St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1896-12-12

on another mountaia, dying On an
other mountain. and ascending from
another mountain-the greatest. the
loveliest, the mightiest, the kindest,
the most self-sacri6cing, most beauti.
full being whose feet ever touched the
earth. Tell us. ye deserts who heard
our Saviour's p rayer; tell us, ye seas
that drenched Him with your serf;
tell us, ye multitudes who heard Him
preach ON deck, on beach, ON hillside;
tell M. Golgotha, who heard the
stroke of the hammer on the spike
heads. and the dying groan in that
midnight that dropped on midnoon.
did anyone like Jesus have this pas
sion for souls?
But. breaking right in upon me is
the question: How can we get some
thing of this Pauline and Cbristly
longing for saved immortalities? lam
swer: BY better approaching the pro-
lonRation of the souls existence com.
pared with everything physical and
material. How hope that surgeon
will successfully remove the cataract
from that mans eye! 1t is such sad
thing to be blind. Let us pray while
tho doctor is busy with the delicate
operation. But for how long time
will he be able to give his patient eye
sight? Well, il the patient be 20 years
Of age, he will add to his happiness
perhaps fifty years Of eyesight, and
that will bring the man to 90
years. and it is not probable
that he will live longer than
that, or that he will live so long. But
what is good eyesight for SO years
more as compared with clear vision
for the soul billion Of centuries? l
hope the effort to drive hack the ty.
phOid fever from yonder home will he
successful. God help the doctors! We
will wait in great anxiety until the
fires Of that fever are extinguished.
and when the man rises from his pill
low and walks out, with what hearth
ness we will welcome him into the
fresh air and the church and business
circle. He is 3Oyears of age, and if he
shall live 60 years more that will make
him 90. But what are 60 years more
of earthly vigor compared with
the souls health for = quadriilion mill
leniums-a millennium, rs you know.
1000 years? This world. since fitted
up for mans residence, has existed
about 6.OOU years. How much longer
will it exist? We will suppose it will
last As much longer, which is very
doubtful. That will make its exist.
ence le,OO0 years. But what are or will
be 1900 years compared with the
eternity preceding those years and the
eternitv following them? Time. rs
compared to eternity, like the dew
drop of the night new shaken from the
top Of grassbladc by cows hoof ON
its way afield this morning. as COM
pared with Mediterranean, and Ara
bian, and Atlantic, and Pacific watery
dOminions.
Another way to get something Of the
Paulian longing for redeemed immor-
talities is by examining the vast ma
chinery arranged to save this inner
and spiritual nature. That machinery
started to revolve on the edge of the
Garden of Eden. just after the cyclone
of sin Frustrated its sycamores and
tamalisks, and willows, and will not
cease to revolve until the last soul of
earth shall get rid Of its last sin and
enter the heavenly Eden. On that
stupendous machinery for soul-saving
the patriarch pat his hand, and proph-
ct his hand, and evangelist his
hand. and apostle his hand, and
Christ His hand, and almost every
hand that touched it became q
crushed hand. 1t was the most ex.
pensive machinery constructed. 1t
cost more to start it, and has cost and
will cost more 10 keep it running than
all the wheels that ever made revolu-
ton on this planet. That machinery
turned not by ordinary motive power,
but by force of tears and blood. To
connect its bands of influence, made
out of human and Christly nerves,
with all parts of the earth, millions Of
I good men and women are now at work,
and will be at work until every will
derness shall become . garden, and
every tier of grief shall be tear of
joy. and the sword of Divine victory
shall give the wound to the old dragon
that shall send him bowling to the pit.
the iron gate changing against him,
never again to open. All that. and in
fnitely more, to save . soul-tremen-
dous for good, or tremendous for evil;
tremendous for happiness, or trench
dous for woe. Put on the left side of
the largest sheet of paper that ever
came from paper mill q single unit. the
figure ], and how many ciphers would
you have to add to the right Of that fig
ure to express the souls value, each CT
pher adding tenfold? Working into
that scheme Of the souls redemption,
how many angels of God. descending
| and descending! How many storms
sweeping on Lake Galilee! How
many earthquakes opening dungeons
and striking cataclysms through
mountains, from top to base! What
MONDAY sun was put on retreat! What
Omnipotence lifted. and what Godhead
was put to torture! All that for the
soul! No wonder that Paul, though
possessing great equipoise Of tempera.
ment. when he thought what his
friends and kindred were risking con.
corning their souls, flung aside all his
ordinary modes Of speech. argument,
and apt simile, and bold metaphor and
learned allusion, IS unfit to express
how he felt. and seeing upon the ap'
pallinR hyperbolism of my text,
cries out, 81 could wish my.
self accursed;" that is, struck
of the thunderbolts Of the
Omnipotent God. sunk to unfathomed
depths. chained into servitude t.
Abaddon, and thrust into furnaces
whose fires shall never burn out. il
only thoae whOmE Islove ,m{ghtAoI
and forever be saved. Mind you, Paul
does not say: II do wish" He says
Il would wish" Even in the agony
he felE Ter others, ha did not ;losA hIl
balance-''I could wish myself &C
cursed" could. but l do not.
Only one being that ever lived, was
literally willing to give up Heaven
for perdition, and that was the
Divine Peasant whom l mentioned Z
4 few mOments a00 He was mt onlv