St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1901-12-28
VISIONS OFTHENIGHT
Dr. Talmage Shows How God Has
Honored the Dream.

oSSS
Honored the Dream.
It Has Decided the Fate Of Nation
ana Has Changed Course Of
Worlds History-Warn-
ings from God.
copyright. 1901. by Louis Klopsch, N. v.
Washington,
In this discourse DR.. Talmage dis
cusses a much talked of subject, ant
One in which all are interested. TIL,
text is Joel 2, %: II will pour out m,
spirit upon all flesh; your old me1
shan dream dreams, your young me1
shall see visions"
In this photographs Of the millen
MUM the dream is lifted into great
conspicuity. You may say of dream
that it is nocturnal fantasia or thai
At is the absurd combination of wax
ing thoughts, and with a slur of in
tonation you may say: ut is only g
dream" but God has honored the
dream by making it the avenue
through which again and again He
has marched upon the human soul
decided the fate of nations and
changed the course of the worlds his
tory. God appeared in dream tc
Abimelech, warning him against an
unlawful marriage; in a dream to
Jacob. announcing by the ladder SET
against the sky full of angels the
communication between earth and
heaven; in dream to Joseph, fore.
telling his coming power under the
figure of all the sheaves of the
harvest bowling down to his sheaf;
to the chief butcher, foretelling his
dlslmpris onment; to the chief baker
announcing his decapitation; to
Pharaoh, showing him first the seven
plenty years and then the seven
1amlne-struck years, under the figure
OF the seven lean cows, devouring the
seven fat cows; to Solomon, giving
him the choice between wisdom and
riches and honor; to a warrior, under
the figure of barley cake shifting
down tent, encouraging Gideon in
his battle against the Midianites; to
Nebuchadnezzar, under the figure of
q broken image and a hewn-down
tree, foretelling the overthrow of His
power; to Joseph of the New Tesla
ment, announcing the birth of Christ
in his own household, and again bid
ding him fly from Herodic persecu-
tions; to Pilates wife, warning him
not to become complicated with the
judicial overthrow of Christ.
We all admit that God in ancient
times and under Bible dispensation
addressed the people through dreams.
The question now is, does God appear
in our day and reveal Himself through
dreams? That is the question every
body asks, and that question I will
try to answer. You ask me if be-
lieve in dreams. My answer is, do,
but all I have to say will be under
five heads.
Remark the First.-The Scriptures
Ar |so full of revelations from God
that if we get no communication
from Him in dreams we ought, never
theless, to be satisfied.
With 20 guidebooks to tell you how
to get to New York or Pittsburg or
London or Glasgow or Manchester do
how to make the journey? We have
in this Scripture full direction in re-
gard to the journey of this life and
how to get to the celestial city, and
with this grand guidebook, this mag
.nifcent directory, we ought to be sat-
listed. / have more faith in decision
TO which / come when I am wide
awake than when am sound asleep.
I have noticed that those who give a
great deal of their time to studying
dreams get their brains added. They
are very anxious to remember what
they dreamed about the first night
they slept in a new house. If in their
dream they take the hand of corpse,
they are going to die. If they dream
OF garden, it means a sepulcher.
II something turns out according to
q night vision, they say: "Well, am
not surprised. dreamed it," If it
turns out different from the night
vision, they say: swell, dreams go
w contraries." In their efforts to
put their dreams into rhythm they
put their waking thoughts into dis
cord. Now, the Bible is SO full of
revelation that we ought to be salts
fed If we get no further revelation.
Sound sleep received great honor
when Adam slept SO extraordinarily
that the surgical incision which gave
him Eve did not wake him, but there
is no such need for extraordinary
slumber now, and he who catches an
Eve must needs be wide awake! No
need of such dream as Jacob had,
with ladder against the sky, when
10000 times it has been demonstrated
that earth and heaven are in COM
No such dream needed
MS that which was given to Abimelech,
warning him against an unlawful
marriage, when we nave the records
OF the county clerks Office. No need
of such q dream as was given to
Pharaoh about the seven years of
for now the seasons march in
regular procession and steamer and
rail train carry breadstuffs to every
nation. No need of
dream like that which encouraged
Gideon, for all through Christendom
it is announced and acknowledged
and demonstrated that righteousness,
sooner or later, will get the victory.
II there should come about a crisis
In your life upon which the Bible does
not seem to be sufficiently specific,
70 to God in prayer and you will get
Especial direction. I have more faith,
30 times out of 100, in directions given