1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULtUtlE. 



359 



J^Y^EIiF MB fIY]\[EI6pBei^g. 



If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, 

 that g'iveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth 

 not; and it shall be given him.— James 1:5. 



T HAVE l)een greatly pained to find that I 

 m was so careless in my last talk that some 

 W of the friends got the impression I 

 -*■ thought it was rigiit and proper to get 

 in grain on Siuiday. I wish to correct 

 this ; and before going t'luther, let me say I 

 do not remember that 1 ever saw a case 

 where I would get In grain on tlie Sabbath, 

 or advise any one else to do so. In my il- 

 lustration I mentioned the case where a 

 small hurricane threw down trees and de- 

 stroyed fences. I belie \'e all will admit 

 that, under such circumstances, it was prop- 

 er to go to work and take care of the stock, 

 etc. If this be so, then is it so very strange 

 that some people might think certain circum- 

 stances would justify getting in grain on 

 Sunday? Both cases have in view the sav- 

 ing of property. If you say in the former 

 case it was right and proper, and in the lat- 

 ter case it was not, who shall draw the line? 

 Suppose we take another illustration : 



During a dry time, fences often take fire. 

 Shall we put the Are out? I think most Chris- 

 tian people would say, " Yes, most certainly, 

 if there is danger that tire shall rim along the 

 fences so as to burn buildings.'' But sup- 

 pose the fences are so isolated that the fire 

 can not communicate to any buildings ; shall 

 we carry water and put it out? or (as it is 

 simply a loss of property) shall we let it 

 burn ? 1 think in such cases, as well as in 

 many others, there will be little differences 

 of opinion, even among good Christians. 

 There need not be very much difference, 

 however, especially if the Christian, before 

 he decides, asks God to lead him. And 

 now we come to the point of our text. I be- 

 lieve that we need to go to God constantly 

 in prayer, asking him to enlighten us, and 

 give us wisdom in the interpretation of 

 nearly all the commands laid down in the 

 Bible. If we do this, we shall, as a body of 

 Christians, at least pretty nearly agree. 



I once heard the (luestion raised as to 

 whether God ever told one man one thing 

 and another man a different thing. An old 

 gray-headed veteran in Christian service 

 insisted pretty vehemently that God always 

 answers the same thing to all his children. 

 Some other good Christian people demurred 

 at this ; and I believe that even our pastor 

 thought our old friend was taking singular 

 ground. Several years have passed since 

 then ; but the longei' I live, and the more 

 f study humanity and God's providences, 

 the more I think our old friend was at least! 

 pretty nearly right. If a number of ('hris- 

 tian people were askingGod what they ought 

 to do in regard to going out on his day to 

 carry water to put out fires, I think he 

 would tell them very nearly the same tjiing. 

 We all have opinions of our own, and we 

 are all m(n'e or less stuljborn, so that, with- 

 out fully realizing it, we are liable to be 

 biased by our convictions. I have had an 

 experience of just that sort. Crowds of 

 both godly and ungodly people were carry- 



ing water to stop a fire. I decided, or, if 

 you choose, God seemed to tell me, that it 

 was his wish that I should join in this 

 throng and work as wtII as I was able. In 

 a little time the lire was sufficiently subdued 

 to be considered safe. There was no need 

 of more than three or four remaining on the 

 ground to watch it. At this time, con- 

 science said very plainly to me that Christian 

 people should go straight home ; and dur- 

 ing the work I also felt impressed that we 

 should be careful about indulging in useless 

 or idle words. 1 felt it would be wrong to 

 sit down on the fence with the others and 

 take a rest. A good many might feel en- 

 couraged to visit and use idle talk, on this 

 holy day. just because one professing Chris- 

 tian was among them, to set the example. 

 Remember, dear friends, that, under such 

 circumstances, the admonition laid upon us 

 is, " Ye are the salt of the earth ; " agaiii, 

 " Ye are the light of the world.' We are 

 not commanded to abstain from necessary 

 work on the Sabbath, but only to " keep it 

 holy." And Jesus said, while the matter 

 was being discussed before him, " It is law- 

 fid to do well on the Sabbath day." Now, 

 then, my friends, if you want my advice in 

 the matter, I should say, it is very hard to 

 lay down rules as to what should and wdiat 

 should not be done in the way of work on 

 Sunday ; Init if we ask God to "guide us, let 

 us be sure that our own notions and preju- 

 dices, or. if you choose, our love of property, 

 do not bias the dictates of our conscience in 

 regard to this matter, and then I think we 

 shall be led safely. If the. matter is one 

 where there may be much difference of 

 opinion, get down on your knees and ask 

 your heavenly Father "to direct, and I am 

 sure you will feel happy over the result. 

 The Christian should, above all others, make 

 careful provision on the day before, against 

 possible contingencies and emergencies. If 

 there is fire that may possibly catch in the 

 fences, put it out the night before. If there 

 is grain that might be injured by sudden 

 storm, get it in, even if you have to work 

 after dark. If there is any prospect of a 

 flood, don't leave any thing "valuable on low 

 ground If, however, after having done all 

 you can in these respects, a sudden flood 

 should threaten the loss of a large amount of 

 property, I am not sure it would be wrong 

 to hitch up the team and move tlie property, 

 especially if it could be done quickly; but 

 from what experience I have had, however, 

 in such cases, I very much dislike to do it. 

 In fact, I do not feel happy and satisfied 

 after having done so. I would not gather 

 sap on Sundav. I would much rather sit up 

 till 12 o'clock at night, in order to empty 

 every bucket. Then I would get up at iL' 

 o'clock on Monday morning, and empty 

 them again when they are running over. I 

 have done things of this kind, and I always 

 feel happy in doing it. In fact, I really en- 

 joy sitting up till 12 o'clock on Saturday 

 night, and getting up a little after midnight 

 on Monday morning, especially when I can 

 feel that I am doing it for Christ's sake. 

 The thought that my friends and my neigh- 

 bors are watching me is also a pleasant 

 thought in connection with the matter. 



