St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1903-08-22

tIleu 10 Tell 0eT ml6LIo30 30 SQe WOulO
understand how it was Jesus helped
her; how, as she walked in the will
Of God, all things worked together for
her good, even though she could not
understand it all. Eliza dwelt In the
Land of Uprightness. It was where
God was. It was where human expert
ences were lost in His eternal pur-
poses. It is the only land where true
Joy and peace and contentment are
known. Do you not want to go into
that land?
I F 1T is such q desirable summer land
l of the soul. 1t must be worth the
journey to reach 1t. You do not hesi-
tate to undertake the trip to the summer
resort. where you expect to spend your
vacation. You do not ask to know all the
experiences and delightx of the place be-
fore you have reached It. You know
you must take the journey first before
you can prove all the attractions and ad-
vantages which nave been ascribed to
the place. Knowing this, why should
you be so unreasonable as to demand
that you experience the Joy, and peace,
and contentment of the Land Of Upright
ness, before you have taken the journey
thereto? You cannot enter the land,
you may not prove its charms, until you
have Travelled from the Land Of Natural
Self over the route which God has
laid out. The first step in the journey
IL ln0E}n0 {u$n Tia volrpor ~ Code nor.
feet Righteousness, and realizing that
you are sinner In His sight. For all
have sinned and come short of the glory
of God" The next step Is realization
of the lost condition of the soul. For
the soul that sinneth. it shall die" The
next step in the journey to the Land Of
Uprightness 10 true repentance for sin.
Repent! Bring forth, therefore, fruits
meet for repentance" The next step
brings one to the cross, where the de-
spairing look Of the soul Is turned to one
of Joy as 1t beholds the Christ bearing
its sin In His body upon the tree. As
with Bunyan's Christian, the vision
loosens the bands which have bound
the terrible load of sin to the soul. and
it drops out of sight, forever. Then,
with the lighter step of faith in the
only begotten Son of God, Christ Jesus
our Lord, the journey to the Land OF
Uprightness is quickly completed, and
then, and not until then, is the soul pre-
pared to understand or enjoy the bless
edness of that wonderful land. Then
it is that the sun shines brighter, the
birds carol more sweetly, the flowers are
arrayed in more gorgeous hues, and all
the appearance Of the world and the
aspect of life are changed.
GONE wonderful things take place 40
y one gets over into the Land OF Up
rightness. There was that person whom
you never could like while you dwelt
in the Land Of Natural Self. You even
hated him for some unkindness or
wrong, but when your feet rest within
the Land of Uprightness. and your
prayer is: Teach me to do Thy WILL"
then your bitterness is changed to love,
and you hear Jesus whisper in your ear:
Love your enemies. do good unto them
which despitefully use you" In the
town of M. were two merchants
in the same line Of business Their
stores were within stones throw Of
each other These two merchants dwelt
in the Land of the Natural Self. and
great bitterness had sprung UP between
them, as their rivalry in business gave
rise to real or Imaginary wrongs be-
ing suffered on the part OF each from
the other. Each would have been glad
to have seen the other swept to bank
ruptcy and ruin, and each would have
done what he could, that was short Of
the really criminal, to bring this to
pass. Thus matters stood, when. by the
mercy and Providence of God, one OF
these merchants travelled the road which
led to the Land Of Uprightness. And
there, after struggle with his old ma
ture, and the bitterness which had ruled
his conduct toward his rival, he found
the hatred changed to love, his desire
to see his rival ruined changed to q
longing to have him saved, too. The
story is too long to tell in detail. but
the result of It was that from the Land
Of Uprightness this man dealt with his
rival, and won him over ut last to the
same blessed relationship to God apd
Jesus Christ. And this is only one OF
the manifold changes which take place
when the soul enters the Land OF Up
rightness.
A ND do those who enter the Land OF
"A Uprightness never stray? Yes,
sad to say! they do. There are those who
leave the paths of uprightness to walk
in the ways of darkness" Faiths vi
sion becomes dimmed, the eyes are
taken from the onward, upward look
towards God and the Eternal City,
whose spires may always be seen from
the Land 81 Uprightness. and, like the
backward gaze of Lots wife, the soul
turns toward the things Of the world.
The "Lust Of the eye, the pride OF life. -
are allowed to rule the life, and lead the
feet into the ways Of darkness. And
those who have wandered from the Land
of Uprightness, are they left to perish?
No. The Lord never forsakes them that
are His. He goes out after the wander
ing sheep, even as the shepherd on the
mountain side searches for the sheep
or lamb missing from the fold. He
searches until He finds the wandering
one. He brings it back with him. Dear
soul, are you wandering from the Land
If IJpriphtness. which you entered with