St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-01-29

cumulative is grace in the heart You
sometimes get discouraged because thu
upbuilding by the soul does not 60 on
| more rapidly. Why. you have all eter
nifty to build in! The little annoyancei
of life are zoophite builders. and there
will be small layer on top of small
layer, and fossilized grief ON the
top OF fossilized grief. Grace
does not go up rapidly in your soul,
but blessed be God, it goes up. Ten
thousand million ages will not finish
you. You will never be finished. On
forever! Up forever! Out of the sea
Of earthly disquietude will gradually
rise the reefs, the islands, the CONT
nents, the hemispheres Of grandeur
and glory. Men talk rs though in this
life we only had time to build; but
what we build in this life, as compared
with what we shall build in the next
life. is as a striped shell to Australia.
You 60 into an architects study and
there you see the sketch of temple,
the cornerstone of which has not yet
been laid. o. that could have all
architectural sketch of what you will
be after eternity has wrought un-
on you! What pillars OF strength!
What affairs of supernal worship! What
pinnscles thrusting their glittering
spikes into the sun that never sets!
You do not scold the corallines because
they can not build an island in q day.
Why should you scold yourself because
you can not complete temple Of holi-
ness for the heart in this short tife-
time? You tell me we do not amount
to much now. but try us after q thou
sand million ages of hallelujah. Let
us hear the angels chant for q million
centuries. Give US an eternity with
God, and then see if we do not amount
to something. More slowly and
marvelously accumulstive is the grace
in the soul than anything can think
OF. mo mention shall be made of
coral.'
Lord, help us to learn that VIII ich
most OF us are deficient in-patience.
Ii Thou canst take, through the sea-
anemones, millions OF years to build
one bank OF coral, ought we not to be
willing to do work through ten years
or SO years without complaint. without
restlessness, without chatting of spirit?
Patience with the erring; patience that
we can not have the millennium in q
few weeks; patience with assault of
antagonists; pate nee at what seems
slow ful6llment of Bible promises; pa
thence with physical ailments; pa
thence under delays of Providence.
Grand, glorious, all-enduring, all
patience! Patience like
that which my lately assembled friend.
DIR. Abel Stevens. describes when
writing Of one of Wesley's preachers,
John Nelson, who, when q man had
him put in prison by false charges,
and being for q long time tormented
by his enemy, said: 1.-THE Lord lifted
up a standard when the anger was
on like a flood, else should
have wrung his neck to the ground and
set my foot upon it" Patience like
that of Pericles. the AtheniaD states
man, who, when man pursued him to
his own door, hurled at him epithets,
and arriving there when it had be-
torch to light his enemy back to his
home. Patience like that eulogized by
the Spanish proverb when it says:
II have lost the rings, but
here ore the fingers still"
Patience! The sweetest Su-
gar for the sourest cup; the balance
wheel for all mental and moral ma
chinery; the foot that treads into pla-
ridity stormiest lake; the bride for
otherwise rash tongues; the sublime
silence that conquers the boisterous
and blatant Patience like that of the
most illustrious example of all the ages
Jesus Christ; patient under betrayal;
patient under the treatment of Pilates
oyer and terminer; patient under The
OF His assailants; patient
under flagellation; patient under the
charging spears of the Roman cavalry;
patient unto death. Under all exas-
perations employ it. Whatever comes,
stand it; hold on; wait, bear up.
Take my hand again. and we will 60
4 little further into this garden OF the |
sea, and we shall find that in proper
ion as the climate is hot the coral is |
Draw two isothernal lines |
1t 60 degrees north and south of the |
EQUATOR, and you will find the favorite |
rome of the coral. Go to the hottest |
part of the Pacific seas and you find |
he finest specimens of coral. Coral is |
child Of the fire. But more wonder
ully do the heats and fires of trouble |
,ring out the jewels Of the Christian
oul. These are not the stalwart men
Who are asleep on the shaded lawn, but
hose who are pounding amid the fur
races. do not know OF any other way
# getting thorough Christian charac-
err. 1 will show you . picture. Here
re father and q mother 30 or IS years
+ age, their family around them. It's
sabbath m orning. They have prayers.
they hear the children's catechism.
rhev have PRAYERS every day of the
week. They are in humble circum-
tances. But. after awhile the wheel
+ fortune turns up. and the man gets
lis go, 600. Now he has prayers on the
abbath and every day of the week. but
e has dropped the catechism. The
gheel of fortune turns up again, and
e gets his $50. 900. Now he has prayers
n Sabbath morning alone. The wheel
I fortune keeps turning up, and he has
zoo. 900. .and now he has prayers on
abbath morning when he feels like 1T
nd there is no company. The wheel
t fortune keeps on turning up, and
e has his $500. 031 and no prayers at
II. Four-leaf clover in q pasture field
] not SO rare as family prayers in the
ouses of people who have more than
800. 900. But now the wheel Of for
ane turns down, and the man loses
200, 600 out of the $500, 900. Now on
abbath morning he is on = stepladder
,oking for Bible under the old news
apers on the bookcase. lie is going
> have prayers His affairs are more
nd more complicated. and after awhile,
rash goes his last dollar. Now hehas
rayers every morning. and he hears
IS grandchildren the catechism. Pros
Gritty took him away from God; adj
Il