The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1904-02-12

apple Of sodom, that he had backed up To
great walls of fate and he had not a friend
left on the earth. His soul looking through
her darkened windows, concluded The heay.
ems were dark. The nerve, Qu,vering at
he gentlest touch, mistook the miuistra-
tIon OF mercy for \ blow. He might have
found some cool shelter for his agony: he
preferred 10 sat on the ashes IN the burn
lng sun. lie knew not where the next
robe was TO come from: ,hls did not deter
HIM from tearing 10 shreds the robe that
was 10 shelter hlm from the keen winds.
IL was a dreadful trial az the best; II was
worse Tor hls way OF meeting It. and.
vAen he wac az once IN the worst health
and temper possible, he sand. WHY ia
hight gwen 10 a man whose way rs hid:'
Is not this now, as Il was then, one of the
most serious mistakes that can be mIdey
Try 10 solve great problems of provi-
dence, perhaps, when | am so unstrung as
~ be entirely united 20 touch their
more subtle, delicate and far reaching har-
monles As well might You decide on some
exquisite anthem when your organ ~
broken, and conclude there IS no music
IN IT because you can make no music of
li. a., IN such a condition OF hie and such
temper OF the spirit. try "a ind these
great harmonies of God. When | am IN
trouble, then, and darkness comes down
on me like pail, the first question ought
To be, How much Of this unbehet about
providence and life. ike Cowper's sense
0t the objectionable So, comes from the
most material dlsorganiza' iong l. the
darkness feel IN the soul, or Is IL on the
windows through which the soul must
see :: Then, clear on this matter, the
man tried go will endeayor TO stand at the
first, where this sad hearted man stood
AT the last, in the shadow of the Almighty,
II he must stand IN a shadow. and hold on
10 the confidence that somewhere within
al tins trial is the eternal, the shadow of
great rock IN a weary land. Friends
speculate all about the mystery. and their
conclusions from their premises are entirely
correct; but they have forgotten 10 take
IN the separate sovereign viii of God. ~
working out a great purpose IN the mans
hto, 10y which he rs To be lifted INTO a
prander reach OF insight and experience
than ever he had before. job said: Il
suffer, l am IN darkness and disappoint.
ment ana pam. because II rs fate Jobs
friends said: mo, you suffer because YOU
have smned. Rushes never grow without
mlre.' They were both wrong, and al
wrong. lie suffered because that was the
divine way of bringing him out OF his
sleek. well satisfied content; and when
through suffering this was done he said: II
have heard of Thee with mine cars, but
now mine eye seeth Thee
There Is story IN the annals OF science
touching this principle, that we cannot
leave them as we found them. Plato,
piercing here and there with hls wonderful
Greek eyes:
Searching through all, he felt and saw
ne springs OF hie, the depths of awe,
To reach the law within the Jaw"
was impressed by the suggestive beauty of
the elliptic figure He tired to search out
its full meaning, but died without the
"A L.lt
Appoiomus came, was arrested in the
same way, took up the question where
Plato lett 1t, tired TO find out its full
meanings, and died without the sight.
And so, says a fine writer, for eighteen
centuries. some of the best minds were
fascinated by this problem, drew from It
strength and discipline; and yet. in all this
time, the problem was an abstract form.
a beautiful or painful speculation 1t did
not open out INTO any harmonious urin-
ciple. There was hight on the thing but no
hight on the way. Ia the full time. Kepler
came; sat down TO the study; and by what
we can the suggestion OF genius but ought
10 call the inspiration of the Almighty
found that the orbits OF the planets were
elhptcai, and he died. Then Newton was
born, took up the problem where Kepler
had lald IT down, made all the established
facts the base of his mightier labors; and.
wnen he had done, he had shown that this
hgurc, tins problem, which had held men
spe!lbound through the ages, Is "A prime
element In the law OF universal gravitation
at once the most beautiful theory and
the most absolute conclusion Of science
lhcn men could see how IL was because
God had made the light shine on the
thlng, that the way was found. From New
ton back TO Plato, IN true apostolic order.
every man, bending over this mystery Of
a Ieht where there was no way, and wrest-
hng faithfully with IT, had not only grown
more noble m has own soul IN the struggle
but had done his share toward the solution
iound by this greatest and last who was
also born under the law that they might
receive the adoption OF sons"
So, tell you, is this restless search for q
condition that shall answer to our concep-
ton; tins fascination. which compels us
10 search out the elliptic OF providence.
the geomeiIIc certainty underlying the
apparent eCccntrIclty. And every struggle
10 ma tins certainty; every endeavOr to
pIumE the deepest causes of the dlscord
between what the nature bears and what
tue soul believes; every striving to find
the God OF our lOitiest saith IN our darkest
day, VIII, IN some way, aid the demunstra-
ton, untu, IN the full time, some Newton
OF the soul will come and, gathering the
result OF all these struggles between our
conception of life and our condition
IN lie, will make 1t the tasc of some
vast generalization. that VIII brIng the
ripest conclusions OF the science oi proyi.
dence into perfect accord with the grand
apostolic revelation. We know that all
Things work together for good TO them that
love God"
We wrong the deepest revelations Of
lie when We are not content 10 let this
one little segment m the arc gf our exist
ence stand In its own simple, separate
intention, whether At be giadness or gloom;
and trust surely, II we are faithful. the
iu! and perfect intention must come out
IN the iull range oi our beng God seldom
perhaps never, works out lis visible puT-
pose m one life, how, then, shall He IN one
lie work out HIS perfect wiz The rumb
poetry IN William Burns, the father. rad
10 wait for Robert Burns. the son: Bcr-
nsrdo waited TO be- perfected IN his son,
lorquato IassO; William Herschel lett
many problem ~ the heavens for John
Herschel TO make clear; Leopold Mozart
wrestied with melodies that Chrysostom
Mozart found aiterward Oi Themselves IN
every cha. Der Of hIs brain. and RAYMOND
Bonheur needed his daughter Rosa u come
aud paint out his pictures for him DR..
Reid has said. that when the bee makes
IT, cell 80 geometricaiy, the geometry ~
not m the bee, but m the geOmptrician that
made the bee. Alas. IL ~ the Maker there
~ no such order for "a a. there ~ for the
bee IL God 80 instruct the bee II God 20
feed the bird; u even the hons roaring
after their prey. seek their meat from
God, n lie not only ho!ds the .jnnet on
the spray, but the lion on the spTing. how
shall We dare lose hear and hope,
20. then, while We may not know what
trials wait on any Of ~. we sn believe
that a. the days m which this man
wrest,ed with his dark maiadies arc the
only days that make hm worth rcnem.
brance, end bot for which h.s name had
never been written ~ the book Of life;