St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1903-12-05

were the WOfQS: satan FEARS the lam.
lily altar" And it is true that the read
ing and studying of the Bible is one Of
the greatest bulwarks of defense
against the attacks of the Devil. And
where the Bible is left closed and for
gotten he has pretty much his own way.
Why is the home disintegrating? Why
are there so many divorces? Why are
there SO many unruly and hayward
children? There may be many con-
tributive causes for these alarming con-
ditions of our day, but chiefest and for>-
most it is because the Bible is neglect.
ed.
DUT why should we read the Bible?
u First of all because it is the very
Word of God. why, madam" said the
infldel to the old lady who loved to
read her Bible, II can prove to your own
eyes that the Bible is q lie" Law, she
said, Il would believe the Bible before
l would my own eyes. These old eyes
of mine have fooled me thousand
times, but that blessed old Bible has
never deceived me in a single instance
yet" Sturgeon says: 1.-THE Bible is the
writing of the living God. Each letter
was penned with an Almighty finger.
each word in 1t dropped from the ever
lasting lips; each sentence was dictated
by the Holy Spirit. Albeit that Moses
was employed to write the histories
with his fiery pen, God guided that pen.
1t may be that David touched his harp.
and let sweet psalms of melody drop
from his fingers; but God moved his
hands over the living strings OF his
golden harp. Solomon sang canticles Of
love, and gave forth words Of consume
mate wisdom; but God directed his lips,
and made the preacher eloquent. II l
follow the laundering Nahum when the
horses pillow the waters; or Habakkak,
when he sees the tents Of Cushan In az
fiction; if read Malachi, when the
earth is burning like an oven: II l turn
to the smooth page of John, who tells OF
love; or the rugged chapters OF Peter.
who speaks of fire devouring Gods en-
emies; If l turn aside to Jude, who
launches forth anathemas upon the foes
of God, everywhere find God speaking;
1t Is Gods voice, not mans; the words
are Gods words; the words of the Eter-
nal, the Invisible, the Almighty. the Je-
hovah of ages. This Bible is Gods Bible;
and when I see 1t, seem to hear voice
springing up from it, saying: am the
Book of God: man, read me; I am Gods
writing: study my page, for was
penned by God; love me, for He Is my
author, and you will see Him visible
and manifest everywhere
A ND we ought to read Gods Word b..
n cause 1t is the only revelation OF
God to man. All, yes, nature may speak
of God. AS we behold the lilies of tbs
field which toll not nor spin, yet which
are clothed in a splendor and glory
which Solomon in all his glory never
knew, we exclaim in rapture, surely only
a God could have made these. AS we lift
our eyes to sthe stars and behold the
vastness and splendor and intricacies OF
the universe, the overpowering thought
sweeps over our soul that only mighty.
powerful Creator and God could have
made them and hung them in space. AZ
we feel the throb of life in our own
veins, as we behold life In It's myriad
forms in the insect and animal worlds.
we are conscious of the existence Of
vital something which must have Is
sued from high controlling force and
power. The thought and sense OF God
are all about u.s. How could it be other
wise when everything in the heavens
above and the earth beneath and the
waters under the earth bear the GER
tain impress of the creative hand and
fingers of God? But, Notwithstanding
all this, man needs the Bible to tell him
of the God which he discovers all about
him. It is not enough that man should
know there is God, he must know
about that God and the way back to
Him. The Bible is the only source OF
such knowledge. Therein we find not
only who and what God is, but who and
what man is, what his need, and how
God has wonderfully provided for that
need. The heart OF the Bible Is d1scov-
cred to be the Christ, about Whom all OF
Gods thoughts and plans revolve, VINO
is the full revelation of the character OF
God, and Who redeems back to God
sin-ruined race of beings.
..search the Scriptures for salvation.
Christ the Lord has told us so;
Every tongue and every nation
Should the Holy Bible know.
AHAN should read the Bible because
M it is the only true guide to the pres
ent life and to the life to come. 1t
teaches him how to live and how to die.
II shows man how to treat his fellow
man: it instructs in political economy,
social order and domestic relations; 1t
exalts the home; 1t indorses the nations
"a the powers which have been ordained
IF God. and it encourages and teaches
the truest patriotism and the bravest
devotion to uprightncss and truth. The
man who reads the Bible and lives the
bible is thoroughly furnished unto
every good work." The man who neg"
lects the Bible cannot think right. can
not act right, cannot be right. In tina
davs Of Josiah, the king OF Judah, the
Word of God was lost and forgotten IN
the neglected and deserted temple. The
nation fell into grieyous sins. Even
the Nous king did not realize the ex-
ceedine low standard OF morals and re-
lieion in the nation, because he was ig-
-S..,+ ~ Code Word. but when the roll