St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1903-08-08

not stand in the presence Of God! Suc]
attitude is an impossible barrie
through, which the soul cannot spea]
SO that God can hear. Though tn
Lord be high, yet hath He respect unit,
the lowly; but the proud He knowetl
afar of" The proud may ask for richie,
and honor and glory, but it takes tn,
humble man to feel the need of wisdom
and ask with childlike spirit.
And the request must be made in un
selfishness. However much the sir
Of selfishness shriveled up the hear,
OF Solomon in the later years of his
life. certain it is that Solomon at Glib.
con was absolutely free from that
warping, narrowing tendency. He de.
sired to have that he might be bless.
ing and help to others. A petition ris.
ing from such Z heart never fails to
obtain all and more than It asks of God
A good many people in James time were
asking and receiving not, and blaming
God because they did not But in the
fourth chapter he tells them that it ID
because they ask selfshly. desiring the
gift to consume upon their own de-
sires and lusts. But il any man ask
unselfshly. and in humility and faith.
for wisdom, God heareth and giveth lib
orally. and upbraideth not.
n IFT Of Wisdom.-As we have al
" ready intimated, this gift of wis
dom to Solomon was not miraculous.
God did not send 1t down upon him
in great chunks SO that he could gather
1t up and ship it back to Jerusalem.
there to be used when he wished to
make display of it, or when circum-
stances required. 1t came in the most
natural way, and while Solomon was
using every energy and faculty of his
being. God supplemented his natural
abilities, He did not supplant them.
While the gift was natural and timed
to the need. the evidences of that wis
dom were striking and well-nigh mirac-
ulous, for the nation instantly recog-
nized that "the Wisdom of God was in
him to do judgment" And that is the
way the wisdom which you are told
to ask Of God will be received. When the
difficult problem arises, when confused
in the presence Of perplexing circum-
then look for the gift of wis
dom, and move straight on. knowing
that each step will be guided by the I'M
erring judgment of God. Wisdom from
God is not something you can have .
large reserve stock Of on hand, as you
would grain supply or a bank account,
but Is always in the possession Of God,
but the prayer of faith will always be
able to move God and obtain from Him
Just what is needed for the present re-
Quirement.
EVIDENCE OF Wisdom.-Did It ever
= occur to you that it was singular that
God selected the incident He did to
prove the wisdom of His servant Sol
omon? Surely out Of the many hard
tests to which the Queen Of Sheba put
him upon her visit, there must have
,een some one which could have been
elected which would have so clearly
proved the possession Of the gift. Sure
y there must have been other and pleas
inter circumstances when he could
rave displayed his God-given wisdom.
But, instead, he is found sitting on his
hrone and adjudicating q disgusting
case: q case in which the
had no standing and the
object of their dispute being the fruit of
heir sin and 4 witness against them.
instead Of hearing their case he might
rave ordered their stoning without the
ity according to the solemn Judgment
I the Jewish law. Why wasGft? We
nay not be able to suggest the correct
but may it not have been to
Emphasize the fact that the highest wis
ON of God reaches to the lowest hui
ian need. Does It not emphasize the
tactical utility Of God-given wisdom?
wen the meanest and most despised |
t all Of His subjects was to feel and |
now that the wisdom Of God was |
uidfng him. The evidence of Solo
1on's great wisdom was unexpectedly |
ound in q matter which most vitality |
oncerned the everyday life of two
utcast women What q lesson this
ught to teach you and me! Where are
70 looking for evidences of wisdom
'om God? In some great thing? You
ill be disappointed. But realize that
he gift will be bestowed for the mean
It and most humble affairs of life, that
will be given that you may bless and
clip some despised, Outcast soul, and
len there will be such a common
ense, yet exalted, walk with God as
i'll demonstrate to all about that 1.-THE
isdom Of God" Is in you.
Of Wisdom.-And this
last brings us to our closing thought:
be influence OF wisdom. If we were
lie to go back to the period in Jew
b history when Solomon reigned, and
ingled with the people, we would find
lat the manifest presence of God with
which put him in sympathetic
UGH; with the lowest and meanest Of
imam needs Influenced the people to-
ard practical views OF God and prac-
al religious living, more than would
| the learned preaching which the |
ng could have given expression to. ,
E might have talked religion faithful-
during the 40 years of his reign and !
It little or no impression, but this
actical application of his God-given
It exerted lasting influence upon all
e nation. An ounce of applied re-
ion is better than carloads of SER
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