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

fore. Two hands clasped in greeting
are = bridge on which all Eympathies
and dndnesses and encouragements
and blessings cross over. To shake
hands with some persons does us more
than . good sermon - aye, it is
sermon. 70 shake hands with . good
doctor when we are sick is m anodyne,
a tonic, . febrifuge, before he feels
the pulse or writes the prescription.
To shake hands with q cheerful man
when we are discouraged fills MS with
faith to try again what We have failed
in doing. To shake hands with some
consecrated man, clerical or lay, after
we have wandered away into sin, is
to feel the grasp of = father-God well
coming home the prodigal. Shake
hands. o We solid and exclusive and cold
blooded and precise and conventional
Christians! Jehu cried out to Jehons-
dab: rs thine heart right? II 1t be,
give me thine hand"
There Is in an honest and Christian
kandshake thrill Of Gospel electrici-
ty. You take part OF his trouble aud
lie takes part of your jubilnce. In
that way You divide up anxieties and
congratulations. The main trunk line
Of that handshake has branches Of
blessed telegraphy right down to both
hearts and up 70 both heads, and you
both get the message the same in
slant. Take OF the glove when you
shake hands. for that glove puts the
hide OF a kid between the palm of your
hand and the palm of his hand. and
that animals hide is ! nonconductor OF
this Gospel electricity. Do not grip the
hone of the forefinger and the bone OF
the little finger with a crushing power
that. puts one into a severe suffering
which many Of US have experienced
from those who are more brutes than
men. Take the hand gently. reason
ably, heartily and know that God or
Gered that form of sa.utation. That is
one important thing that the hand was
made for. You can see the indications
in its shape and equipment-the four
fingers to take your neighbor's hand
on one side. and the thumb to takeeA
on the other, and the forearm sc
swung that you can easily draw it to-
ward you.
or course there is : wicked shak-
ing Of hands. and Solomon refers to il
when he says: Though hand join il.
hand. the wicked shall not be unpur
ished." Shake hands in conspiracy to
damage individual or community or ma
ton, shake hands to defraud, shake
hands to stand by each other in wrong
doing. You help me stuff this bal
lot box. and I will see that when l AM
in power you shall have promotion.
You hep me in my infamy, and l will
help you in your infamy. oh. that is
PROCLAMATION Of holy rite; that is sac
rilege against Divine arrangement:
that is gripping your own destruction
Plate and Herod, though antagonist.
before. shook hands over Christ's pro
jected assassination.
But shake hands the way William
Penn shook hands with the Indian:
for their civilization. Shake hands the
way Missionary Carey shook hands
with the Hindoos, for whose salvation
he became 4 lifetime exile. Shake
hands the way Havelock shook hand.
with besieged women at Lucknow
whom he had come to sare from mas
sacre. Shake hands as David Brainer6
did with the American Indians whom
he offered a glorious Heaven through
the Gospel. Shake hands as Lincoln
shook hands with the agitated mothe,
to whom he gave back the boy VIII
had fallen asleep from overfatigue a,
a sentinel. Shake hands as during tn,
civil war Anna Ross shook hands witt
the wounded soldier in Cooper Shot,
hospital. Philadelphia. Shake hands At
Van Meter, the city evangelist, shool
hands with the waif Of the street com
ing penitent into the midnight mis-
sion. Shake hands as heaven SHOOK
hands with earth that night when !;
doxology in the gallery Of clouds woke
the Bethlehem shepherds.
But it is not always In such glad
greeting that we can employ our right
hand. Ais. that so often we have tc
employ the hand in farewell saluta-
ton. If your right hand retained
some impress OF al such uses, it would
be a volume Of bereavements. Oh, the
good-bys in which your right hand has
Good-by at the steam
boat wharf. Good-by Mt the rail train
window. Good-by before the opening
Of the battle. Good-by ut the dying
pillow. We all needed grace for such
though our hand was
strong and their hand was weak, and
wewill need grace for the coming good
bys. and that grace we had better seek
while amid the felicities Of health and
homes unbroken. Thank God, there
will be no good-by in Heaven.
Again, the hand is the chief executive
Of the soul when employed in benedic-
ton. No gesture of the human hand
means more than the outstretched ges-
ture. In many of our religious denom-
we are not permitted to pro-
nounce an apostolic benediction until
we have been regularly ordained rs
ministers Of the gospel, but there are
kinds of benediction that you may all
pronounce without especial permission
from presbytery or conference or con-
yention. You have right to spread
abroad both right and left hand in be-
slowing blessing of kindness and
good will upon al you meet. With
both hands bless the children. Take
them in your arms and kiss their fair
cheek. Take with them q round Of
in the room before you
leave it. and by prayer put them in the
arms Of the Christ. to go to whom in
o.den time they struggled to get out of
the arms OF their mothers. God bless
the cradles and high chairs and nurser-
les all around the world.
Extend your hands in benediction fol