St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1902-11-22
BRANDING WITH GOD.
ssCapital and Labor in the Light Of
the Divine Will.
sermon by the "Highvvay and BY
way" Preacher on Some Of the
Aspects of the Great Coal
Strike.

Aspects of the Great Coal
Strike.
lCopyright, 1902, by A. N. Kellogg News
paper Col
Chicago, 1902
Text: Our Father Which art in Heaven.
~. Thy will be done in earth, as 1t Is IN
Aeaven. Matt. 6:9-10.
The Universal Prayer.-The words
Of our text are Immediately recognized
ss part of the Lords prayer which
Christ taught His disciples, and which
has come to be universally used. There
Is no land where God is worshiped that
does not echo with the simple but all
comprehensive petition. All creeds
and religions that are in any degree
based upon the Bible recognize and
use this prayer. In every Christian
land not only is it heard in the
churches and religious assemblies but
in benevolent and fraternal organiza-
tions. The man or woman or child
who does not know the prayer, and who
does not at some time, frequently or
3nfrequently, repeat its familiar SEN
fences, is the exception rather than
the rule. We are using, therefore, as
the basis of our remarks, words which
are known and spoken by nearly every
one; known and spoken, perhaps, as
little more than a well-sounding and
formal prayer with slight sense of the
depths and heights of meaning that
swell and throb in every letter and
syllable and phrase and sentence. The
rich and poor, the great and small, the
cultured and the unlettered, the church
i attendant and the one who seldom or
f!qever goes into the house of God, all
pnite in the prayer and plead the words
sAof our text: "Thy will be done in
earth, as it is in Heaven" And unless
their desires belle their words they all
ask for and want the same glorious
condition of affairs. They all stand to-
gether on high ground, seeking from
an impartial and all-wise God a COM
mon good.
That is, theoretically they want Gods
will to be done, while self-will, prejudice
and selfshness prevent the practical
realization of such desires. Without
being conscious of it, personal inter-
ests are allowed to so enter into the
consideration of questions and condi-
tions as to make ones own will seem
to be the will of God. A case in point
is the present great coal strike. The
men on both sides of the contest, as
far as 1 know, believe in and worship
God, and undoubtedly frequently re-
peat the Lords prayer and pray that
Gods will may "be done in earth, as
It is in Heaven" All are probably sim
= cere in their utterances and believe
that they honestly want to see Gods
will wrought out in the world, but
each believes that Gods will lies along
the line of his individual desires and
purposes and plans. They are to-
gether when it comes to the petition
which they offer to God. but immedi-
ately part company with each other
and possibly with God when it comes
to their ideas as to how the prayer
should be answered. .-rv
But we know that with God there
is no "varia bleness, neither shadow
'the same yesterday, and to-day, and
forever" We know that the Divine
will follows an undertaking course,
= that there are not two different an
swers to the same prayer; that
when the rich man prays: "Thy will
be DONE" and the poor man prays:
''Thy will be done;' that when the
capitalist and mine operator prays:
"Thy will be DONE" and the labor
leader prays: "Thy will be done; y
that when the cultured product of
the university prays: ''rhy will be
DONE" and the humble plodder in
the workshop prays: "Thy will be
done,' they all strike the same
& mark, and if the conduct and life of
the rich man and the poor man, the
capitalist and the labor leader, the
college graduate and the artisan
were such as to permit the perfect
working out of the will of God it
would cut a clean and straight path
in the affairs of men and the events
of the world. The will of God would
not be found to break into thou
sand divergent streams like the delta
If the Amazon, but like the benefi-
cent gulf stream it would flow with
a clearly defined course through the
midst of the sea of the earth's teem-
ing millions, exerting its wholesome
influences on every hand. God has
M favorites in the sense of showing
nartiality to one individual over an
other. for "He is no respecter of
nersons.'' The poor man does not
shal;eve that the rich man has a
corner on Heaven, or that the Ruler
Of the Universe can be subsidized
and bought up. The labor leader
does not believe that the capitalist
Is able by his wealth and his influ-
ence to gain the ear of God, while
he must stand out in the cold and
talk to blank wall. They all know
that '.whosoever will may come
! and that s'him that cometh unto Me
will in no wise cast out" They
NAV all alike have access to Him.
High Ground.-The opening words
IT the prayer "our Father, Which
art in Heaven" carry one away from
the complexity and confusion OF hui
man plans and conditions and
wrongs and desires and aspirations
nm into the presence of God in the
clear, pure atmosphere OF Heaven
the place in which, if anywhere. one
nav obtain a correct view of things
%oir