St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1901-01-05
PATIENCE A VIRTUE.

"A - l1G1NOU IA vuG1 OHo
Dr.. Talmage Says We Are All Sad
" in Need Of It.
We should Exercise II In the Affairs
Of Daily Life-Turns Discofd In.
to HaFnony-Fiaal Re.
ward Of Patience.
Copyright. 1900. by Louis Klopsch.l
Washington,
This discourse of DIR. Talmage is a
fuil-length portrait of virtue which
all admire, and the lessons taught are
very helpful. Text, Hebrews 1886:
"Ye have need of patience"
Yes, we are in awful need of it. Some
Of us have little of it, and some of US
have none at all. There is less of this
grace in the world than of almost any
other. Faith, hope and charity are all
abloom in hundreds of souls where yon
find one specimen of patience. Paul, the
| author of the text, on a conspicuous oc-
casion lost his patience with a CO.
worker, and from the way he urges this
virtue upon the Hebrews, upon the Co.
rinthians. upon the Thessalonians, up
on the Romans, upon the Colossians.
upon the young theological student
Timothy. conclude he was speaking
out of his own need of more Of this
excellence. And / only wonder that
Paul had any nerves left. Imprison-
ment, fagellation, Mediterranean cy-
clone. arrest for treason and conspir-
acy, the wear and tear of preaching to
angry mobs, those at the door of a
theater and those on the rocks of Mars
hill. left him emaciated and invalid and
with broken voice and sore eyes and
nerves a-jangle. He gives us a snap shot
of himself when he describes his ap-
pearance and his sermonic delivery by
saying: I'm bodily presence weak and
in speech contemplate" and refers to
his infiamed eyeiids when speaking of
the ardent friendship of the Galatians
he says: IF it had been possible, ye
would have plucked out your own eyes
and have given them to me-"
We admire most that which we have
least of. Those of us with unimpressive
visage most admire beauty; those of us
with discordant voices most extol mu-
sical cadence: those of us with stam-
mering speech most wonder at elo-
quence; those of us who get provoked
at trifles and are naturally irascible ap-
preciate in others the equipoise and the
calm endurance of patience. So Paul.
with hands tremulous with the agita-
tions of lifetime, writes of the ''God
of patience" and of ministers of God
in much patience. and of patience Of
hope" and tells them to "follow after
patience, and wants them to run with
patience" and speaks of those
strengthened with all might to all pa
tience." and looks us all full in the
face as he makes the startling charge:
'Ye have need Of patience"
Some of the people ordinarily most
excellent have . deficit in this respect.
That man who is the impersonation of
amiability. his mouth full Of soft words
and his face a spring morning, if a
passing wheel splash the mud across
his broadcloth, see how he colors up.
and hear him denounce the passing
jehu. The Christian woman, an angel
of suavity, now that some social slight
is put upon her or her family, hear how
her utterance increases in intensity.
One Of the ablest and best ministers Of
the Gospel in America. stopping at
hotel in town where he had an even
ing engagement, was interrupted in his
afternoon nap by knock at the door
by minister who had come to welcome
him, and after the second and third
knock the sleeper opened the door and
took the invader of his repose by the
collar and twisted il with force that.
II continued, would have been strangu-
lation. Oh, it il easy enough to be pa
tient when there is nothing to be pa
tient about. When the bank account Is
good and in no danger of being over
drawn, and the wardrobe is crowded
with apparel appropriate for the cold.
or the heat, or the wet, and all the
family have attested their health by
keen appetites at loaded table, aud
the newspapers, il they mention us Mt
all, put right construction upon what
we do or say, and we can walk ten miles
without getting tired, and we sleep
eight solid hours without turning from
side to side, the most useless grace I
can think of is patience. Ithas no bust
ness anywhere in your house: you have
no more need Of IL than Of q life pre-
server while you are walking the pave
ment Of city: no more need Of it than
an umbrella under a cloudless sky; no
more need of it than Sir Humphry
Davy's safety lamp for miners while
you are breathing the tonic air of an
October morning.
Do not boast that you are placid and
optimistic and free from the spirit OF
scold. If those who are unfortunate
could change lots with you they would
be just as sunshiny. 1t is not religion
that makes you SO happy. but capacity
to digest your food in three hours and
enough coupons cut on to meet all your
expenses. and complimentary mention.
and capacity to leave your horses in a
stable because you need q brisk walk
down the avenue. The recording angel
making pen ont Of some plume OF a
bird Of paradise is not getting ready to
write opposite your name anything ap-
plaudatory. All your sublime equilib-
rum Of temperament is the result of
worldly success. But suppose things
nightly change with you. as they
sometimes do change. You begin to go
downhiil. and It is amazing how many
there are to help You down when you
begin to go in that direction. A great
investment fails. The Colorado silver
mine ceases to yield. You get land
poor. Your mills, that yielded marvels
Of wealth, are eclipsed BY mills with
newly-invented machinery. You get un-
der the feet of the bears Of Wall street.
For the first time in your life you need