St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-03-24

| whole tendency toward longevity
I toss my watch about recklessly an
| drop it on the pavement and wind ]
up any time Of day or night | hap
pen to think of it and often let it rul
| down while you are careful with you
watch and never abuse it and wind !
IN lust at the same hour every nigh
and put it in a place where it vii
rot suffer from the violent changes o
| atmosphere. which watch will last tn
longer? Common sense answers
Now. the human body is Gods watch
You see the face of the watch. but tn
beating of the heart is the ticking o
the watch. Oh. be careful and do no
let it run down!
Again, i remark that practical re
ligion is friend o. longevity in th'
fact that it is . protest against dissi
pations which injure and destroy tn
health. Bad men and women live !
very short life. Their sins kill them
| know hundreds of good old men, bu
I do not know half dozen bad ole
men. Why? They did not get old
Lord Byron died at Missolonghi q,
sc years of age. himself his own Ma
zeppa. his anbriGled passions the horse
that dashed with him into the desert
Edgar 4. Poe died at Baltimore at 81
years Of age. The black raven that
alighted on the bust above his cham
Der door was delirium tremens.
Only this and nothing more.
Napoleon Bonaparte lived only just
beyond midlife. then died at st
Helena. and one of his doctors said
cessivc snuffing. The hero of Auster.
litz, the man who by one step OF his
foot in the center OF Europe shook
the earth, killed by snuff box! Oh
how many people we have known who
have not lived out half their days
because of their designations and in.
dulgences! Now. practical religion j.
a protest against all dissipation of any
kind.
But" you say, professors of re
ligion have fallen, professors of re.
ligion have got drunk, professors OF
religion have misappropriated trust
funds, professors Of religion have alb.
seconded" Yes. but they threw away
their religion before they did their
morality. If a man on q White Star
line steamer bound for liverpool, in
mid-Atlantic jumps overheard and is
drowned, is that anything against the
White Star. lines capacity to take the
man across the ocean? Ard if man
jumps over the gunwale of his reli-
gion and goes down never to rise. is
that any reason for your believing that
religion has no capacity to take the
man clear through? In the one case
if he had kept to the steamer his
body would have been saved; in the
other case il he had kept to his reli-
gion his morals would have been
saved.
There are aged people who would
have been dead 25 years ago but for
the defenses and the equipoise Of re-
ligion. You have no more natural re-
s;stance than hundreds Of people who
lie in the cemeteries to-day. slain by
their own vices. The doctors made
their case as kind and pleasant as
they could. and it was called conges-
ton of the brain or something else,
but the snakes and the blue flies that
seemed to crawl over the pillow in the
sight of the .delirioas patient showed
what was the matter with him. You.
the aged Christian man, walked along
by that unhappy one until you came
to the golden pillar of the Christian
life. You went to the right; he went
to the left. That IS all the difference
between you. Oh. if this religion is
a protest against All forms Of dissipa-
tion, then il is an iIlustrious friend OF
with long life win I.sat-
isfy him. nr4E 8Sa
Again. religion is friend of lcngev-
ity in the fact that il takes the worry
oct of our temperatures. 1t is not
work that kills men, it is worry.
Wher "a man becomes a genuine Chris
tan, be. makes over to God not only
his affections. but his family, his bust
ness, his reputation, his body. his
mind. his soul-everything. Indus
trious he will be, but never worrying,
becAuse Sod IL managing. his affairs.
How can he worry about business
when in answer to his prayers God
tells him when to buy and when to
sell. and If he gain that is best and
II he lose that is best?
Suppose you had q supernatural
neighbour who came in and said: ''Sir.
want you to call on me in every ext
yency. am your fast friend; could
fall back on $4,000. 900; l can fore
zee ! panic ten years; l hold the c,n-
rolling stock in 30 of the best none
AIRY institutions of this country;
whenever you are in any trouble call
IN me and l will help you: you can
rave my money and you can have my
influence: here is my hand in pledge
If it." How much would you worry
bout business? Why. you would say:
III do the best can. and then Ill
depend on my friends generosity for
he rest i
Now more than that is promised to
very Christian business man. God
avs to him: II own New York and
london and St. Petersburg and
'eking and Australia and California
ire mine; l can foresee panic a
thousand years; l have all the, re.
ources of the universe; and / am
our fast friend; when you get in
business trouble or any other trouble.
all on me and Twill help you: here
s my hand in pledge of omnipotent
How much should that
nan worry? Not much. What lion
will dare TO put his paw on that Dam
Ell? Is there not rest in this? Is
here not an eternal vacation in this? |
Oh YOU say. .'hcre is man who
sked God for blessing in certain
Enterprise. and he lost $4,000 in it. |
Explain that" l will. Yonder is a
actory. and one wheel is going north.
nd the other wheel 10 going south.
nd one wheel plays laterally. and the
Their plays vertically. { 60 to the
and I says: 20 manu-
acturer,. your maebiuery. is a. contra
lotion. Why do you not make all the
heels go one way?" WELL" he saws.