The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1904-05-13

that God has love and blessing Tor All pco'
p.e and every person. 30 tnat IN Jonah
being cast into TIE sea. it-vetA,ot pun
ishment, but one method Of fuller reve-
lation Of the care and love OF God for those
" no became willing 70 as yNihm. Our sor-
row Is not a punishment, bat inethod Ter
a higher and fuller revelation OF God's love
and blessing. There ,ssetsep . little stinge
OF atheism IN our thought about Christian
trouble or sorrow. lt-toes not seem right
10 speak OF any Christian. sorrow as some
thing allowed OF God and overruled 10 a
higher purpose All Christian sorrow. as
well as all Christian experiences are but
different methods OF Gods own through
which lie gives higher and fuller revela.
tlons of HIS love and blessing. and devel-
OPS His people 20 better fitness for service.
And this i what Jonah learned, and hav-
ing learned II he went az onse 10 that city
OF Nneveh and delivered the message God
had gwen him 20 deliver. lie tells the
Ninevites all he 6nows about the love ot
God lie tells them also al about the pure
and righteous demands OF God, and that If
they persist IN living tLelr awful lives of
selfishness and sin destruction must come
10 them as II must come 10 all men VINO
persist IN SHINING.
The city did repent and God did bless
the people. And IN this way Jonah learned
that the very blessings he had himself re-
ceived and his people had received were
not for themselves alone, bu, also Tor 9TH
ers-Nineveh and every other Nineveh that
needed the knowledge of the love and
OF God. IL 5 this that makes
this parable OF Jonah so like the parallels
OF Jesus-Illustratons OF the love OF God
and of what God expects from those who
already have teen blessed.
And this second thought was just as WV
idly taught as the first one. After preach
ing for about five weeks IN Nneveh, Jonah
thought God was showing too much favor
to this city. He was granting IT too many
blessings. This he regarded as a very pain.
ful reflection upon Jewish traditions, and
this he resented. At the close OF day
preaching he went out INTO the country 10
think II al out and have a real satisfactory
grumble about IT all by himself. He sat
down near 10 a large, big leaved eourd,
whose refreshing shade, a. the sun moved
around, kept Its burning rays from harm
ing him. Next morning he went back 10
the same place, but the gourd had with
cred during the night. Jonah got angry.
and in his indignation pItled the gourd
thus destroyed SO soon. But as he cooled
off and his reason and has heart again as
serted themselves, that voice seemed again
to speak within him. Jonah, what a fool
lsh. unreasonable creature you are! Here
YOU pity this gourd and yet YOU find fault
shown His pitying love and blessing to-
ward these people of NIneveh-are rot SIN
ful, sorrowing human beings oi more value
than a gourdE' That was enough for Jo-
nah. He was satisfied God dis care for
the people of Nineveh, and that II was
Godlike to do so; yea, and what was more
important. that His love and blessing were
to be made known 10 them through the
people already blessed. That is the teach
4 al, l.. Il. q h. Iat - hn I.a-
son Jonah learned, that he must offer God
missionary service as well as worship, that
he must offer God service as well as love.
that 10 carry the message OF Gods love 10
Lis fellow men is to worship God.
Do YOU know, | think that IS what God
still asks? And yet, and vet, | sometimes
think we rebel against the thought OF 1t
quite as much as Jonah did That is why
| have been led to bring this study OF Jo-
nah this morning. If we are not gong TO
help the people OF our Nneveh, who IS
going 10 do IT? Like Jonah, we spend
enough upon ourselves we do not deny
ourselves "A single thing we set our hearts
upon-soClal parties, theatres, entertain
ment, home comforts, bodily comforts, ira
vel by land and sea. And these have all
their own place-but we must not forget
the people IN Nineveh. In addition TO our
own care for ourselves and our worship,
pie IN Nineveh. For them j speak this
We may take to sea as Jonah
did, but 1t Is not very profitable busi.
ness. Much better respond TO the Lord
gladly. True. we do not say with Jonah
that God Is not everywhere, or that Us
love is not for every creature-that IL Nhe
very essence of our creed, but we may say
with Jonah, Let some one else help Nine
veh | don't want to do 1t; If Nlneveh
IL = NET
help them. let some one else do so. This
Is not what we are going to say to-day.
We are going 10 say, rather, tell us where
odr Nineveh is tell us how we can best
help at this particular time and we VIII do
IL, Ny answer Is, this home mission offer
ing is our Nneveh.
WHY should wey Because u is GodlilSe.
God Himself is our supreme example. Be
cause u IS good for US 10 givc-we feel our
brotherhood letter and the JOY OF giving
becomes ours. Because new American
communities need our help 10 fill them
with hope, and by church privileges inspire
them with those same God-gIvcn prnci-
pies and truths that have made New Eng
land and New York that have made our
selves and gwen us our prosperous ENVIRON
ment. For Gods sake, for our own sake,
for America 3 sake, this Is our opportunity.
We want these people 20 know the same
God we know and TO speak TO Him az con.
fidenty as we do and call Him Father"
When these people come together on sun
days we want them 20 bc able 10 say with
US Our Father When they gather their
little, whIte-robed children around them
at the even hour, We want them, children
and parents together, to say "Our Father
When they come 10 lay any Of these little
ones out on the hillside and place upon the
marker the words Our Darling" we want
them also coniiGngly to say, My Father
And when they Themselves come 20 the
edge of the deep waters and wonder what
ierryboat is 90 bear them across their Jor-
dan we want them trustiuiiy, lovingly, to
be able 10 put their hands outward and up
ward and say. My Father" That - out
Nineveh. VIII you help: Help US unto