St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-01-15

is something saying: Work! work!
and, lest we should complain that We
have no tools to work with, God gives
us our hands and feet, with every
and with every joint aud
with every muscle saying to NJ: Lay
hold and do something
But how often it is that men with
physical strength do not serve Christ!
They are like a ship full manned and
full rugged, capable of vast tonnage.
able to endure all stress of weather,
yet swinging idly at the docks. when
these meu ought to be crossing and
and recrossing the great ocean of hui
man suffering of sin with Gods sup
plies of mercy. How often it is that
physical strength is used in doing pos
tive damage. or in luxurious ease,
when, with sleeves rolled up and
bronzed bosom, fearless of the shafts
of opposition, it ought to be laying
hold with all its might, and Juggling
away to lift up this sunken wreck OF .
world.
1t is a most shameless fact that much
of the business OF the church and of
the world must be done by those COM
paratively invalid. Richard Baxter,
by reason Of his diseases, all his days
sitting in the door of the tomb, yet
writing more than 100 volumes, and
sending out an influence for God that
will endure as long rs the Saints
Everlasting Rest" Edward Payson.
never knowing q well day, yet how he
preached. and how he wrote, helping
thousands OF dying souls like himself
to swim in a sea of gloryw And Rob-
ert McCheyne, \ walking skeleton. yet
you know what he did in Dundee, and
how he shook Scotland with zeal for
God. Philip Doddridge, advised by
his friends. because of his illness, not
to enter the ministry, yet you know
what he did for the rise and progress
of religion" in the church and in the
world.
Wilberforce was told by his doctors
that he could not live fortnight, yet
at that very time entering upon phi
lanthropic en- terprises that demanded
the greatest endurance and persistence.
Robert Hall. suffering excruciations,
so that often in l,ies pulpit while
preaching he-wouid stop and lie down
on sofa, then getting up again to
preach about Heaven. until the glories
of the celestial city dropped ON the
multitude. doing more work, perhaps,
than almost any we'll man in his day.
oh, how often it is that men with
great physical endurance are not sc
great in moral and spiritual stature
While there are achievements for those
who are bent all their days with sick
ness--achievementso of patience, achieve
ments of Christian endurance cal
upon men of health to-day. men Of
muscle, men of nerve, men OF physical
power, to devote themselves to the
Lord. Giants in body. you ought t.
be giants in soul.
Behold, also, in the story OF my text
illustration Of the damage that strength
can do if it be misguided. 1t seems Ia
me that this man spent great deal o.
his time in doing evil-this Samson Of
my text To pay a bet which he had
lost by guessing of his riddle he rob:
and kills thirty people. He was moi
only gigantic in strength, but gigantic
in mischief, and type of those men in
all ages of the world who, powerful in
body or mind. or any faculty of social
position or wealth. have used theil
strength for iniquitous purposes.
1t is not the small, weak men of the
day who do the damage. These small
men who go swearing and loafinG
about your stores and shops and bank
ing houses, assailing Christ and the Bi
BILE and the church-they do not do the
damage. They have no influence
They are vermin that you crush with
your foot. But it is the giants of the
day. the misguided giants. giants iE
physical power, or giants N menta
acumen, or giants in social position, OF
giants in wealth, who do the damage
The men with sharp pens that stab re
ligion and throw their poison al
through our literature; the men wht
use the power of wealth to sanction
iniquity. and bride justice, and make
truth and honor bow to their COLDER
scepter. Misguided giants-look out
for them! In the middle and latter
part of the last century no doubt there
were thousands of men in Paris anc
Edinburgh and London who hatec
God and blasphemed the name Of thu
Almighty; but they did but little mis-
chief-they were small men, insignifi
cant men. Yet they were giants il
those days.
Who can calculate the soul havoc O
Rousseau going on with very en-
thusiasm of iniquity, with fiery i'm
agination Selling upon all the i'm
pulsive natures of he day? or Davi(
Hume, who employed his life as ,
spider employs its summer, in spinning
out silken webs to trap the unwary'
or voltairc. the most learned man o
his day, marshaling q great host o
skeptics and leading them out in til,
dark land of infidelity? or Gibbon, wht
showed an uncomfortable grudg'
against religion in his history Of ont
of the most fascinating periods of tn,
worlds existence-the Decline ant
Fall of the Roman Empire"-a book il
which, with all the splendors of hi
genius, he magnified the errors o
Christian disciples, while. with I
sparseness of notice that never can b,
forgiven, he treated Of the Christian
heroes Of whom the world was no
worthy?
Oh, men OF stout physical health
men of great mental stature, men o
high social position, men of great pow
er of any sort, / want you TO under
stand v our power, and l want you T.
know that that power devoted to Go'
will be crown on earth, to you typ
ical of u crown in Heaven; but mis-
guided, bedrsgglcd in sin. administra
tive of evil, God will thunder agains
you with His condemnation in the da,
when millionaire and pauper. maste
and slave. king and subject shall stan.
side by side in the Judgment; an,
money-bsgs, and judicial ermine. an,
royal robe shall be riven with tn,
ligh thing.
Behold also how . giant may be
I. -.