St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1899-01-14
THE LORDS SHUT IN"
Comp.nsations Of Sickness as Seen
by d.. Talmage.
L Sermon for Invallds from the Story
of Noah and the Ark-GOd's
Designs for Our Bet.

% NO00 00o t0S AbA>~1V0
Designs for Our Bet
terment.
! Washington. Copyright
This discourse of DR.. Talmage, whicl
is helpful 10 all who find life a struggle
is especially addressed to a class of per
sons probably never before aGdresses
in a sermon. The text is Genesis vii. l6
, THE Lord shut him in"
Cosmogony has no more interesting
chapter than the one which speaks o.
that catastrophe Of the ages. the sub
mersion Of our world in time of Noah
the first ship carpenter. Many Of the
nations who never saw Bible have !
food story - Egyptian food story
Grecian food story, of which Ducalior
New Zealand flood story. Chinese food
story. American Indian food story-ail
of which accounts agree in the INNER.
sion of the continents under universal
rains. and that there was "a ship floating
with a select few of the human family
and with specimens Of geological and
pathological and reptilian worlds. al
though / could have wished that these
last had been shut out of the ark and
drowned.
All of these food stories represent
the ship thus ofloat as finally stranded
on a mountain top. Hugh Miller in his
Testimony of the Rocks" thinks that
all these food stories were infirm tradi-
tons OF the Biblical account, and be-
lieve him. The worst thing about that
great fres1,et was that it struck Noah's
Great Eastern from above and beneath.
The seas broke the chain of shells and
crystal and rolled over the land. and the
heavens opened their clouds for falling
columns Of water which roared and
Numbered on the roof of the great ship
for a month and ten days. There was
one door to the ship. but there were
three parts to that door. one part for
each of the three stories. The Bible ac-
count says nothing about parts of the
door belonging to two Of the stories,
and do not know on which floor Noah
and his family voyaged. but my next
tells us that the part of the door of tina.
particular floor on which Noah stoid
was closed after he had entered. "The
Lord shut him In" So there are many
people now in the world who are as
thoroughly shut in. some by sickness.
some by old age, some by special duties
that will not allow them to go forth,
some surrounded by dcluges Of misfor-
tune and trouble. and for them often
receive messages, and this sermon.
which hope may do good to others, Is
more especially intended for them. To-
day address the shut in. "The Lord
shut him in"
Notice first of all who closed the door
50 that they could not get out. Noah
did not do it, nor his son Shem, ror did
Ham. nor did Japheth. nor did either Of
the four married women who were en-
nor did desperudoeswho had
scoffed at the idea of peril which Noah
had been preaching close that door.
They had turned their hacks on the ark
and had in disgust gone away. will
tell you how 1t was done. A hand was
down from heaven to close
that door. 1t was divine hand as we'll
rs kind hand. The Lord shut him in"
The world has no statistics as to the
number Of invalids. The physicians
know something about il, and the |
apothecaries and the pastors, but who |
IAN tell us the number Of blind eyes,
and deaf ears. and diseased lungs, and |
livers, and tangled nerves.
and neuralgia temples, and rheumatic
'eet, or how many took no food this
morning because they had no appetite
70 eat or digestive organs TO assimilate,
y have lungs so delicate they cannot
20 forth whe1s the wind is in the east,
,r there Is fog rising from the river,
'r there is dampness on the ground
II pavement because of the frost COM
ng out? 1t would be easy to count the
'eople who every day 60 through a
treet, or the number of passengers
arried by railroad company in year,
" the number Of those who cross the
'cean in ships. But who can give us the
satisfies Of the great multitudes who
re shut in? call the attention of all
uch to their superior opportunities Of
Ding good.
Those of us who are we'll. and can see
learly, and hear distinctly, and par
axe OF food of all sorts, and questions
t digestion never occur to us, and we
an wade the snowbnnks, and take an
quinox in our faces, and endure the ,
thermometer at zero. and every breath |
air Is tonic and stimulus, and [,
ound sleep meets us within Ave mir
ties after our head touches the pillow, +,
o not make so much of an impression ,
Then we talk about the consultations Of I
eligion. The world eays right away:
! guess that man mistakes bnoyancy I
natural spirits for religion. What :
pes he know about it? He has never d
cen tried" But when one goes ont Z
I'D reports TO The world that that
corning on his way to business he 4
llled to see you and found you. after q
ring kept in your room for two I
lonths. cheerful and hopeful, and that 5
,u had cot one word of complaint and =
'ked NIL about every body and rejoiced (
the success Of your business friends, h
though your own business had almost S
me to . standstill through your alb e
nee from store or Office or shop. and 4
At You cent your love to all your old v
lends and told them that II you die o
i meet them again in this world you L
ped to meet them in dominions I,
raphic, with a quiet word Of advice d
ON you to the man who carried the v
essage about the importance Of his u
4 neglecting his own soul. but c
rough Christ seeking something bet Il
r than this world could give him b
ny. all the business men in the count G,
3 room say: Good! Now. that f. re- $,
don." And the clerks get hold of the b
Dry and talk It over. so that the b
.igher and cooper and hackman. is
lnding on the doorstep. say: THAT II
splendid Now, that 10 what ! call a,