The Opelousas courier. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1852-1910, 1893-02-18
Reflections for Family Reading.
February 18th.

February 18TH.
For ages it was thought that the
earth was one vast plane. But when
the science of astronomy began to be
understood and commerce necessitated
navigation it was found that it is
spherical in form. tits now ascertained
with satisfying accuracy that it's shape
is very much like that of an orange.
Not entirely round but depressed at
the poles, but only slightly, It's cir
conference is calculated to be 2502O
miles it's diameter 1864 miles. The
depression deviates only about fifty
miles from the perfect globe and is
consequently not perceptible to the eye.
Its shape is made apparent by the
eclipses of the moon upon which its
shadow falls when they take place.
Again may it's rotundity be under
stood by the fact that the stars rise
and set earlier to the eastward of us
and by a familiar fact which circum-
navigation of our globe has demon
strated.
The spherical form of the earth is
wisely adapted ~te tte the uniform dlstE
button of Ii ght and darkness, heat and
cold, dryness and moisture and the
free and ubiquitous circulation of the
air we breathe. In all these phases OF
our earth we behold omniscience, om
impotence and Divine care for and pro-
vision for all the necessities of our
race.
* February 18Th.
1t is said and we have no substan-
tial reason for doubting that the first
law of nature and of heaven is order.
We may add another which belongs to
this class of Omniscisnt ordination,
which is change From conception to
the grave our physical being is subor-
dinated to this mighty law. Every
thing in all the departments of visible
nature are subjected to it. The sun
rises and floods the earth with light
then hides his beaming face and leaves
it in darkness.
The snow falls in beautiful fakes
then melts away. The trees bud,
bloom, bear their fruits, then Wit4er
the bloom aud leaves fall off and de-
cay. The structure of the earth, the
rocks themselves undergo changes and
10 the end all things must pass away.
Nothing is permanent but Gods will,
purpose, wisdom, mercy and goodness.
These must endure forever and man is
taught that it is his privilege as we'll as
duty to himself to become the benefi
ciary.
February l4th
There are those in the world who are
silly enough to declare non-belief in
the existence of an omnipotent and
omniseient Creator. They assert that
all we see aronnd, beneath, above US
are the results of chance and seem to
think such heresy is unanswerable.
But let us suppose all is owing to
chance there must be or have been a
great cause operating to bring about
the chance. If such cause exists
why is it not God himself. Some
agency must have created chance, and
to say that any power less than Om-
impotence did it, is to declare there is
creative power equal to it. So that
reason as best we can We necessarily
get back to first cause. Whether the
Biblical account OF the creation be liter
ally true or not is entirely immateria
for it is impossible to imagine how
earth, water, air and light could have
existed had there not been a Creator
Then behold the wisdom displayed in
the order with which all created things
exist and are produced. If chance
alone had to do with the vegetable
kingdom why is it that pumpkins and
gourds do not grow on trees and chest
nuts on vines. Why is it that rain
drops did not ascend rather than de-
seend. A thousand such questions
might be asked and no answer can be
given to satisfy the reasoning mind.
Bat when we tnrn away from such
foolish spsculations and contemplate
the wisdom and power of our heavenly
Father, the necessary author of it all
we see at once our diminitiveness and
his wisdom and power and have rea.
son to adore him. With US who boast
that we are the noblest creatures He
ever made, all is uncertain, all vain
aud of short duration. He is from all
eternity to all eternity. He alone
changes not
February 18th
Man at birth is the most ignorant
II. Al