Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-03-27

encouragement for people In sorrow
and adversely. The text is Isaiah xviii,
81, %: "For the fitches are not thrash
ed with a thrashing instrument, nei-
Their Is cart wheel turned about upon
the cummin, but the titches are beaten
out with a staff and the cummin with
Il rod Bread corn is bruised because
he will not ever be thrashing It.
Misfortuncs of various kinds come
upon various people, a1d In all times
the great need of ninety-nine people
out of hundred is solace. Look, then,
to this neglected allegory of my text.
There are three kinds of seed men
tioned-fltches, cummin and corn. OF
the last we all know. But it may be
well to state that the ftches and the
cummin were small seeds. like the car
away or the chickpea. When these
grains or herbs were to be thrashed,
they were thrown on the floor. and the
workmen would come around with
staff or rod or fail and beat them I'M
til the seed would be separated but
when the corn was to be thrashed that
was thrown on the floor, and the men
would fasten horses or oxen to a cart
with iron denied wheels; that cart
would be drawn around the thra shing
floor, and SO the work would be &C
complished. Different kinds of thrash
ing for different products. The ftches
are not thrashed with n thrashing in.
strument, neither is a cart wheel turn
ed about upon the cummin, but the
ftches are beaten out with a staff and
the cummin with a rod. Bread corn Is
bruised because he will not ever be
thrashing it,
The great thought that the text press
es upon our souls is that we all go
through some kind of thrashing process.
The fact that you may be devoting
your life to honorable and noble pur-
poses will not win you any escape
Wilberforce, the Christian emancipator,
was In his day derisively called Doc
tor Cantwell." Thomas Darlington Ma
caulay, the advocate of all that was
good, long before he became the most
conspicuous historian of his day was
caricatured in one of the quarterly re-
views as "Babbletongue Macauay."
Norman Mcleod, the great friend Of
the Scotch poor, was industriously ma
ligned in all quarters, although on the
day when he was carried out to his
burial a workman stood and looked at
the funeral procession and said, IF he
had done nothing for anybody more
than he has done for me, he would
shine as the stars forever and ever"
All the small wits of London had their
fling at John Wesley, the father of
Methodism. If such men could not es-
cape the maligning of the world, nei-
Their can you expect TO get rid of tho
sharp, keen stroke of the tribulum.
All who will live cody in Christ Jesus
must suffer persecution. Besides that,
there are the sicknesses and the bank
ruptcieS and the irritations and the dis
appointments which are ever putting q
cup of aloes to your lip. Those wrin-
kles on your face are hieroglyphics
which, If deciphered, would make out
thrilling story of trouble. The foot
step of the rabbit is seen the next
morning on the snow, and on the white
hairs of the aged are the footprints
showing where swift trouble alighted.
Troubles Come Unexpectedly.
Even amid the joys and hilarities of
life trouble will sometimes break in.
AS when the people were assembled in
the Charlestown theater during the
Revolutionary war, and while they
were witnessing a farce and the audi.
ence was in great graduation the guns
of an advancing army were heard and
the audience broke up in wild panic
and ran for their lives, so oftentimes
while you are seated amid the joys and
festivities of this world you hear the
cannonade Of some great disaster All
the fitches and the cummin and the
corn must come down on the thrashing
floor and be pounded.
My subject, In the first place, teaches
us that 1t is no compliment to us if we
escape great trial. The fitches and the
cummin on one thrashng floor might
look over to the corn on another thrash
ing floor and say: Look at that poor,
miserable, bruised corn. We have only
been little pounded, but that has been
almost destroyed" Well, the corn, II
It had lips, would answer and say: do
you know the reason you have not been
as much pounded as | have? 1t Is be-
cause you are not of so much worth as
| am. If you were, you would be as
severely run over" Yet there are men
who suppose they are the Lords favor
ties simply because their barns are
full and their bank account Is flush
md there are no funerals in the house.
II may be because they are fitches and
rummin, while down at the end Of the
lane the poor widow may be the Lords
corn. You are but little pounded he
cause you are but little worth and she
bruised and ground because she is the
best part Of the harvest. The heft of
the thrashing machine is according to
the value of the grain. If you have not
been much thrashed in life. perhaps
there Is not much to thrash! If you
have not been much shaken Of trouble,
perhaps 1t is because there Is going to
be very small yield. When there are
plenty Of blackberries, the gatherers go
out with large baskets, but when the
drought has almost consumed the fruit,
then quart measure will do as well.
1t took the venOmous snake on Pauls
hand, and the pounding of him with
stones until he was taken up for dead,
and the jamming against him of prison