St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-01-08

and say: "Well, If am to be saved. !
will be saved; and il l am to be lost,
will be lost, and there is nothing to do
about it."
Why. my brother. do you not do that
way in business matters? Why do you
not tomorrow go to your store and sit
down and fold your arms and say: IF
these goods are TO be sold. they will Re
sold; and il they are not to be sold.
they will not'be sold; there is nothing
for me to do about it?" No; you dis
patch your agents: you print your al
vertisements; you adorn your show
windows; You push those goods; you
use the instrumentality. Oh. that men
were rs wise in the matter OF the soul
as they are wise in the matter Of dol
lars and cents!
This doctrine of Gods sovereignty,
how it is misquoted and spoken of as
though it were an iron chain which
bound US hand and foot for time and
for eternity, when, so far from that, in
every fiber OF your body, in every
faculty of your mind, in every passion
of your soul, you are free man-a
free man-and it will no more to-mor-
row be q matter of choice whether you
shall go to business through Pennsyl-
vania avenue or some other street; 1t
will be no more q matter OF choice with
you tomorrow whether you shall go
to Philadelphia or New York, or stay
at home. than it is this hour a matter
of free choice whether you will accept
Christ or reject him.
In all the army of banners there is
not one conscript Men are not to be
dragooned into heaven. Among all the
tens of thousands of the Lords sol
diery there is not one man but will
tell you, II chose Christ: l wanted
him; Idesire to be in his service; am
not = conscript-I am q volunteer"
Oh, that men had the same common
sense in the matters OF religion that
they have in the matters OF the world
the same concentration, the samc
push, the same enthusiasm! In the
one case. q secular enthusiasm; in the
other. a consecrated enthusiasm.
Again, / remark; We want more
common sense in the building up and
enlarging of our Christian character.
There arc men who have for 40 years
been running the Christian race, and
they have not run quarter of = mile!
No business man would be willing to
have his investments unaccumulative.
If you invest = dollar you expect that
dollar to come home. bringing another
dollar on its back. What would
you think Of . man who should
invest $4,000 in y monetary in-
stitution. then go off for i've
years, make no inquiry in regard to
up to the cashier of the Institution and
say: Have you kept that $40, OOJ safely
that l left with your but asking no
question about interest or dividend.
Why, you say: THAT is not common
sense" Neither is it; but that IS the
wny we act in matters OF the
soul. We make far more important
investment than $4,000. We invest
our soul. Is it accumulative? Are we
growing in grace? Are we getting
better? Are we getting worse? God
declares many dividends, but we do not
collect them; we do not ask about
them; we do not want them. Oh, that
in this matter of accumulation we
were rs wise in the matters of the
soul as we are in the matters Of the
world.
How little common sense in the read
ing of the Scriptures! We get any
other book, aud we open it, and we
saw: "NOw what does this book mean
to teach me? 1t is . book on astron-
omy; it will teach me astronomy. II
lis u book on political economy, it will
teach me political economy" Taking
up this Bible, do we ask ourselves
what it means to teach? 1t means to
do just one thinK-get the world con :
yerted aud get us all to Heaven.
That is what it proposes to do.
But instead Of that we go into the BIZ
BILE as botanists to pick flowers. or we
go as pugiIists to get something to
FIGHT other Christians with, or we go
as Iogicians trying to sharpen our men-
tai faculties for better argument,
and we do not like this about the
Bible. and we do not like that. and we
do not like the other thing. What
would YOU think of u man lost on the
mountains; night has come down;
he can not find his way
home and he sees light
in a mountain cabin; he goes to it, he
knocks at the door; the mouutaineer
comes ont and finds the traveller, and
saws: .Well, here l have a lantern;
Won can take 1t, and it will guide you
ON the way home;" and suppose tina,
traveller should say, Il don't like that
LANTERN; don't like the handle of it;
there are 10 or Ii things about it !
don't like; if you can't give me a better
lantern than that won't have any,"
Now. God says this Bible is to be q
Iamp to our feet and lantern to our
path. to guide us through the midnight
of this world to the gates of the celes.
tial city. We stop and say we do mol
like this about it, aud we do not like
that and we do not like the other
thing. Oh. how much wiser we would
be if by its holy light we found
our way to our everlasting home
Then. we do not read the Bible u
we read other books We read il
perhaps for four or fivs minutes JUS
before we retire ut night We ar,
weary and sleepy-so somnolent W.
| hardly know which enl OF the book L
up. We drop our eye perhaps on ths
story of Samson and the foxes. o.
! upon some genealogical table, impor
tant in its place. but stirring NJ
more religious emotion than the an
nouncement that somebody bega
) somebody else. and he begat somebod.
( else, instead of opening the book ant
i saving: Nov l must read for my i'm
mortal life; my eternity is involved II
this book"
How little we use common sense II
| PRAYER! We say, .'Oh. Lord. give IN
> that. and .'Oh. Lord. give me some
l thing else,n ana we do not expect 7
- ~, calling it we do no