Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1901-09-12


how expectation of evil weakens and dc.
stroys; text, Matthew vi, "a, Sufficient
unto the day is the evil thereof
The life of every man, woman and
child Is as closely under the divine care
as though such person were the only man,
woman or child. There are no accidents
AS there is a law of storms in the natural
world, so there is law of trouble, a law
Of disaster. n law Of misfortune; but the
majority of the troubles of life are inn
aginary, and the most of those anticipat
ed never come. At any rate there is no
cause Of complaint against God. See
how much he has done to make you happy
his sunshine filling the earth with glory,
making rainbow for the storm and halo
for the mountain, greenness for the moss,
saffron for the cloud and crystal for the
hillow and procession of hammered flame
through the opening gates Of the morn.
ing, cha ainches to sing, rivers to glitter,
seas to chant and springs to BLOSSOM and
overpowering all other sounds with its
song and overarching all other splcndor
with its triumph, covering up all other
beauty with its garlands and outilashiug
all thrones with its dominion deliver
ance for lost world through the Great
Redeemer.
| discourse Of the sin of borrowing
trouble.
First such habit Of mind and heart
Is wrong, because it puts one into a de-
spondoncy that i'll fits him for duty. |
planted two rosebushes in my garden;
the one thrivcd beautifully, the other per-
shed. | found the dead one on the shady
side Of the house. Our dispositions, like
our plants, need sunshine. Expectancy
Of repulsc is the cause Of many secular
and religious failures. Fear of bank
ruptcy has uptorn many n fine business
and sent the man lodging among the
note Shavers. Fear of SANDER and abuse
has often invited all the long beaked
vulturcS Of scoIn and backbiting. Many
of the misfortunes Of life, like hyenas,
flee if you courageously meet them.
How poorly prepared for religious duty
Is a man who sits down under the gloom
of expected misfortune II he prays, be
says, II do not think | shall he answer
ed" II he gives, he says, II expect they
will steal the money" Helen Chalmers
told me that her father, Thomas Chain
y
the Free Church of Scotland and when
the woes Of the land seemed to weigh
upon his heart said to his children,
Come, let us go out and play ball or tiy
kite" and the only difficulty in the play
was that the children could not keep up
with their father The McCheynes and
tile Summerilelds Of the church who did
the most good toiled in the sunlight
.;tb 49, lie, 81;
son; they dig graves, and If they could
climb so high they would drown the re-
joicngs of heaven with sobs and wailng.
Watching For Misfortune.
You will have nothing but misfortune
in the future If you sedulously watch for
it. How shall a man catch the right
kind of fish if he arrangcS his line and
hook and bait to catch lizards and water
serpents? Hunt for bats and hawks. and
bats and hawks you will find Hunt fol
robin redbreass. and you will find robir
redbreasts, One night an eagle and ar
owl got into fierce battle. The eagle, un
used to the night, was no match Tor tbs
owl, which Is most at home in the dark
ness, and the king OF the air fell helpless
But the morning rose, and with IT rose
the eagle, and the owls and the night
hawks and the bats came second time
70 the combat. Now. the eagle in The
sunlight with a stroke Of his talons ant
a great cry, cleared the air, and his enc
mics, with torn feathers and splashed
with blood, tumhlcd into the thiCkets. "
are the children of light. In the night OF
dependency you will have no chance
against your enemies that flock up from
beneath; hut, trusting in God and stand
ing in the sunshine OF the promises. yor
shall renew your youth like the eagle"
Again, the habit Of borrowing trouble
Is wrong because it has a tendency tc
make us overlook present blessing. Il
Stake mans thirst the rock is cleft, anC
cool waters leap into his trimming cup
To feed his hunger the fields bow dowI
with bending wheat, and the cattle COME
down from the clover pastures to give
him milk. and the orchards yellow anC
ripen. casting their juicy fruits into his
lap. Alas, that amid such eXuberanc'
of blessing man should growl as though
he were a soldier on half rations or {
sailor on short allowance; that mar
should stand neck deep in harvests look
ing forward 10 famine; that one Should
feel the strong pulses Of health marchin!
with regular tread through all the ave
nues OF life and yet tremble at the eX
pectcd assault Of sickness; that n MAJ
should sit in his pleasant home, fearful
that ruthless want will some day rattl,
the broken window sash with tempes
and sweep the Goals from the heartl
and pour hunger into the bread tray
that n man fed by MIN who owns all th'
harvcsts should expect 10 starvc; tina
one whom God loves and surrounds will
bencdiction and attends with angelic es
cort and hOyerS over with more than
mothcrly fondness should be looking 70
heritage OF tears Has God been harl
with thee that thou shouldst be forcbod
ing? Has he stinted thy board? la
he covered thee with rags Has h.
spread traps for thy feet, and CALLED tn
thee with storm, and Numbered upol
thee with n life full Of calamity?
If your father or brother come int
your bank where gold and silver are lyin
about, You do not watch them, for yo
know they are honest. but il an ontir
stranger come by the safe you keep you
eye on him, for you do not know his de
signs. So some men treat God; not n
father, but a stranger, and act suspi
ciously toward him. 1t is high time yo
; began to thank God for present blessing
Thank him for your children. happy
buoyant and bounding. Praise him 70
your home, with its fountain of song an
laughter .Adn!> ....-.. go, morning hat
and evening shadow. Praise him +,
fresh, cool water huhblng from the roe