The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1900-03-31

and Rembrandt and Albert Durer and II.
tian--have done their best In ptcturing the
face Of Christ, but none except AIRY Scnet.
fer seems to have put much stress upon the
hand Oh Christ. Indeed. the mercy OF that
hand, the gentleness OF that hand, Is Pc
yond all artistic portrayal. Some OF his
miracles He performed By word OF mouth
and without touching the subject before
Him. but most OF them he perioIms ai
to be raised to liie7 "He took her by the
hand" Was the blind man to have optic
nerve restored? "He took him by the
hand" Was the demon to be Ell orclsed
from a suffering man? "He took him by
the hand" The people saw this ana pc
His own hands free, see how the Lord
| sympathized with the man who had lost
| the use OF his hand. 1t was case OF
atrophy, a wasting away until the arm ana
hand had been reduced In size BEYOND any
medical or surgical restoration. More
over, it was his right hand, the most I'm,
portant Of the two, for the left side In all
| its parts is weaker than the right side, ana
we involuntarily in any exigency put OUT
| the right hand because we know Il Is the
more than half OF his physical armament:
It would not have been so bad II It nad
been the left hand. But Christ looked nj
that shriveled up right hand dangling
uselessly at the mans side and then crleo
out with voice that had omnipotence IN
it, "Stretch forth thy hand" and the
record is, "He stretched it forth whole as
the other" The blood rushed through tho
shrunken veins, and the shortened
muscles heightened, and the dead nerves
thrilled. and the lifeless fingers tingled
with resumed circulation, and the restored
man held up in the presence OF the skep-
tIcal Pharisees one OF Jehovah's master.
pieces. a perfect hand. No wonder that
story Is put three times in the Bible, SO
that IL a sailor were cast away on barren
island or soldiers New Testament got
mutilated in battle and whole pages are
destroyed the shipwrecked or wounded
man In hospital would probably have at
least one of those three radiant stories OF
what Christ thought OF the human hand.
How often has the hand decided des-
tinyi Mary, Queen OF Scots, was escaping
from imprisonment at Lochlever IN the
dress OF laundress and had her face
thickly yelled. When'a boatman attempted
to remove the veil. she put up her hand to
defend it and so revealed the white and
fair hand OF queen, and so the boatman
, took her back to captivity. Again ana
!, | again it has been demonstrated that the
hand hath q language as certainly as the
: mouth. Palmistry, or the science by which
character aud destiny are read In the
. lines of the hand, Is yet crude and uncer-
! tain and unsatisfactory, but as astroiogy
: was the mother Of astronomy and alchemy
2 was the mother Of chemistry 1t may be
= that pnlmistry will result In science yet
to be born.
o Again. as the chief executive officer Of
4 the soul, behold the hand busy In the artist
/. What comparatively dull place this
j, world would be without pictures, without
d statuary, without music, without ARCHITECT
Is turel Have you ever realized what nifty
! seeming miracles are In the five minutes
l. lingering OF piano or harp or fute2 Who
I but the eternal God could make hand
q capabl Of that swift sweep OF the keys OF
g that quick feeling OF the pulses OF hut
. or the twirl Of the fingers amid the string!
I. of the harp? All the composers OF musi'
IS who dreamed out the oratorios and tn
IS caatatas OF the ages would have had thei
II work dropped f1st and useless but for tn
m translations OF the hand. Under the dsf
IN fingers OF the performer what cavalrfe
r gallon and what batteries boom and wha
IN birds carol and what tempests march an
IN what oceans billowi The great architect
M of the earth might have thought out tn
Alhambras and the Parthenons and tn
K st. Sophias and the Taj Mahals, but a.
IN those visions would have vanished had ]
Of not been for the hand on hammer, o.
" plummet, on trowel, on wall, on arch, o.
N pillar, on stairs, on dome.
IA In two discourses, one concerning tn
~ ear and the other concerning the eye,
he spoke from the potent text in the Psalms
ve "He that planted the ear, shall He no
in hear?" and "He that formed the eye, sha
in He not seer" but what use In the eye an
10 | what uso In the ear IL tho hand had nc
been strung with all it's nerves and move
he with all its muscles and reticulated wit
he all it's Joints and strengthened with all II
x bones and contrived with all Its ingenu
or tiesI The hand hath forwarded all the arr
ir, and tunneled the mountains tnroug
Vi. which the rail train thunders and launche
w. oil the shipping and fought all the battle
se and built all the temples and swung all til
he cables under the sea as well as lifted I
he midair the wire tracks on which who
ne trains of thought rush across the col
.er tinents and built all the cities and hoiste
Id the pyramids.
he expense of the hand, for the eye may
he blotted out, as in the case OF Milton, ar
so vet his hand writes a "Paradise Lost" or
he "Samson Agonistes;' as in the case OF VII
OF lam II. Prescott, and yet his hand mi
1t write the enchanting Conquest OF Peru
) the case OF Beethoven, and yet his haI
IN, may put into immortal cadences the min
ers Symphony." Oh, the handl The G.
OF fashioned handl The triumphant hand!
is an open Bible OF Divine revelation. al
NIL the five fingers are the Isaiah and the e.
rI- kiel and the David and the Micah and t
led Paul OF that almighty inspiration.
led A pastor In his sermon told how lit
lad child appreciated the value Of his han
lis- when he was told that on the morrow
md must be amputated In order to save b
or life. Hearing that. he went to qui
for place and prayed that God would spa
ear his hand. The surgeon, coming the ne
ion day to do his work, found the hand
of much better that amputation was Pc!
San poned, and the hand got well. The paste
telling OF this in q serm0l, concluded
yho holding up his hand and saying, "That
and the very hand that was spared In a
rds swer to prayer, and I hold 1t up, mon
MIS- ment OF Divine mercy"
Tide Again, the hand In the chief executive
r In flcer of the soul when wrung In agoI
law Tears OF relief are sometimes denied
nav trouble. The eyelids ut such time are
In hot and parched and burning as the bro
Gin At such time even the voice is suppresst
own and there is no sob or cutlery. Then
ads wringing OF the hand tells the story.
ask the close OF life wasted In sin sometiu
ned comes that expression OF the twis
hat fingers-the memory Of years that '
ers, never return, of opportunities the like
In which will never again occur, and @
IONS science in its wrath bouncing upon
soul, and all the past horror, only to
Of surpassed by the approaching horror. &
Inst man wrings his hands over the casket o
low dead wife whom he has cruelty treat
Iieni SO a man wrings his hands a. the fate
in sons and daughters whose prospects hl
tear beeu ruined by his inebriety and neglect {
or depravity. So the sinner wrings
into hands when, after life full OF offers
nm | nardou and uea16 and heaven. he d