Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1892-10-29
REV. DR.. TALMAGH.
Che Eminent Brooklyn Divine's Sun.
day Sermon.
suhieot. .rhe Finger Of Cod.

Sohe. anu sUmetin2S the Egg pttan mcnarcn
was disposed to do better, but at the lifting
oil each plague he was as bad as before Tbs
necroinareers OF the palace. however, were
compelled torecognize thedivine movement.
and after one OF the mcss exasperating
plaques of all the series they cried out in the
words OF my text, This is the finger OF
God"-not the FIRST nor the last tins when
bad people said cool thing. An old Phil
adelphia friend visiting ME the other day
asked me if hal ever noticed this passage
OF Scripture from which to-day speak. |
told him no, and | said right away, THAT
Is 9oo1 text for a Sermon
We all recognize the hand of God and
know it isa mighty hand. You have seen
man keep two or three rubber balls fying
IN the air, catching AMI pitching them SO
that none of them fed to the floor, and co
this for several minutes, ani you have adj
mired his dexterity. But have you thou hit
how the hand of God keeps millions an
millions of round worlds vastly larger than
our world hying for centuries without let
la.g one fall? Wondrous power and skill
Of Gods han ! But about that am not to
discourse. My text leads me to speak of
less than fifth of the divine hand. This
is the finger of Col" OTIY in two other
places does the Bible refer to this division
Of the omnipotent hand The rocks on
Mount Sinai are basalt and very hard stone
Do you imagine it was a caisel that cut the
ten commandments in that basalt? No: in
Exodus we read that the tables OF stone
Were written with the finger of God"
Christ say that He cast out devils with "the
finger of Col"
The only instance that Christ wrote a
word He wrote not with pen on parchment,
but with His finger on the ground Yet
though seldom reference is male IN the
Bible to part of Gods hand, if you and
keep our eyes open AMI our hearts right we
will be compelled often to cry out, This is
the finger of Cody 1t is my intention be-
fore long to begin a series of sermons on
"lhe Astronomy of the Bible, or God
Among the Stars" 1.-THE Ornithology Of
the Bible, or God Among the Birds" THE
Orchards 'rhe Ichthyology of the
Bible, or Col Among the Fishes THE
Geology of the Bnle or God Among the
Roc&s;" The Waters OF the Bible or
God Among the Seas" The Zoology of the
Bible, or God Among the Beasts" "rhe
Precious Stones o. the Bible, or God A 1aong
the Amethysts;' 1.-The Conchology of the
Bible, Or God Among the Shells;'' ''The
Botany of the Bible, or Col Among the
Flowers" The Chronology Of the Bible, or
cod Among the Centuries" AMI | want this
sonins winter to get you AMI get myself
INTO the habit of see.ng ths finger OF Col
yerywhere an in everything; but this
morning want to il1nc9 you to loo'l for
he finger OF God in your personal aft hrs.
The most OF the gesticu alton is natural
Il stranger arcost you on tae street and
ask you the way TO some place, it is, as
natural as to breathe for you to level your
iorehnger this way OF that Not one out
bf thousand OF you woul stand with your
bands by your side an make no motion with
your finger. Whatever You may say with
your lips is omphas zad and re-en 'orced and
translated by your finger. Now Col in the
lear old Book says to Us innu nerable things
" the way of direction. He plainly tells US
me way to go. But in every exigency
Of cur life, If we will only look,
we will find a providential gestur
and a proViientiai pointing, 50 taat We may
confidently say, "fhis is the finger OF Col"
Two or thre9 times in my life, when per-
picked on questions o, duty after earnest
prayer, | have cast lots as to what should
10. In olden times the Lords people cast
OTIS. The land OF Canaan was divided by
lot. The cities vera divided among the
priests and LeyiteS by lot. Matthias was
;Eosen to tde apostleshi2 by lot.
Now casting lots is about the most solemn
hing you can do. l. s1oIl never bo don3
except WITH a sole unity like that OF the last
judgment. Il is direct appeal to the AL
mighty. Ii after earnest prayer you do
not seem to get the divine direction 1 think
5Ou NilupuJ Sill WIlJ5 upO1 OnS sup
Of paper Yes and upon another "No," or
some other decisive words appropriate to
the case AMI then CELEBRATING from your
mind the identity of tla slips of paper draw
the decision an act uoonit Iu that case
think you have right to take that indicl.
ton as the finger OF God. But do not do
that except as the last rssort and with de-
voutness that leaves absolutely all with
God.
For much that concerns US we have no re-
sponsibility, and we neeI not make appeal
to the Lord for direction. We are not re-
spcnsiole for most of our surroundings. We
are not responsible for the country OF our
birth, nor for ;:Sether we are Americans or
Norwegians or Scotchmen or Irishnen or
Engishmeu. We are hot responsible for
the age in which we live. We are not re.
sponsible for our temperament, be it ner-
vous or pllegmatic bilious or sanguine.
We are not responsible for our features, be
they honely or beautiful. We are not re.
sponsible for the height or smallness of our
stature, We are no5 responsible for the
fact that We are mentally dull of brilliant.
For the most of out environments we have
no more responsibility than we have for t1e
moltusIs at the b0tto of the Atlantic
ocean.
/ Oh, am 50 glad that thera ara about five
hundred thousan things that we ara notrs'
l.
our manner cold as an ic3barg, or nervou:
as cat amid a PACK of Fourth OF July fire.
crackers. Ii you are determine to blams
some body, blame our great 8rau 1fathers or
great ran1mothers Who died before tha
Revolutionary war, and who may have hal
habits depressing AMI ruinous. fhera ara
wrong things about us all, which MAKE me
think that one hun irs l an fifty years ago
there was some terrible crank in our ancss-
f~at u ltfr, oy,A mill ha
lief semi-intinita. Let US take ourselves as
we are this monent, aud taen ask (Which
wayY Get all tia direction you can from
careful and constant study of the Bible, aud
then LOOK up AMI LOOK out an1 look around,
and see ii you can fin1 the filger of God.
/ 1t is a remarkable thing that sometim IS
no one can see that fin ger but yourself. A
year before Abraham Lincoln sgnel the
proclamation of emancipation the White
House was throngel with committees aud
associations, ministers and laymen, advising
the president to make taat proclamation.
But he waited and waited amid scott and
anathema, because he did not himself see
the finger of Got. After awhile and at just
the right time he saw the divine pointin !
and signed the proclamation. The distiu.
Guished Confedera-e7, Mason and
Slidell were taken of an English
vessel by the Unitel States Govern
all the northern States. Let us have wal
with Eaglan rather than surrender them, y
was the almost unanimous cry OF the north
But William II. Seward saw the finger oil
: God leading in Just the opposite direction
and the CouSejerates were given up, and we
avoided a war with England which at thai
time would have been tue demolition of tbs
United States Govern nent.
10 other words the finger OF God as it di'
-, rr..ff 7fYf11NJ
ellie. Follow the DIVINE pointing, as you
see it, although the world my call you q
fool. There has nsver been a man or {
woman who amounted to anything the
has not sometimes bean calle1 a fool
Nearly all the mistakes that you and
have made have como from our following
the pointing Of so NJ other finger, instead
Of the finger OF Col. But. now, suppose
all forms OF disaster close in upon a man
Suppose bis business collapsas. Supoos,
he buys goods and cannot sell them. SUP
pose by new Invention others can furnisl
the same goods at less price Suppose a colo
spring or Il late autumn or the coming of ar
epidemic corners man, and his notes com;
due and he cannot meet them, and his reni
must be paid and there is nothing witt
to pay it. and the wages of the employees ars
due and there is nothing with which to meet
that obi cation, aud the bank will not dis.
count, AMI the business friends to whom be
goes for accommodation are in the same
preiicament, AM h. haa-s up an stru ggles
90, until after avail. crash goes thu whole
concern.
He stan Is won iering ani spying, II dc
not see the meaning o. all this. have done
tho hest l could. Col kaows | would pay
my debts if | could, but here am hedged ID
AMI stoppel" What should that man do III
that ease-go to the Scriptures aud rea 4 tn.
promise about all tain IS working together
! for pnnl aud lii, Ira r,as.n r,.s