The Banner-Democrat., 1892-12-17
THE FINGER OF GOD.
It May be Seen Everywhere and in
Everything.
Fohow the Pointing OF the Divine Finger
rs You Sec IT Yourself-It Points to
the straight ROAD Through
Sunshine and Shadow.


Sunshine and Shadow.
Inc Finger of Cod furnished IN
subject for recent sermon deliyere
S5y Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage in Brool
IN tabernacle. His text was:
( The Finger OF God.- Exodus H., 10.
Pharaoh was sulking in his marbI
Z 'nrone room at Memphis Plague afte
plague had come, and sometimes th
EGYPTIAN monarch was disposed to d.
better, but at the lifting of each plapu
he was as bad as before. The necro
inanccrs Of the palace, however. wer
competed to recognize the Divin
movement, and after one of the mos
exasperating plaques of all the serie
they cried out in the words of my text
ms is the finger of God"-not th,
nrst nor the last time when bad peop,,
said good thing. An old Pbiladel
phia friend visiting me the other da,
asked me If had ever noticed this pas
sage OF Scripture from which / TODAY
speak. 1 told him no, and said right
away: 'sThat is good text for a ser.
We all recognize the hand of God and
know 1T is mighty hand. You have
seen man keep two or three rubber
oans flying in the air, catching and
pitching them so that none of them fell
TO the hoor, and do this for several min
utes. and you have admired his dex-
terity. But have you thought how the
hand OF God keeps millions and millions
o. round worlds vastly larger than our
world fiy1ng for centuries without let
ting ono fall? Wondrous power and
skill OF Gods hand! But about that 7
am not to discourse. My text leads me
to speak of less than a fifth of TIC
DIVINE hand. ''This is the finger of
God" Only in two other places does
the Bible refer to this division of the
Omnipotenthand. The rocks on Mount
sinai are basalt aud very hard stone.
DO you imagine it was chisel that cut
the ten commandments in that basalt?
NO. In Exodus we read that the tables
OF stones were written with the fin
ger of God" Christ saws that Tie
cast out the devils with ssthe
hnRer of God" The only instance
that Christ wrote word, lie
wrote not with pen on parchment; but
with His finger on the ground. Yet
though so seldom rcference is made in
the Bible to n part of Gods hand. if |
you. and keep our eyes open and our
heart right, we will be compelled often |
TO cry out: 'sThis is the finger of God.
1t is my intention before long to begin /
q series of sermons on 'sThe Astronomy
OF the Bible, or God Among the Stars
''The Ornithology of the Bible, or God
Among the Birds" ''The Posnology of
the Bible, or God Among the Or
chards;" "The Ichthyology of the BIZ
bic, or God Among the Fishes" .eThe
Geology of the Bible, or God Among
The Rocks" The Waters Of the Bible.
,r God Among the Seas" ssThe Zool-
,gy OF the Bible, or God Among the
Beasts ''The Precious Stones of the
Bible, or God Among the Amethysts;"
The Conchology of the Bible, or God
Among the Shells!" "The Botany of the
Bible, or God Among the Flowers"
The Chronology of the Bible, or God
Among the Centuries" and / want
his coming winter to get you and get
myself into the habit of seeing the fin-
.er of God everywhere and in everv-
hing; but this morning want to in
uce You to look for the finger of God
n your personal affairs.
To most of us gesticulation is natural.
I stranger accost you on the street
nd ask You the way to some place, it {
J as natural as to breathe for you to
evel your forefinger this way or that. :
lot one out OF a thousand of you would
land with your hands by your side
nd make no motion with your finger. '
Whatever you may say with your lips
emphasized and REINFORCED and I
'anslated by your finger. Now, God 9
! the dear old book, says to us in
umerable things by the way of direc- l
on. He plainly tells us the way to e
,. Butin every exigency of our life, n
we will only look. we win find u
'ovidential gesture and providential a
'inting, so that we may confidently P
": 'srhis is the finger of God" Two $
three times in my life, when per- e
exed on questions of duty after earn II
{ prayer, / have cast lots as to 4
hat ] should do. In olden times. "
e Lords people cast lots. The m
nd of Canaan was divided by lot. M
ne cities were divided among the IN
tests and Levites by lot. Matthias Pl
rs chosen to the apostleship by lot. w
,w, casting lots is about the most sol D'
IN thing you can do. 1t should never pt
done except with a solemnity like fe
at of the last Judgment 1t is di- 81
It appeal to the Almighty. If, after u
rnest prayer you do not seem to get 10
9 Divine direction, think you might, ns
thout sin, write upon one slip of pa al
: Yes, and upon another NO" or ar
ne other decisive words appropriate on
the case, and then obliterating from II
ur mind the identity of the slips Of lei
per, draw the decision and act upon se
In that case I think You have an
ht to take that indication rs the OF
ger of Gcd. But do mot do that ex- sp
1t as the last resort, and with a de- tu
utness that leaves absolutely all with on
d. wi
FOR much that concerns us we have se<
responsibility, and we need not
Ike appeal to the Lord for direction. us,
are not responsible for most of our of
We are not responsible Gel
the country of our birth, nor for ros
ether we are Americans, or Norwe- chi
ms or Seof.bmeu mr. Trisb,ne,, mr. No,