The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-02-04

hand, d6v0Glng MS wh0lo DOCK 10
that subject. So wonderful are these bod
les that God names his own attributes
after the different parts, His omniscience
it is Gods ear. His omnipotence-it is
Gods arm. The upholstery of the mid
night heavens-it is the work of Gods
fingers. His life-giving power-it is the
breath of the Almighty. His dominion
the Government shall be upon His shoulder.
A body so divinely honored and so divinely
constructed, let us be careful not to abuse
it. When it becomes a Christian duty to
take care of our health, is not the whole
tendency toward long life? If toss my
watch about recklessly and drop it on the
pavement and wind it up any time of day
or night happen to think of it, and often
let it run down, and while you are careful
with your watch and never abuse it, and
wind it up at just the same hour every
night, and put it in place where it will
not suffer from the violent changes of the
atmosphere, which watch will last the
longer? Common sense answers. Now,
the human body is Gods watch. You see
the hands of the watch, you see the face
of the watch; but the beating of tho heart
and do not let it run down!
Again, remark that practical religion
is a friend of long life, in the fact that it is
a protest against all the dissipati ons which
injure and destroy the health. Bad men
and women live a very short life. Their
sins kill them. I know hundreds Of good
old men, but do not know half dozen
bad old men. Why? They do not get old.
Lord Byron died at Mis- solonghi at thirty
six years of age. himself his own Mazeppa,
his unbridled passions that dashed with
Baltimore at thirty eight years of age.
The black raven that alighted on the bust
above his chamber door was delirium tre-
mems.
Only this and nothing more.
Napoleon Bonaparte lived only just be-
yond mid life, then died at st. Helena, and
one of his doctors said that his disease was
induced by excessive shutting. The hero
of Austerlitz, the man who by one step of
his foot in the center of Europe shook the
earth, killed by snuff-box! Oh, how
many people we have known who have not
lived out half their days because of their
designations and indulgences! Now, prac-
tical religion is q protest against all dissi-
patton of any kind. "But," you say,
professors of religion have fallen, pro-
fessors of religion have got drunk, pro-
fessors Of religion have Incorporated
trust funds, professors of religion have alb
seconded" Yes, but they threw away their
religion before they did their morality. If
20 ;,,o l.,
for Liverpool, in mid-Auantic jumps over
board and is drowned, is that anything
against the White Star Lines capacity to
take the man across the ocean? And il a
man jumps over the gunwale of his re-
ligion and goes down never to rise, is
that any reason for your believing that re-
ligion has no capacity to take the man
clear through? In the one case, If he had
kept to the steamer his body would have
been saved; in the other case, if he had
kept to his religion his morals would have
been saved. There are aged people in this
house to-day who would have been dead
twenty five years ago but for the defenses
and the equipoise of religion, You have
no more natural resistance than hun
dreds of people who lie in the cemeteries
to-day, slain by their own vices. The doc
tors made their cases as kind and pleasant
as they could, and it was called conges-
ton of the brain or something else, but the
snakes and blue flies that seemed to crawl
over the pillow in the sight of the delirious
patient, showed what was the matter with
him. You, the aged Christian man, walked
along by that unhappy one until you came
to the golden pillar of a Christian life. You
went to the right, he went to the left. That
is not all the difference between you. Oh,
if this religion is q protest against all forms
of dissipation, then it is an illustrious
friend of long life.
Again, religion is friend of long life in
| the fact that it takes the worry out of our
temporalities. 1t is not work that kills
| men, it is worry. When a man becomes a
| genuine Christian he makes over to God
not only his affections, but his family, his
business, his reputation, his body, his
mind, his soul-everything. Industrious
| he will be, but never worrying, because
| God is managing his affairs. How can he
worry about business when, IN answer to
his prayers, God tells him when to buy and
when to sell, and if he gain, that is best,
and IL he lose, that is best?
Suppose you had a supernatural neigh
Dor who came in and said: "Sir, want
you to call on me in every exigency. am
your fast friend; could fall back on $780,
100000; can foresee panic ten years;
hold the controlling stock in thirty of the
best monetary institutions of New York;
whenever you are in any trouble call on
me and will help you; you can have my
money, and you can have my influence;
there is my hand in pledge for it," How
much would you worry about business:
Why you would say: "I1l do the best
can and then I'll depend upon my friends
| generosity for the rest" Now, more than
that is promised to every Christian bust
ness man. God says TO him: 81 own New
York and London and st. Petersburg, and
Pekin and Australia and California are
mine; l can foresee a. panic million years
have all the resources of the universe
and am your fast friend; when you ge,
IN business trouble or any other trouble
cali on me and l will hear, and will help
here is my hand in pledge of omnipoten
deliverance." How much should that mar
worry? Not much. What lion will dare t<
put his paw on that Daniel? If you could
take o thermometer and thrust it int