THE SWORD AND THE TROWEL.
MARCH, 1868.
twelve apostles were his college of preachers, and .each of these committed the gospel to faithful men, who taught others also.
This passage also gives a hint to those excessively spiritual people who object to building places for God's worship, and whenever an enlargement, or a new structure is projected, cry out about hearing so much about bricks and mortar. Their wisest way is to give their immediate help to the
enterprise, and. get the building done with, that they may never hear of it again. Young prophets must have houses, and as these will not grow of themselves, like mushrooms, there must be 'some little talk about the matter, and earnest labor too. Elisha did not say, "There, there, do not trouble me about buildings; I desire to walk with God and think of heavenly things; I cannot possibly give attention to your carnal
arrangements about building houses; no, he listened to their story, and when he saw them resolved upon the business, he went with them to afford them his countenance and company. Our personal experience of superfinely spiritual people who cannot endure the ordinary work of Christian
churches, is just this — they are either lackadaisical, sentimental images of affectation, or mean, stingy hypocrites, who want an excuse for tightening their purse-strings'. While we are in this body, we shall want houses to meet in for public worship, almsrooms and orphanages for the relief of the poor, and schools for the instruction of the young; and it is as much a holy work to build these in our times, as it was for Bezaleel to fashion the tabernacle, or Solomon to erect the temple. Those excessively heavenly people who cannot condescend to such worldly work, ought not to eat their dinners, for that is a very fleshly operation; nor ought they to sleep as do others, or to array themselves in coats and waistcoats, for that is a very carnal fashion; they should rig themselves out with wings, and imitate the angelic in all things. Bah ! One needs a great deal of patience to endure the nonsense of a certain class of very pretentious, but useless people.
Our chief reason for noticing the incident before us, was to make an observation appropriate to our late trial, that in the best work for the Lord we have no guarantee against accidents, and the losses which they
occasion. The young prophet was most landably engaged, and yet the head of his ax flew off, and fell into the water. Those who conclude that every successful work has the smile of God upon it, should remember that
Babylon was mistress among the nations, and none could stand against her, yet was she abhorred of the Lord. Those, on the other hand, who see in every temporary calamity a proof that an enterprise is not according to the
Lord's mind, might condemn the preaching of the gospel itself, since in its very infancy it subjected so many to persecution and to cruel death. Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and the works which he approves he often renders difficult. When the preacher at the Surrey Music Hall saw his congregation scattered by the uproar of wicked men, and mourned over precious life which was so suddenly sacrificed, there were friends who read in that shocking disaster an omen that the work was not of God, and that the preacher must desist; but the young man did not believe in omens, but in duty, and therefore, as soon as he could, he reappeared in his pulpit, and as the result of his after ministry in that place, it is not too much to say that thousands found Christ by his direct teaching, while the preaching of the word in cathedrals, abbeys, music halls, and theaters, became a tolerated agency, and even a popular method of evangelisation. During the last few days an unusually strong wind has demolished about six hundred pounds' worth of property at the Stockwell Orphanage; will the conductor of that work be at all discouraged, and dream that the Lord's hand is against him?
Not for a moment. The same event happeneth alike to all. Winds and tempests blow upon the good as well as the evil. When a storm is abroad, it shows no partialities, and is as likely to overturn an orphanage as a theater, to wreck a missionary ship as a pirate's craft. Does this perplex the
observer? It should not do so. God would have us serve him under trials and difficulties; to screen us from them would be to make babies of us, and not to develop the manly qualities of patience, courage, and perseverance.
In this world and under its ordinary laws the Great Master would have us labor, not under a glass case of miracles and wonders, but under the cloudy skies which look down upon a fallen world: he trains us to work not as a race of amateurs protected from all the dust and sweat of ordinary life, and laid up in lavender by supernatural exemptions from hardships, but as real workmen, to whom things are as they are, who find trees hard to fell, and the heads of whose axes fly off unless they are well fastened on to their handles. Of course, if trust in providence be a guarantee against flood, wind, fire, and hail, it is clear that all who meet with such calamities are great sinners, and their works obnoxious to the Ruler of all things, but this can hardly be true, when we frequently see those called to suffer who are the very cream of the church of Christ. Paul was engaged upon no ill errand when he suffered shipwreck; his soul was fired with the noblest ambition of which sanctified humanity is capable, and yet the vessel was dashed to pieces. The fact is, that the same events may be curses to some and blessings to others, and thus a judgment which overwhelms the
ungodly may be a gracious visitation to the saint. Our business is to learn the lessons which adversities are meant to teach us, and they' are not difficult to discover. The case of the man with the lost are is to the point.
When accident impedes us in the work of the Lord, we may expect a divine interposition, for, in the name 'of his Master, the prophet caused the iron to swim. Our trials are often the shadows of coming mercies. We are made to draw back a little that we may with the more energy leap forward. We lose silver to find gold. God will appear at the ebb of the tide. He will turn the year at the shortest winter's day. When he has shown us our entire
dependence t/pen himself, he will stretch out his glorious arm and work deliverance. Such gracious help we believingly look for at the Orphanage.
The Lord who is the Father of the orphans, will not destroy his own property wantonly — he has some good thing in store. The are may be in the water, but the prophet's God can raise it, it shall not be lost.
We may also feel deep gratitude that it is no worse. The are might have split some one's head when it flew off, or it might have severely wounded the young workman himself. He was probably little used to felling trees, he was not a regular woodman certainly, for he had to borrow his are; he went to work eagerly but clumsily, and flourished his weapon at such a rate that it was a mercy when the dangerous implement was out of his unskillful hand. We have felt glad with regard to the building which we have lost, that it fell in good time before any children were on the premises. In all human probability they would have sought shelter during the gale under the very structure which is now a ruin, and many might have been crushed beneath the massive timbers. Thanks be to God that no worse mishap has occurred; nothing indeed but what may be replaced with a little exertion.
We have not to say, "Alas, Master ! it was borrowed," for it was a free gift to us, and he whose generosity prompted the present has already offered to bear a share of the loss.
No doubt the slipping of the are head taught the worker to ram it on more tightly next time. He would be more careful before he went to his chopping again, and in like manner we are now admonished to build in the most substantial manner, so that, so far as men can judge, no furious wind may damage our edifice again. The young man found it necessary to put out his hand to reach his are from the river, and thus he learned that divine help gave him no dispensation from exerting himself. Even so while we know
that God will come to the rescue, we dare not be idle, but stir up all our friends to do their best, and the Lord being with us, all will be well.
Thus learning from adversity, we set our face steadfastly to our work, forasmuch as we know that our labor is not in vain in the Lord. We have resolved to proceed at once with four more houses, the school, the master's house, the dining hall, and the skeletons of three more houses, which will answer the purpose of the building which the wind has removed. May the Lord make the iron to swim.