St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1899-02-18


Again, this woman OF my text wal
| great in her kindness toward Coz,
messenger. Elisha may have been q
stranger in that household, but as she
| found out he had come on Divine mis-
sion he was cordially welcomed. We
have a great many books in our day
| about the hariships Of ministers and
the trials or Christian ministers.
wish somebody would write a bool
about the joys Of the Christian minis
ter, about the sympathies all around
him, about the kindness, about the
genial considerations Of him. Does cor
row come to our home, End is there Z
shndow on the cradle, there are hum
dreds Of hands to help. and many who
weary not through the night watching,
and hundreds of prayers going up that
God would restore the sick. Is there q
burning. Drumming cup OF calamity
placed on the pastors table? Are there
not many to help him drink Of that cup,
and who will not be comforted because
he is stricken2 Oh. for mebody to
write a book about the rewards OF the
Christian ministry-about his sur
roundings Of Christian sympathy!
This woman of the text was only 4
type Of thousands of men and women
who come down from mansion and
from cot to do kindness TO the Lord :
servants. could tell you OF some
thing that you might think romance.
A young man graduated from New
Brunswick theological seminary was
called to . village church. He had not
the means to furnish the parsonage.
After three or four weeks OF preaching
a committee of the officers Of the
church waited on him and told him he
looked tired and thought he had bet er
take vacation Of a few days. The
young pastor took it as an intimation
that his work was done or not accept
able. He took the vacation, and at the
end Of few days came back, when an
old elder said: There is the key OF the
parsonage. We have been cleaning it
up. You had better 60 up and look at
it." So the young pastor took the key.
went up to the parsonage, opened the
door. and 10! it was carpeted, and there
was hatrack all ready for the canes
and umbrellas and the oyercoats, and
on the left hand Of the hall was the par-
Tor, sofaed, chaired, pictured. He
passed on to the other side Of the hall.
and there was the study table in the
center of the floor with stationery up
on it. bookshelves built, long ranges OF
new volumes, far beyond the reach Of
the means Of the young pastor many OF
these volumes. The young pastor went
upstairs and found all the sleeping
apartments furnished. came downstairs
and entered the pantry. and there were
the spices and the coffees and the
sugars, and the groceries for six
months. He went down into the cellar,
and there was the coal for the coming
winter. He went into the dining hall,
md there was the table already set
the glass and the silver ware. He went
into the kitchen, and there were all the
culinary implements and a great stove.
The young pastor lifted enc lid of the
stove and he found the fuel all ready for
ignition. Putting back the cover OF the
stove. be saw in another part Of it
lucifer match, and all that young man
had to do in starting to keep house was
to strike the match. You tell me that is
apocryphal. Oh, no! that was my own
experience. Oh, the kindness, the en-
larged sympathies sometimes cluster
ing around those who enter the Gospel
! suppose the man OF Shunem
had to pay the bills. but it was the
large-hearted Christian woman OF
Shunem that looked after the Lords
Again, this woman OF the text was
great in her behavior under trouble.
Her only son had died on her lap. A
very bright light went out in that
The sacred writer puts it
very tersely when he says: He sat on
her knee until noon and then he died."
Yet the writer goes on to say that she
1T is WELT" Great in pros
perity, this woman was great in trouble.
Where are the feet that have not been
blistered on the hot sands Of this great
Sahara? Where are the soldiers that
have not bent under the burden Of
grief? Where is the ship sailing over
CLASSY sea that has not after awhile
been caught in cyclone? Where is
lie garden Of earthly comfort but trou-
Bile hath hitched up its fiery and pant
ng team and gone through it with |
turning plowshare of disaster? Under
The pelting OF ages Of suffering the
great heart Of the world has burst with
woe. Navigators tell rs about the riv- |
RS. and the Amazon and the Danube
n | the Mississippi have been explored,
,ut who can tell the depth or the length |
II the great river OF sorrow, made up of |
ears ard blood, rolling through all |
ands and all ages, bearing the wreck
i families and of communities and Of |
mpires. foaming, writing. boiling
With the agonies of 5000 years? Etna.
,otopaxi and vesuvius have been de-
cribed, but who ever has sketched the
olcano Of suffering retching up from
: depths the lava and scoria and pour
ng them down the sides to whelm ma
ions Oh. If I could gather all the heart
trings. the broken henrtstrings. into
harp, would play or it dirge such
5 was never sounded! Mythologists
ell us Of gorgon and centaur and Titan
nd biologists tell US OF extinct species
t monsters, but greater than gorgon
: megatherium and rot belonging to
be realm Of fable and not Of nm extinct
pecies, monster with an iron jaw
nd u hundred iron toofs has walked
cross the nations. and history and
oetry and sculpture. in their attempt
, sketch ii and describe it, have seemed
) sweat great drops Ct blood. But,
hank God, there are those who can
onquer as this woman Of the text con-
uered and say: 1T is well, though my
roperty be gone, though my children
e gone. though my home be broken
:, though my health be sacrificed, It
well, it is Welt" There is NO storm
q the sea but Christ is ready to rise In
le hinder part Of the ship and hush il.
here is no darkness but the constella-
nm Of Eox1sS 0f0rnal lr,ra n~x 3rtnvrlv |