106 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb 1 



capture one single commonplace individual. 

 The man who allows himself to get angry is 

 like one who has let go of the lines with a 

 runaway horse — yes, even when even his very 

 life depends on a firm steady hand. Therefore 

 do not let your opponent see he has vexed you. 

 Very likely that is just what he is trying to do. 

 When you have got the contrary spirit all out 

 of your heart, then you are ready for our text, 

 especially the latter part of it — " the effectual 

 fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth 

 much." Pray ior the man who vexes you. 

 Some of you, especially those who do not be- 

 lieve in prayer, may say, "Why, Bro. Root, 

 the whole thing is preposterous, to pray for a 

 min who has spoiled your property, wasted 

 your time, and then looks you fairly in the 

 face, and lies.'' 



I know, dear friends, it is demanding a good 

 deal of humanity — especially untrained hu- 

 manity. It is easy enough to read over the 

 words, " Pray for those that despitefully use 

 you " when you are not in conflict with some- 

 body ; but to ask a man, right when he is 

 greatly vexed, to stop and to try to pray for the 

 man who acts in the way I have described, is 

 a pretty hard thing to do. I know, because I 

 have tried it ; but, O dear friends ! it is the 

 07tly road from earth to heaven ; it is the otily 

 way to save the world from sin. Our text 

 says the prayer of a righteous man availeth 

 much. If you are contrary, ugly, and un- 

 truthful, like your hired man, there is no 

 promise that the prayer will avail ; and, oh 

 dear me ! I have come now to the saddest part 

 of my talk. 



When I was trying to describe to you the 

 contrary hired man or housemaid it kept forc- 

 ing itself on me that I was almost unconscious- 

 ly describing my poor self, or at least a part 

 of myself that too often comes in sight. While 

 I think of it I can only say, " May God have 

 mercy on i>ie a sinner." 



If I, then, am ready to acknowledge that I 

 am one of the contrary sort — one thing at one 

 time and another thing at another — what 

 right have I to expect my prayers shall amount 

 to any thing? Well, in one sense I have not 

 any right; but the dear book says (thank 

 God) that Christ Jesus came into the world, 

 not to save the righteous, but to bring sinners 

 to repentance. We read, too, " Him that 

 comeih to me I will in no wise cast out," and 

 this includes sinners like me and everybody 

 else. Now. then, dear brother or sister, do 

 not turn off your housemaid because she has a 

 fashion of behaving as I have described. 

 Pray for her — pray that the spirit of Christ 

 Jesus may get into her heart and drive 

 out this spirit of Satan. Do not forget to in- 

 clude yourself and your own heart in this plea 

 to the great Father above. When you are off 

 by yourself in your own closet, where none but 

 God can hear, you can say, if you choose, " O 

 God, have mercy on <^o/A o/m5. Help me to 

 set a good example ; help me to forget these 

 unpleasant acts and untruthful words ; and 

 may the Holy Spirit rule and guide both of 

 us." O dear friends, you do not know how 

 such prayers help. I have seen men and wo- 

 men transformed in just a little while. Yes, 



I have been so astonished at the result of such 

 prayers that I have gone off by myself again 

 and again, just to thank the dear Savior, and 

 to ask him to forgive my want of faith — to for- 

 give me for not having faith to believe that 

 such blundering prayers from a heart already 

 stumbling and blundering so far out of the 

 straight and narrow path should avail so much. 

 Oh howl do like those two words, "avail- 

 eth much " ! 



Suppose you have forgotten yourself, and 

 ordered your impudent, untruthful hired man 

 off the premises. Would it have made him 

 behave any better with his next employer ? 

 I do not believe it would, especially if you 

 are a professing Christian. He would have 

 gone away soured against all the world — pro- 

 fessing Christians especially. Years ago I 

 had a man working for me whom I had taken 

 from our county jail. In just a few days 

 there was a fight started between him and one 

 of our regular men. I got between them, and, 

 after a good deal of hard work, had the two 

 shaking hands, and begging pardon for the 

 misunderstanding. He told me afterward 

 that he had been in lots of fights during his 

 life, but he never before saw a fight end in 

 that way ; and I am afraid his experience is 

 too much like that of a good many others. 



Our text enjoins us to confess our faults one 

 to another. Of course, the man who employs 

 some one to work for him must preserve prop- 

 er dignity. If your hired man sees that you 

 are afraid of him when he gets contrary, he 

 may undertake, especially if he is one of the 

 ignorant sort, to take advantage of you. The 

 matter should be settled in the outset that 

 you are to direct things and he is to work ac- 

 cording to directions. If he is a reasonable 

 man he will agree to this ; but, sad to say, it 

 is not the hired man and the housemaid alone 

 who are sometimes one thing and sometimes 

 another We have neighbors who act in the 

 way I have described ; yes, we have sisters 

 and brothers in the church who seem to forget 

 themselves, and think it no very serious thing 

 to be contrary ; and, oh dear me ! I almost 

 forgot to say that we have employers who 

 will be pleased with work at one time and at 

 another time get into a mood so they would 

 not be pleased with any thing, and scold and 

 make a fuss when every thing is all right. 

 Yes, there are housewives who are this way. 

 There are policemen and sheriffs who let a 

 man go scot free at one time, and then take 

 him up at some other time for a very trifling 

 offense as their mood changes. And we really 

 can not stop with policemen and sheriffs. I 

 have seen judges on the bench, who, because 

 they were prejudiced against a certain one 

 who was in their power, would so far forget 

 themselves and their — I almost said sacred 

 calling, for the man who is chosen to hold the 

 property and sometimes the life of a fellow- 

 being in his hands does have a high and sa- 

 cred duty and a great responsibility on his 

 shoulders. Yes, even judges on the bench, I 

 am sorry to say, sometimes let little personal 

 spites or prejudice for or against certain per- 

 sons warp and bias their decision. May I 

 suggest that not only the governors of our 



