Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1892-11-04
REV. DR.. TAlMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUM-
DAY SERMON.
SUBJECT: "THE FINGER OF GoD."

was disposed to do better, but at the lifting
oil each plague he was ms bad as be ore. The
necromancers of the palace. however, were
compelled to recognize thedivine movement
and after one of the most eKasperating
plaques OF all the series they cried out in the
words OF my text This is the finger OF
Gof'-not the first nor the last time when
bad people said good thing. An old Phil
adelphia friend visiting me the other day
asked me II had ever noticed this passage
OF Scripture from which to-day speak |
told him no, and | said right away, That
is good text for sermon"
We all recognize the hand of God and
know it isa mighty hand. You have seen
a man keep two or three rubber balls flying
in the air, catching aud pitching them 50
that none OF them fell TO the floor, and DO
this for several minutes, aul you have adj
mired his deKterty. But have you thought
how the hand OF God keeps millions and
millions OF round worlds vastly larger than
our world flying for centuries without let
ting one fall? Wondrous power and skill
OF Gods hant, 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 God" Only in two other
places does the Bible refer to this division
OF the omnipotent hand. The rocks on
Mount Sinai are basalt aud very hard stone
~ wv 'u ~ was Il tLlStl lUul cut Ll6
ten commandments in that basalt? No: in
EJ Jdus We read that the tables of stone
were "~ritten with the finger OF Goi.n
Christ say that He cast'out devils with "the
finger OF Col"
The only instance that Christ wrote a
word lie wrote not with pen on parchment,
but with HIS finger on the ground Yet
though seldom reference is ma le in the
Bible to part OF Gods hand, il you and !
keep our eyes open and our hearts right we
will be compelled often to cry out, This /.
the finger of God" 1t is my intention be.
fore long to begin a series OF sermons on
The Astronomy OF the Bible, or God
Among the Stars The Ornithoogy OF
the Bible, or God Among the Birds" "The
Pomology OF the Bible or God Among the
Orchards" "rho lchthyology OF the
Bible, or Col Among the Fishes "The
Geology OF the Bible, or God Among the
Rocks THE Waters OF the Bible, or
Col Among the Sels;' the Zoology OF the
Bible, or God Among tae Beasts" "rhe
Precious Stones OF the Bible or God Among
the Arnethysts;" "The Conchology Of the
Bible, or God Among the Sheils;n "The
Botany OF the Bible, or Gol Among the
Flowers rho Chronology OF the Bible, or
Gol Among tho Centuries" and want this
coming winter TO get you AMI get myself
into the habit of seeing tbs finger OF Go
everywhere AMI in everything; but this
morning want 10 induce YOU to look for
the finger OF God in your personal aff ,irs.
The most OF thu gestCu alton Is natural
Ii stranger accoSt You on the street and
ask you the way 10 some place, 1t is, as
natural as to breathe for you to level your
toreflnger this way or that. Not one out
OF thousand ofTou woul stand with yolr
hands by your side aui make no motion with
your finger. Whatever you may say with
your lips is emphasized aud re-en foroed an
translated by your tuger. Now Col in Ia =
dear old Book says to Us innunerahle things
by the way Of direction. He plainly tells us
tue way to 80. But in every exigency
OF our life, II we will only look
we will find providential gesture
and providential pointing. SO that We may
conf iently say, "lhis is the fiuger OF Col"
Two or tbres times in my life, when per-
picked on questions OF duty after earnest
prayer, | have cast lots as TO what should
do. In o!den times the Lords people cast
lots. Tho land of Canaan was divided by
lot. The cities were divided among thu
priests and L,vitcs by lot. Matthias was
chosen to the aposteship by lot.
Now casting lots is about the most solemn
thing you can do. L. should never bo done
except with solemnjty like that OF the last
judgment. 1t is q dlrcct appeal to the AL
not seem to get the divine direction, think
you might without sin write upol one slip
of paper "f es' aud upon another NO" or
some other decisive words appropriate to
the casa and then obliteratiug from your
mind the identity Of the slips OF paper draw
the decision an act upon 1t. In that case |
think you have right to take that indica-
ton as the finger OF God. But do not do
that except as the last rssorS 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-
sponsible for most OF our surroundin IS We
are not responsible for the country OF our
| birth, nor for whether We are Americans or
Norwegians or Scotchmen or Irishmeu or
hnglishmen. We are not responsible for
the age in which we live. We are not re
| sponslble for our temperament, be 1t her.
vous or phlegmatic bilious or sanguine.
We are not responsible for our features, be
they homely or beautiful. We are not re
sponsble for the height or smallness OF our
stature. We are not responsible for the
fact that We are mentally dull of brilliant.
For the most Of our environments we have
no more responsibility than we have for t 4
motusks at tho bottom of tho Atlantic
| ocean.
Oh, 1 am so glad that there arc about five
hundred thousand things that we are not r.
| sponsible forl Do not Ulame us for being iu
our manner cold as an iceberg, or nervous
as cat amid pack Of Fourth OF July fire
crackers. IL you are determined to blamt
somebody, blame our greatgrandfathers, oil
reat-grandmothers, who died before tht
Revolutionary war, and who may have haC
habits depressing and ruinous. There ar,
wrong things about us all, which make m'
think that one hundred and h.ty years age
there was some terrible crank in our ances
trail line. Realze that, and it will be a re
| lief semi-inhnite. Let us take ourselves a
we are this moment and then ask "Whicl
wayp Get ali the direction you can from
careful and constant study Of the Bible anC
then look up and look out AMI look around
and see IL you can find the finger OF God.
1t is a remarkable thing that sometime
no one can see that finger but yourself. 4
year before Abraham Lincoln signei th,
proclamation Of emancipation the Whit
House was throngel with committees an
associations, ministers and laymen, advisin
the president to make that proclamation
But he waited and waited, amid scof an
anathema, because he did not himself SO
tbe finger OF Col. After awhile and at jus
the right time he saw the divine pointln
and signed the proclamation. The distir
guished Confcderates, Mason an
Slidel. were taken Off an EnghS
vessel by the United States Govern
ment, 'Dont give them up" shoute
ali the northern States. Let u' have VIZ
with England rather than surrender them,
was the almost unanimous cry OF the nortl
Rut William Fl. Seward saw the finger {
God leading in just the opposite directio
and the Confederates were given up, and "
avoided war with England which at tbs
time would have been the demolition oil Il
United States Government.
In other words. the fiuger Of God as 1t
rects you, may be invisible to everybod
else. Follow the divine pointing, rs "
| COO IL althnu yh the world NAV call YOU