The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1910-02-17
THE PULPIT.
A BRILLIANT SUNDAY SERMON BY
REV. JOHN WESLEY HILL, O.D.
Theme: The Workings of Providence
Text-Rom. S:2S.


been a materialist, he would have left
God out of the question, and said
You are n part of a great. merciless
machine. wound up by chance and
controlled by circumstances. and your
sufferings are due to the ineXorable
movements of fate, against which you
struggle in vain" Had he been q
Stole philosopher. he would not have
said. "All things work together for
good but, You are in the hands of
an awful system, of which evil is an
inevitable part" and his exhortation
would have been, Resist the evil
with. the bold front OF an unhinching
spirit" Had he been an Epicurean,
he would have said. Chance has pro-
jected evil into the world Fight
chance the only way in which you
can, by drowning all your cares in
sea of sensual pleasure" But Paul
was neither a materialist, nor a Stole,
nor an Epicurean. but a Christian
philosopher. He believed that God s
plans are eternal, that human suffer-
ing Is a part of the necessary disci-
pline of life, that eternity alone is
the final Interpretation of time, and
that "all things work together for
good to them that love God"
Under Divine Protection.
Note the boldness of this Pauline
declaration: "All things work to-
gether for good" HAD Paul known
nothing of the shocks and storms of
life, had his career been one of un-
interrupted inspiration and unabated
triumph, then it might be urged that
the audacity of the proposition is evil
dence OF ignorance Of the facts in
volved. But Pau's life was inter-
woven Of sunshine aud shadows; in
fact, he knew much more of the
storms OF life than of its Gains. The
vision of the past was ever before
him; the prisons through which he
had passed, the uproar at Ephesus,
the earthquake at Philippi, violence
ct Jerusalem, trials with the churches,
chains at Caesarea. shipwrecks and
stripes, while before him passed
scenes of anguish which were far be-
yond his power to describe; and yet,
towering above these dark and pain
full memories, we hear him eXclaim.
IAN things work together for good
TO them that love God" He thus
congresses the universe into this one
little word of three letters, all!
Glorious TRUTH We are not alone
III ire . NlNlH0lAuutT- NOu > eye 10
upon us, and His arms encircle us.
We are not helpless. for the infinite
Deliverer is ever present. even when
we are unconscious OF His presence,
inspiring with wisdom, imparting
strer 9Th and enabling us to come off
more than conquerors over all the
trials and difficulties of life. the tolls
and sufferings, defeats and crosses.
gains and losses; all things seen and
unseen, near and remote, dark and
bright. good and evil, are harnessed
as swift steeds to the chariot of the
divine purpose, and nothing can per-
manently obstruct its progress.
Harmony and Cooperation.
Again, let us notice the law of this
PrOvidential process: "All things
work together" And what Is this
but the law of cooperation? Moth
ing IN the universe below the being OF
God is complete within itself. Every
thing leans upon and helps to bear
up everything beyond, below, above,
and around itself. The dewdrop
works with the sunbeam, the seed
with the clay, the bee with the flow
er; the valley with the mountain, the
Tlvulet with the river, and the river
with the ocean; the heavens lean up
on the earth, and tne earth reflects
the splendor of the heavens from its
laughing valleys, It's snow-crOwned
mountains and its eVer-changing sea.
There is no isolation anywhere. The
faintest trace of matter, the most del
icate. microscopic cell has It's place In
the universal creation, and performs
its function, not only for itself, but
In behalf of all. The gases that COM
pose the air we breathe work tOgeth-
er with life-giving and health-sus-
tanning power; eliminate the Oxygen,
and this old world would be shroud-
ed in death; the seasons work togeth-
er, sDr!ng and summer. fall and win
ter. in a grand procession of beauty
order and fruitfulness.
Light is beautiful but light cannot
form the exquisite picture Shadows
must lie there, a dark background
upon which the light can pencil its
beauty. The sunshine and shadow
must work together Why God can
not paint rainbow until lie has un-
braided beam OF J. ignt into its seven
prismatic hues, to borrow from and
lend TO each other entrancing lowell
ness. So also the Lord knows how to
blend bright and dark things in hu-
man life, so as to produce the most
happy. holy and heavenly character.
Oh, my friend, you can afford to be
patient and tTustful. for God is mold
ing YOU 10 a pattern brighter than
angelic being, even according to the
Image of His Son. The blow OF the
hammer and the incision OF the chisel
may be painful, but these are neces-
ssry TO the removal OF lmperfectlons
and TO the revelation OF the angel
that is lurking in the hiding places
Of your being. God Is the great, in
finite Sculptor. and you can depend
upon Il He will not overlook the
roughness. nor fall TO smooth down
the rebelllous grain,
All things work together. The
lightning In its livid rage only puri-
fias the atmosphere; the thunderbolt
that prostrates the giant oak, beneath
which many found shelter, lets the
sun shine upon sDot OF earth that
had hitherto been full of darkness:
the cloud that overspreads the sky Is
frequently but the shadow OF an APP
preaching blessing. Some flowers
must be trampled upon before their
fragrance Is detected. and IL Is like
wise true that h;xnan hearts must be
broken before their wealth OF SYM
psthy and love becoises productive.
Strength and Love Through Suffering
Then, again. we should remember
that things are not always az they APP
pear. The sun appears 10 yios and
aaIA IT, -