St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1901-11-16

6ln&l0gS lone anu 1et "S AAeAO~
duce you to a Christian man whom
you will be sure to admire;;" "Come
with me into associations that are
cheerful and good and inspiring;"
"Come with me into joy such as you
never before experienced"
With that word which has done so
much for others approach you to-
day. Are you right with God? NO."
you say, 81 think not; I am sometimes
alarmed when think of Him; fear
I will not be ready to meet Him in
the last day; my heart is not right with
God" Come, then, and have it made
right. Through the Christ who died
to save you, come! What is the use
in. waiting? The longer you wait the
farther off you are and the deeper you
are down. Strike out for Heaven! You
remember that few years ago
steamer called the Princess Alice, with
a crowd of excursionists aboard, sank
in the Thames, and there was an awful
sacrifice of life. A boatman from the
shore put out for the rescue, and he
had big boat, and he got it SO full it
would not hold another person, and as
he laid hold of the oars to pull for the
shore, leaving hundreds helpless and
drowning, he cried out: oh, that
had bigger boat!" Thank God that l
am not thus limited and that can
promise room for all in this Gospel
boat. Get in; get in! And yet there
is room. Room in the heart of par
doning God. Room in Heaven.
I also apply the word of my text to
those who would like practical COM
fort. If any ever escape the struggle
Of life, I have not found them. They
are not certainly among the prosper
GUS classes. In most cases it was
struggle all the way up till they
reached the prosperity, and since they
have reached these heights there have
been perplexities, anxieties and crises
which were almost CROUCH to shatter
the nerves and turn the brain. 1t would
be hard to tell which have the biggest
fight in this world, the properties or
the adversities, the conspicuities or
the obscurities. Just as soon as you
have enough success to attract the at
tention of others the envies and jeal-
ousies are let loose from their kennel.
The greatest crime that you can COM
init in the estimation of others is to
get on better than they do. They think
your addition is their subtraction.
Five hundred persons start for goal
Of success; one reaches it, and the 9TH
er four hundred and ninety-nine are
mad. It would take volumes to hold
the story Of their wrongs, outrages
and defamations that have come upon
you as q result of your success. The
warm sun of prosperity brings into
life swamp full of annoying insects.
On the other hand, the unfortunate
classes have their struggles for main
tenance. To achieve livelihood by
one who had nothing to start with, and
after awhile for family as well, and
carry this on until children are reared
and educated and fairly started in the
world, and to do this amid all the rival
ries Of business and the uncertainty
of crops and the fckleness of tariff
legislat ton, with an occasional labor
strike and here and there panic
thrown in, is mighty thing to do, and
there are hundreds and thousands OF
such heroes and heroines who live I'M
sung and die unhonored.
What we all need, whether up or
down in life or half way between, is
the infinite solace of the Christian reli-
gion. And so we employ the word
.Come!" It will take all eternity to
find out the number Of business men
who have been strengthened by the
promises Of God, and the people who
have been fed by the ravens when other
resources gave out, and the men and
women who, going into this battle
armed only with the needle or saw OF
az or yardstick or pen or type OF shovel
or shoe last, have gained victory that
made the heavens resound. With all
the resources of God promised for
every exigency, no one need be left in
the lurch.
But the word ''Come" applied to
those who need solace will amount to
nothing unless it be uttered by some
one who has experienced that solace.
That spreads the responsibility of Civ
ing this Gospel call among great
many. Those who have lost property
and have been consoled by religion in
that trial are the ones to invite those
who have failed in business. Those
who have lost their health and been
consoled by religion are the ones to
invite those who are in poor health.
Those who have had bereavements and
been consoled in those bereavements
are the ones to sympathize with those
who have lost father or mother or
companion or child or friend. What
multitudes Of us are alive to-day and
In rood health and buoyant in this
journey of life who would have been
broken down or dead long ago but for
the sustaining and cheering help of our
holy religion! So we say, "Come!"
The well is not dry. The buckets are
mot empty. The supply is not exhaust
ed. There is just as much mercy and
coincidence and soothing power in God
as before the first grave was dug, or
the first tear started, or the first heart
broken, or the first accident happened,
or the first fortune vanished. Those
AZ M who have felt the consolatory