The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-06-27
Lifeis Tempests and Trials.


One of the most remarkable monu.
ments in Westminster Abbey is that to
Sir John Franklin, the discoverer Of
the Northwest Passage, who died amid
the terrors of the Arctic regions in
1S47. Through the efforts of Lady
Franklin the last of many expeditions
sent out was successful in disclosing
til, steps of her husbands progress in
ste Polar regions, ending with the
,tagic record of his death. She erected
the monument in the Abbey, which de-
picts a vessel crushed amid icebergs,
and underneath are the words: 20 ye
frost and cold; O ye ice and snow, bless
We the Lord; praise Him and magnify
Him forever" Out Of the depth Of her
bereavement, loneliness and poverty
there still remained boundless and inn.
plcit faith in God.
The first aspect Of the wind and tenn
pest, the ice and the snow is one to In
spire awe, anxiety and dread. We nats
urally ask, How can we praise God for
chose elements in whose train come
disaster, desoation and death? Amid
all this disorder and ruin the Psalmist
tells us that some law is working and
Gods word is being fulfilled; even the
powers which seem to have escaped
His control have their uses and further
Hi designs. We may trust Him to
bring order out Of chaos, good out OF
evil.
At least one reason for the devasta-
ton is apparent to the close observer.
On a relatively small scale the storm IS
hostile to life, but on much larger one
it is the great enricher and nourisher
Of the soil, which without it would re-
main dry, hard and unproductive. Out
of death comes new life; out of decay
the grain which sustains and the flow
ers which beautify.
The storm and the tempest have
their uses also in developing the ener-
gies Of men. The strongest characters
are not nurtured in pleasant climates.
where man obtains his food easily from
the earth and the trees, but rather in
colder countries and on stubborn SOIL,
where one must struggle for very ex-
istence. Need we wonder that Mexico,
with all its mineral wealth, is poor,
and that Alaska, with its forests, it's
furs and its ice, is rich? 1t is stern ne
cessity which develops the strength OF
manhood, forces the pioneer to build a.
home and at last makes the desert to
'rejoice and blossom as the rose"
Not only is such person moved to
battle against the destructive forces OF
nature, but he is also aroused to con-
uuer mans inhumanity to man. a
very large share Of the worlds surfer
incs comes not from nature, but fol-
lows directly or indirectly from human
carelessness, selfishness and greed.
Most of the accidents on railways, on
steamboats,, in tunnels and mines are
of this character. God Himself cannot
prevent such evils without interfering
with mans free will, and hence with
his education, but every such acciden1
arouses mems Indignation, awakens
their inventive skill and leads to great,
er caution, watchfulness and security
The storm and the tempest nave yeN
another mission-in calling forth
blessed tide of sympathy. Poor King
Lear. out on the heath with barred head
and quaking limbs, amid the thunder.
and the lightning, the wind and the
rain. is but type of multitudes of 9TH
ers who have learned sympathy.
through bitter experience. And thus,
whether for individual misfortune or
public calamity, there are opened
many fountains Of tenderness and gen.
erosity in human souls. Surely we may
be thankful for whatever turns our
hearts i'll kindnc-s toward our Fellow
men.
My friends. when you stand amid the
tempests of life, trust God. When you
look upon the marvels of nature, praise
Him. When you are stirred by the
grandeur of His works, show forth His
sympathy and His love.-Olin Scott
Roche. Rector OF st. Peters Church,
New York, in the Sunday Herald.