St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1902-09-13

are but condensed summary of these
words, linked with reassuring prom
Use. "Seek We first the Kingdom of God
and His Righteousness" gives the cen
trail purpose around which the life
should revolve, and TIE "all these
things shall be added unto you" is the
promise of God which comes laden with
His love, and treasures the soul for
time and for eternity. Jesus sought
'fl st the Kingdom of God and His
righteousness" and it led down to the
cross and the tomb, but on the other
side as victor over death and Satan
God gave into His hands the "all
things" which Satan had offered Him
and placed Him on the throne with
Him in Heaven. And to-day Jesus is
only waiting the fullness of time OF
the Gospel dispensation when He will
come in the clouds of Heaven to rule
over the world with His saints during
the millennial period. Then Satan will
be put in chains and his power wrested
from him. Then the kingdoms which he
so proudly boosted of when he met
Jesus in the wilderness will be found
to belong to God, and he will be re-
vealed in his true character as a Liar
and usurper. Don't you think it pays
to serve God in the light of such facts?
Facts which God has given to us in His
Word for our encouragement and help.
A Present Reward.-But don't think
for a moment that the promise OF "all
things" is only realized beyond the
grave. Satan deals largely in promises
to pay which are never realized. but
God pays cash here for every invest
ment the soul makes in His King
dom and His Righteousness, and be-
yond the grave makes it joint heir with
Jesus Christ to the riches of Heaven
and the kingdoms of the world. GOD
never equivocates. He never tries to
get around one of His promises. Full
fill Gods conditions and you can cash
His promises here and now at one hum
dred cents on dollar. And now want
to tell you that Jesus didn't have to
wait until after He had risen from the
dead and had assembled to His Father
in Heaven before the call these things"
were added to Him, either. The "all
these things which the world was
seeking after while it forgot all about
God were given to Him daily. Who was
it came to Him and ministered to Him
after the tempta ton in the wilderness?
Angels from Heaven! Think of it! And
I tell you to-day, if we were seeking
the Kingdom of God and His righteous
ness first-if there were no human
hands to minister unto us-we should
have the very same experience which
Jesus had. Jesus didn't turn stones
into bread at the behest of Satan, but
angels brought Him bread from Heav-
en- to strengthen HIS weak and tired
body. He did not, fall down and wor-
ship Satan and obtain the Kingdoms
which he held out to Him, but He heard
the angels whispering to Him Heav-
en-sent message that God was going to
give them to Him later.
Jesus was seeking God and His right
eousness, and because His hands were
safe hands into which to deliver the
"all things" God gave Him food
enough in the wilderness to feed five
thousand men besides women and chill
dren. Do you know what God will do
for you, ooh ye of little faith" if you
will really and truly first seek the
Righteousness Of God? Why, He will
place the riches of Heaven and earth
at your disposaland permit you to min
lister to the needy as Jesus did. AS a
Meuller did to his hundreds of or
phaned children. As Moody did to
the thousands and hundreds of thou
sands to whom he preached and raised
money lavishly to use in the Lords
work. Look at the monuments in his
schools which he has left behind him
as testimonial that God here and now
will give the "all these things" if only
you will "seek first the Kingdom OF
God and His righteousness"
Jesus didn't have where to lay His
head. He didn't have a purse. Notice
that Judas, the son o. perdition, car
ried that. The rest trusted in the
keeping care, of the Lord, and when
tribute money was needed Peter goes
down to the waters edge and takes it
out of the mouth of fish God sent.
When draught of fishes is needed to
strengthen the faith of the disciples
and turn their hearts from seeking the
things Of the world to the seeking the
things of God, God fills their nets until
they break. And notice that they i'm
mediately left all and followed Jesus.
Do you know, half believe that when
they realized the bounty of God and
His care for them, before they forsook
their boats that day, they thrust back
into the water that great finny hoard,
and as they darted off with glad flirts
of their tails and graceful waves of
their scaly sides, the disciples gave one
glad look upward to the God who had
given and then followed Jesus. If they
never knew it before they realized that
day that the Lords fish swan in Cali
lees blue waters; they knew that the
Lords birds sang in the tree tops; they
knew that 1t was Gods grain waving in
the fields and Gods cattle on thou
sand hills, and when God knew that
they had need of these things He would
supply with bountiful hand.
Never was person better fed than
the prophet Elijah as he sits by the
brook and Gods ravens bring him
bread and meat! Never was such
glorious banquet held as that out on
the grassy slopes of the lake when God
fed the multitude on the few loaves and
fishes! God wants you to know and
me to know that but one thing is need
full, to seek His Kingdom and His right
eousness and that He will provide the