Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 February 1918 — DAY OF REJOICING [ARTICLE]

DAY OF REJOICING

The Character of Our Sowing Determines the Quality of Our Reapings. “They that sow in tears shall .reap In joy.”—Ps. 126:5. Harvest joy does not come from the tears which accompany otfr but from the faithfulness with which we sow even in the midst’of sorrow. Sheaves do not. grow from tears but from seed. It Is important that we hold fast to the truth just stated, for we are prone to withhold our hands In the days of sorrow. Such days are frequent. Clouds are everywhere. It seems that the sun will never shine again. Hope of harvest has almost died away. “What’s the use?” we say; and we are tempted to make no furthef effort. Blinded by discouragement, weakened by disappointment, we sit down and bemoan the fate that has befallen us. Thus we postpone or make impossible the joyful day which might be ours, the day of rejoicing in an abundant harvest which grew from faithful sowing. The Day of Sorrow. Not so the Jews in Babylon. Great was their sorrow tnd distress. Upon the willows by the rivers they hung their harps, those musical Instruments by means of which they expressed their joy, for they could not sing their national hymns in a strange land ; yet in their deep sorrow they began to sow seeds of desire, seeds of resolute purpose, seeds of righteousness, that they might be fit for communion with Jehovah in their own beloved land. In Babylon they remembered Zion and how their own willfulness and sin had been the means of sending them as exiles; but instead of giving up in despair they began to prepare for a new life as a restored people In a restored fatherland. So they made possible the jubilant songs of deliverance. The Reason for Joy. It was not the tears in Babylon which brought them their rejoicing. It was because they had turned from their folly and discovered the truth which had been stated Eo them so often, that “his salvation Is nigh them that fear him.” What blessings come out of these days of tears if only we make wise use of the sorrows that come to us! Headstrong and disregarding God in the pride of their own strength, calamity had come upon them; but we can almost see these sorrow-stricken people encouraging one another to turn again unto the Lord, teaching their children the truth which they had neglected to follow, und, as a consequence of such sowing, they were rejoiced to see that “truth springeth out of the earth; and righteousness hath looked down from heaven.” There is a sowing .in joy—or that which Is called joy—that yields a harvest of tears, a sowing to the wind that yields the whirlwind. But the sowing of right thoughts, right purposes, right desires, even though there is no joy at the time, always yields the peaceable fruits of righteousness and fills the mouth with laughter and the tongue with singing.—Rev. James E. Clark, D. D.