St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1901-02-23

~ yO0 WANT 70 DC ON 00Q0 aide, the
safe side and the happy side7 II 20.
come In the armory and get equipped.
Here il . bath in which to be cleansed.
Here aressandals to put on your feet
Here is q helmet for y>ur brow. Herr
is bresstplate for your heart. Here
is sword for your right arm, and
yonder is the battlefield. Quit your
selves like men,"
remark again the Heavenly Shep-
herd is going to find a great many Of
his sheep among those who are now re-
jecters of Christianity. Some Of the
mightiest advocates Of the Gospel were
once skeptics. Thomas Chalmers once
q skeptic. Robert Hall a skeptic.
Christmas Evans skeptie. Charles G.
Flnney e skeptic. Paul, the apostle,
once skeptic. hut when once with
strong hand they laid mold of the Cos
pei chariot they rolled it en- with what
momentum! | do not know how you
came to reject Christianity. It may
nave been through the infidel talk of
some young man in the store or shop or
factory. 1t may have been through the
trickery of some professed Christian
man who disguised you with religion.
II may be that 80 years ago you lost
all faith by what happened in an oil
company which was formed amid the
petroleum excitement. The COM
pany owned no land, or if they did
there was no sign of oil produced. But
the president of the company was a
Presbyterian elder and the treasurer
an Episcopalian vetryman, and one
director was a Methodist class leader
and the other officers prominent mem
bers OF Baptist and Congregational
| churches. Circulars were got out tell
ing what fabulous prospects opened
before this company. The circular had
all the hues of earth and sea and sky.
The letters famed with all the beauty
OF gold and jasper and amethyst. In
nocent men and women who had a lit
tie money to invest, and that little their
all, said: II do not know anything
about this company. but so many good
men are at the head of it that it must
be excellent and taking stock in it
must be almost as good as joining the
church" So they bought their stock
and perhaps received one dividend to
keep them still. But after awhile they
found that the company had reorgan-
lied and had different president.
different treasurer and different d.
rectors. Other engagements or an
overcoming modesty had caused the
former officers of the company, with
many regrets, to resign, and all that
the subscribers for the stock had to
show for their investment was beau
tifully ornamented certificate. Some
times that man, looking over his old
papers comes across that certificate,
and it is SO suggestive that he vows he
wants none of the religion that the
president and directors of that oil COM
pany professed.
Or you may have become skePtical
from the fact that you grew up in a
home where religion was overdone.
Sunday was the most awful day in the
week. You had religion driven into
you with a trip hammer. You were
surfeited with prayer meetings. You
were stuffed and choked with cate
chisms. You were often told that you
were the worst boy your parents ever
knew because you liked to ride down
hill better than to read Bunyan's "Pil-
grim's Progress" Whenever your
father and mother talked religion they
drew down the corners of their mouths
and rolled up their eyes. If any one
thing will send boy to ruin sooner
than another. that is it.
But do not stop now to know how
you came into rejection of Christian
ity. You frankly tell me that you do
reject it. You do not believe that Christ
is Divine being, although you admit
that He was a very good man. You
do not believe that the Bible was in
spired of God. although you think there
are some very fine things in it. You
believe that the Scriptural description
Of Eden was only an allegory. There
are so things that believe that you
do not believe, and yet you are an &C
commodating man. Everybody that
knows you says that of you. If I should
ask you to do a kindness for me or if
anyone else should ask of you kind
ness, you would do it. II, when you
are ill, I should come to you with
vial of medicine and say: "This kind
Of medicine cured so people who were
just as badly of as you are; take it."
and you replied: 81 do not want to
take it; have no confidence in it," /
would say: take il to oblige me-" and
you would say: well, if it will accom-
modate you will take it," Now. you
have found that this world is INSULT
cient and you are sick of sin. I come
to you with q Gospel medicine. It has
cured hundreds and thousands and mil
lions. Will you take it? NO." you
say, Il have no confidence in it," Take
it, then, to oblige me. I tell you Of Ply
sician who has cured more blind eyes,
and bound up more broken hearts, and
healed more CHASTITY wounds than all
the doctors since the time Of Escula-
plus. Be obliging and just make the
experiment. Hyou are not acquainted
with the ordinary modes Of prayer, say
in substance: 20 Lord Jesus, this is a
strange thing for me to do. I know
nothing about the formulas of rell-
gion. These Christian people have been
talking so long about what thou canst
do for me I am ready to do whatever
thou commanded me. If there be any
power in religion, as these people say,
let me have the advantage Of it." Will
you not try that experiment?
/ do not now say there il anything
in religion. Do not take my counsel
or the counsel of any clergyman, for
you may dislike clergymen. Perhaps
we may talk professionally. Perhaps
we may be prejudiced in the matter.
Perhaps our advice is not worth TAX
ing. Then take the counsel of some
very respectable layman, as John Mil
ton, the poet; as William Wherefore,
the emancipation; as Isaac Newton. the
astronomer; as Robert Boyle, the phil
osopher; as Locke, the metaphysician;
as Morse, the telegrapher; as Washing
ton, the statesman. They never