The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1902-04-10

all
around you in the church and out of
the church dispositions acerb, malign,
cynical, pessimistic. Do you know
how these men and women got that
disposition? 1t was by the embalm-
ment OF things pantherine and viper
Gus. They have spent much of their
time in calling the roll of all the rats
that have nibbled at their reputation.
Their soul is cage of vultures.
Everything in them is sour or embit-
tered. The milk of human kindness
has been curdled. They do not believe
in anybody or anything. If they see
two people whispering, they think it
is about themselves. If they see two
people laughing, they think it is about
themselves. Where there is one sweet
pippin in their orchard there are so
crabapples. They have never been able
to forget. They do not want to forget.
They never will forget. Their wretch
edness is supreme, for no one can be
happy if he carries perpetually in mind
the mean things that have been done
him. On the other hand, you can find
here and there a man or woman (for
there are not many of them) whose
disposition is genial and summery.
Why? Have they always been treated
we'll? Oh, no. Hard things have been
said against them. They have been
charged with officiousness, and their
generosities have been set down to a
desire for display, and they have many
time been the subject of title tattle,
and they have had enough small as
saults like gnats and enough great at
tacks like lions to have made them per-
petually miserable if they would have
consented to be miserable. But they
have had enough divine philosophy to
cast off the annoyances, and they have
kept themselves in the sunslight of
Gods favor and have realized that these
oppositions and hindrances are a part
of mighty discipline by which they
are to be prepared for usefulness and
heaven. The secret of it all is they
have, by the help of the Eternal God,
learned how to forget.
our faults are repented of let them go
out of mind. If God forgets them, we
have right to forget them. Having
once repented of our infelicities and
misdemeanors, there is no need of our
repenting of them again. Suppose I
owe you large sum of money, and you
are persuaded l am incapacitated to
pay and you give me acquittal from
that obligation You say: II cancel
that debt. All is right now. Start
again" And the next day I come in
and say: "You know about that big
debt | owe you. have come in to get
you to let me off. l feel so bad about
it l cannot rest. Do let me Off" You
reply with a little impatience: 81 did
let you off. Don't bother yourself and
bother me with any more of that dis
cussion." The following day 1 come in
and say: "My dear sir, about that debt
I can never get over the fact that I
owe you that money. 1t is something
that weighs on my mind like mill
stone. Do forgive me that debt" This
time you clear lose your patience and
say: you are nuisance. What do
you mean by this reiteration of that
affair? I am almost sorry forgave
you that debt. Do you doubt my
veracity or do you not understand the
plain language in which I told you
that debt was canceled?" Well, nv
friends, there are many Christians
guilty of worse folly than that. While
it is right that they repent of new sins
and of recent sins, what is the use of
bothering yourself and insulting God
by asking Him to forgive sins that long
ago were forgiven? God has forgotten
them. Why do you not forget them?
Quit this folly. do not ask you less
to realize the turpitude of sin, but I
ask you to higher faith in the prom
Use of God and the full deliverance of
His mercy. He does not give receipt
for part payment or so much received
on account, but receipt in full, God
having for Christ's sake decreed "your
sins and your iniquities will remem-
ber no more" AS far as possible let
the disagreeables of life drop. We
have enough things in the present, and
there will be enough in the future, to
disturb us without running a special
train into the great Comedy to fetch us
as special freight things left behind.
Years ago, when there was a great
railroad strike, | remember seeing all
along the route from Omaha to Chica-
go and from Chicago to New York
hundreds and thousands of freight
cars switched on the sidetracks, those
cars loaded with all kinds of perishable
material, decaying and wasting. After
the strike was over did the railroad
companies bring all that perished
material down oSthe markets? no;
they threw it off where it was de-
stroyed and loaded up with something
else. Let the long train of your
thoughts throw off the worse than use
less freight of corrupt and destroyed
past and load up with gratitude and
faith and holy determination. We do
not please God by the cultivation of
the miserable. He would rather see
us happy than to see US depressed.
You would rather see your children