The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1896-04-23
their oxen; but when he got down

he thought he would steal them. No
body would know it. lie drove these
stolen sheep and oxen toward
home, but stopped to report to
the prophet how he had executed
his mission, when in the distance
the sheep began to bleat and the
oxen to below. The secret was out,
and Samuel said to the blushing and
confused Saul "What meaneth the
bleating of the sheep that hear and
the believing Of the cattle?" Ah.mv
nearer, you can not keep an iniquity
still. At just the wrong time the
sheep will bleat and the oxen will beI
low. Achan can not steal the Baby
lonish garment without being stoned
to death, nor Arnold betray his
country without having his neck
stretched. Look over the police ar
rests. These thieves, these burglars,
! these counterfeiters, these highway
men, these assassins, they all thought
they could bury their iniquity SO deep
down it would never come to reSurrec-
ton, but there was some shoe that an
swered to the print in the soil, some
false keys found in their possession,
some bloody knife that whispered Of
the death, and the public indignation
and the anathema Of outraged law
hurled them into the dungeon or
hoisted them on the gallows.
Nothing in Gods universe swings at
loose ends Accidents are only Gods
way of turning leaf in the book of
His eternal DEGREES. From our cradle
to our grave there is path all marked
out. Each event in our life is con-
nected with every other event in our
life. Our losses may be the most
direct road to our gain. Our de-
feat and our victory are twin
brothers. The whole of our life was
changed by something which at
the time seemed to you trifling, while
some occurrence which seemed tre-
mendous affected you but little Gods
plans are magnificent beyond all com
prehension. He molds us, and turns
and directs us, and we know it not.
Thousands of years are to Him as the
flight of a shuttle. The most terrific
occurrence does not make God tremble.
The most triumphant achievement
does not lift Him into rapture. That
one great thought of God goes out
through the centuries, and nations
rise aud fall, and eras pass, and the
world changes, but God still keeps the
undivided mastery, linking event to
event and century to century. To God
they are all one event, one history, one
plan, one development, one system.
Great and marvellous are Thy works,
Lord God Almighty! I Was years
ago in New Orleans at the ex-
position rooms, when telegram
was sent to the president of the
United States at Washington, and we
waited some Is or 20 minutes, and then
the presidents answer came back, and
then the presiding officer waived his
handkerchief aud the signal was sent
to Washington that we were ready to
have the machinery of the exposition
started, and the president put
his finger on the electric button,
and instantly the great Corliss
wheel began to moye-rumbling,
rumbling, rolling, rolling. 1t was
overwhelming, and $4,000 people
clapped and shouted. Just one finger
at Washington started that vast ma
chinery, hundreds and hundreds of
miles away, and thought then, as |
think now, that men sometimes touch
influences that respond in the far dis
lance, 40 years from now, so years from
now, 1000 years from now-one touch
sounding through the ages.
Now, there are two ways of laying
up money. One of these is to put it in
stock and deposit it in bank, and in
vest it on bond and mortgage. The
other way to lay up money is giving
away. He is the safest who makes
both of these investments. There are
in this house men who if they lose
every dollar they have in the world
would be millionaires for eternity.
They made the spiritual investment;
but the man who devotes none of his
gains to the cause of Christ and looks
only for his own comfort and luxury,
is not safe, | care not how the money
is invested. He acts as the rose if it
should say: II will hold my breath,
and none shall have snatch of
fragrance from me until next week;
| CiSA L Ill ScU dll tIe pdTucn dHOdU
with my aroma" OF course the rose,
refusing to breathe, died But a ove
all, lay up treasures in Heaven. They
never depreciate in value. They are
never at discount They are always
available. You may feel safe now
with your $1,000 or So, 900 or $40, 900 or
$4,000 income, but what will such
an income be worth after you are
dead? Others will get it. Perhaps
some of them will quarrel about it
before you are buried. They will be so
impatient to get hold of the will, they
will think you should be buried one
day sooner than you are buried They
will be right glad when you are dead
They are only waiting for you to die
| What then will all your earthly
accumulations be worth? If you
gathered it all in your bosom and
walked up with it to Heavens
gate, it would not purchase your adj
mission. Or, if allowed to enter, it
could not buy you a crown or robe,