The Tupelo journal., 1905-03-17
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This is the case with so many mothers
when God takes from them their most
precious jewels. Their grief is so great,
! their heart so sore, their faith so small,
that they fail to see any spiritual side.
They see only with the human eye,
and the spiritual eye is blinded. They
thrust aside their only source of comfort,
their only refuge of peace, They call
God unmerciful, and think themselves
severely and numerically punished for
some past missdeeds.
Oh, a word to you fond mothers. This
chastisement was not sent upon you in
anger. Does not God say, "Whom
the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and
scourgeth every son whom he receiveth''
and eff We endure Christening God deal
eth with you a with sons; for what
son is he whom the father chasteneth
not?" Did not our fathers of the flesh
correct us and we gave them reverence;
shall we not much rather be in subjec-
ton unto the Father of spirits, and live?
Fond mothers, it does not please God
to affiict you, for Sin all your Affections
he is afflicted" He tells you 'all things
work together for good to them that
love God, and he suffered these Attic
tions to be brought on you for your
own spiritual good and for his glory,
Job was a man who feared God, and
vas careful to do no evil, yet God sent
trouble upon him to try his faith and
see whether he would bear it patiently
and be willing that his heavenly Father
should do to him as he thought best.
God said Job was a perfect and upright
man and eschewed evil, yet he allowed
all his riches to be swept away in one
sweep, and all his children to be taken
from him. His friends all forsook him,
yet when he was told all these things he
rent his clothes and bowed down to the
earth and w%orshiped saying that as he
had nothing of his own when he was
born as a little child into the world so
he should have nothing when he died.
1t was God, he said, who gave me my
children and my riches, and it is God
who has taken them away again. He
knows what is best for me and | thank
him for all he has done.
God to try him still more sent him
sickness and pain, and covered him from
his feet to his head with sore boils,
and he sat down on the ground in great
distress. His wife, being angry be-
cause Godsent all these Affections on
Job, said to him, Dost thou still trust
him? Do so no more, but speak evil
against him and wish him evil for
affecting thee, though he kill thee for
doing it.
All! Listen: how did Job answer her?
Though he Stay me, yet will l trust
in him."
Oh, that we had more faith like the
faith of Job! See how God rewarded
him for that faith. He gave him twice
the amount of riches, seven more sons
and three more daughters, and in all
the land there were no women so beauti-
full as the daughters of Job. The rest
of his days were full of peace and hap
piness.
If you read carefully the book of Job
you will plainly see Gods reasons for
sending these sore Affections on Job,
and that it was notthrough displeasure.
Fond mothers, when God sees fit to
take your little one, rebel not, but pray
him to enlighten your hearts, and rec
oncile you to his will. You say you
have lost faith in prayer, that you pray
ed $50 earnestly and faithfully for God to
spare your child and he would not hear
your cry. Did you say. "Oh, God, if it
is thy will spare me my child!" or did
you just say, "Oh God, spare me my
child, spare him to me, cannot give
him up.
Does not God know what is in the
future, and does he not know whether it
is best to take your child or let it live?
God is love; he is kind; he is merciful;
he will not willingly afiict you. Sub
nit your broken, bleeding hearts to his
keeping. He will bind up your wounds,
wipe all tears from your eyes, and give
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