athy. The priests, under the old |
iispensation. were set apart by hav-
ng water sprinkled upon their hands, |
'eet and head, and by the sprinkling |
If tears people are now set apart to |
he office of sympathy. When we
ire in prosperity, we like to have a
great many young people around us,
md we laugh when they laugh, and |
we romp when they romp, and we
sing when they sing, but when we
nave trouble we like plenty of old |
'olks around. Why? They know how
TO talk. Take an aged mother, rs
years Of age, and she is almost om-
lipotent in comfort. Why? She has
been through 1t all. At seven o'clock |
n the morning she goes over to COM
fort young mother who has Just |
lost her babe. Grandmother knows |
all about that trouble. Fifty years
ago she felt it. At 12 o'clock of that |
day she goes over to comfort a wild
owed soul. She knows all about that. |
She has been walking in that dark |
valley 20 years. At four o'clock in |
the afternoon some one knocks at
the door, wanting bread. She knows
all about that. Two or three times
in her life she came to her last loaf.
At ten o'clock at night she goes over
to sit up with some one severely sick.
She knows all about IL. She knows
all about fevers and pleurisies and