1887 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUUE. 



683 



kept stiainiiiij every iieive, to force n 

 little air through that shut- up passage ; and 

 as the peace tliat only God can give under 

 like circumstances liegan to come into my 

 soul, the stul)liorn muscles l)egan to relax a 

 little. And can you, my friends, think for 

 a moment how I rejoiced to feel that terri- 

 bly labored breathing begin to come and go 

 a little easier? In a few moments I j'ould 

 bi'eathe almost naturally ; but my lungs and 

 windpipe were smarting as if they had been 

 torn and lacerated by the terrible muscular 

 effort. 1 began to think after that, that 

 fright had much to do with it. 



Some time afti-rward, whil;' in thv apiary, 

 I was stung on my neck. It was a pretty 

 bad sting in a very tender spot, but I 

 thought nothing of it until I began to feel a 

 swelling in my throat, and symptoms of a 

 closing of that terrible air-passage. Al- 

 ready a wheezing sound that announces it, 

 had commenced. Somvthing whispered (is 

 it possible that it was Satan V i that now 1 

 should di;', sure. If my throat becam;^ swol- 

 len from the effects of a bee-sting, 1 should 

 surely die as the poor fri-.-nd who has bin^n 

 spoken of over across the water died. I felt 

 weak and faint. The blood rushed to my face, 

 and the sweat began to pour forth again. 

 This time, however, I had grace enough to 

 say promptly, " (iet tlu^e behind me. Satan. 

 r am trusting in th,^ Lord -Fesus t'hrist. and 

 he has power not only to still the winds and 

 the waves, but to raise the dead if he choose. 

 I am in his hands ; and whether I die or 

 whether I live, blessed be his holy name."' 



The fright and excitement began to abate, 

 and, to my great relief, the spasmodic action 

 of the breathing-apparatus also began to 

 subside; and, my friends, although I even 

 now thank (iod for the privilege of free and 

 easy breathing, I thank him a thousand 

 times more for the privilege of feeling safe 

 and secure, no matter whether it be through 

 life or through death. I have had one ex- 

 perience in facing death alone, with noth- 

 ing but midnight darkness and gloom— with 

 no hope or faith : and I have had another, 

 with the comforting feeling that the great 

 God of the universe is always ready, and al- 

 ways watching over the children he loves. 

 if they will only put their trust in him. 



Are not two spari'ows sold for a t'artliinjr? and one 

 of them shall not fall on the "round without your 

 Father.— Matt. 10: 29. 



The point comes in here, that suggests 

 that many times people lose their lives by 

 the excitement caused by fright or the ef- 

 fects of imagination. Physicians have al- 

 ready told us much about cases of this kind. 

 Well, if this be true, a faith in God does 

 much — yes, very much — to prolong life. 



The Lord is mj' lig'ht and ray salvation; whom 

 shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; 

 of whom shall I be afraid?— Ps.\i>m 27: 1. 



Now, when my C(»usin told of the experi- 

 ence of the hired man, and that she assured 

 liim there was little piobabiliLy that any 

 harm would come from it, she did a wise 

 and kind thing. People may be st) fright- 

 ened as to very much aggravate the danger 

 of a bee-sting," and, if I am correct, the dan- 

 ger of many other diseases may be averted 

 by a quiet, peaceful trust in the Lord, es- 



pecially in matters where we are helpless. 

 M> i'riends were l)oth jtrofessing Chiistians ; 

 and when I told them of my experience, as 

 I have told you. I was itleased to notice 

 how tlieir countenaiu^es lighted \\\k We 

 then had many talks of (iod's kindness in 

 times of severe trial, and this opened the 

 way to sometiiing in regard to faith in pray- 

 er. When we i)arte(l we had all been 

 strengthened in our Christian experience; 

 and I believe the result of tliat half-hour's 

 talk will cause us to remember, as long as 

 we live, that we are not only related by 

 tlesh-and-biood ties, but through the love of 

 Christ Jesus, the friend of humanity. At 

 the close of my lirst visit I went away feel- 

 ing sad and self-condemned. I went away 

 feeling cold and indifferent, and away from 

 God, and, I am afraid, with a smaller amount 

 of I'aith ; but after this last visit I passed 

 down on their l)eautiful walk under shad\ 

 trees, with a feeling of gladness and thanks- 

 giving and praise in my heart — with a feel- 

 ing that no words could express, and no 

 tongue tell, of the comforts that come to 

 those who are striving to lay up treasures in 

 heaven rather than on earth, and with a 

 feeling that I can hardly describe, but some- 

 thing like this: A feeling that it is indeed 

 true, that God has placed it in the power of 

 each and e\ ery one of us to strengthen the 

 faith and hold u]) the feeble hands of those 

 round about us; that during a half-hour's 

 visit we may talk of the w^orld and of world- 

 ly things in a way that will encourage the 

 feeling that this world is all there is to live 

 for; or, on the contrary, we may, in even 

 one half-hour, raise ourselves and those 

 about us to a contemplation of spiritual 

 things that shall infuse new energy; that 

 shall give inspiration in the pursuit of these 

 things in eveiy-day life; that shall ennoble 

 and lift up, and help all to take anotliei- ste]) 

 lieavenward. 



A trust in Christ contributes to make us 

 brave in life and brave in death ; and this 

 bravery is not of the defiant kind eithei-, but 

 it is a tiusting and contiding courage. Je- 

 sus l)raved death when it w'as constantly in 

 his power to sink his enemies into oblivion ; 

 but putting all thought of self and of bodily 

 suffering out of the (luestion, he died that 

 his enemies and persecutors might live. It 

 was as hard for him to die as for any of us ; 

 and with human weakness he shrank from 

 it just as we would. Indeed, at one time he 

 uttered the words, '' My God. my (iod. wliy 

 hast thou foisaken me V"'" 



Now, my friends, if this talk to day has 

 been the means of heli)ing you to tiiist in 

 the time of trial in the kind Father who 

 placed us here for his own wise purposes, I 

 shall fee] glad and happy that I have given 

 you this little bit of my experience ; and I 

 know, fri:^nds, by personal experience, that 

 there is no comfort and no satisfaction in 

 encouraging skei)ticism and unbelief; while 

 I do know. also, that he who trusts in the 

 Jj'ird has his f-et i)lant-ed on the solid rock; 

 and the comforting thought may l»e always 

 in his heart, no matter what dangers threat- 

 en. — 



Though T walk through the valley of the shadow 

 of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; 

 thy lod and thystatl they comfort me.— Psai,m23: 4. 



