The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-02-17
Thanks for the Weather.

Thanks for the Weather.
But have most of us learned the
Christian lessons of patienceY Like
James Whitcomb Riley, can we thank
God for the rain as well as the sun
shine? When things go all right, then
we are right. But when anything goes
wrong we have not learned the lessons
of gospel patience. Then we speak ana
do things which we regret all the Gays
of our lives. Naturalists tell us tnat
the mighty winged eagles have sometimes
been slain by the little humming bros
These smallest of birds, which you could
crush in your hand, have been known
to perch themselves upon the heads OF the
mighty kings of the air. There they nave
sat and pecked and pecked until they
have pecked into the brains OF the eagles
and tumbled their dead bodies down INTO
the dust Thus a quick temper, the IN
ability TO govern our anger in little
things, have been known to absolutely
nullify a mans influence for good. we
are all right when everything Is solhs
all right But we are wrong when any
thing goes wrong. Thus God eXlled MOSES
in INDIAN to teach him patience Ihus
God is holding many or us In OBSCURE
position until we learn to govern our
selves.
But again learn that God sent Moses
into his indian exile to each him the
practicalties of life. Moses by his ed
ucation was a sage, but Moses was the
orist For many years he had been
cloud dweer or a visionary dreamer
In all probability in the temple OF har-
max he had learned all the theories or
government. But theory and fact do not
ALWAYS nest as twin sister In the same
cradle. He had developed his head, but
not his hands So God, In order to tit Nun
for practical leadership, made him work
with his hands and his feet as We'll as
with his brain. When Moses went down
into the land of INDIAN, ne not oiiy
had to 90 to work, but he had to hire
himself out to do the work of a COM
mon shepherd Have you not heard
how he helped the daughters of Reuel
to water their 1ocks?
Methinks | can now see him guarding
his sheep down in the pasture lands
near Mount Sinai, where God was one
day to give him the Ten Command
tents written on tables of stone. His
lothes are coarse His hands are cal
]1ns. The shepherds staff is in his
birds why" I hear him say to him
salf. "I never knew ii was so hard as
us to earn your daily bread In my
foster mothers home we never worried
about our daily food. In the kings ban
ouet we used to waste more than we ate.
If | ever am to be a leader OF my peu-
pie, | must teach them not TO be waste
full God will always give us enough to
eat and clothes 10 wear, but waste is
sin. 1t should be a crime in mans eyes,
as it is a sin in Gods sight" Thus
Moses struggle for daily bread scattered
away many of the foolish notions he
had about Gods providence and care.
He learned that God meant man to help
himself When Moses led his people
through the Red sea. methinks he often
went through the camps and kept
watchful eye upon how his people lived
and what they did and how they cared
for the temporal blessings with which
God had surrounded them.
Uses of Labor.
Some women grumble because so much
of their time has to be spent in bending
over the kitchen stove, and in making
the dresses for the children, and in sweep
ing the floors, and in making the beds.
but remember that by these daily strug-
giles of life God is teaching you that,
though ne is willing to help you, yet he
also expects you to help yourselves. Men,
it seems to you that most of your lives
have to be spent in the store. The BUTCH
er's bills and the bakers bills and the
doctors bills must be met. But, remem-
Der. God is developing you in this strug
gle for daily bread. He Is saying to you,
"Son, l have made thee after my own
image, but thou must earn thy food by
the sweat of thy brow. BY the thorns
and the weeds l am making thee more
and more to learn that the harvests come
from Me. l am God that giveth all, but
it is by the seed planting and the hoe
thou dost bend the knee and worship at
my shrine" Canst thou not thank God
because Moses had to tend sheep down
| In the far off land of the Midianites?
But I cannot close this sermon with
out driving homo one solemn warning