St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1903-07-04

lSS-G$s$A~\ uerlul tr1DuLe TO
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IL - Noah. He obeyed
Eklz s sss; tt; IA: !: 4:
|@E mony which can
be borne of any
-. soul. We who
read the complete
story of Noah's life and see plainly
tne reward of that obedience may be
quick to exclaim: "How foolish and
now fatal it would have been for him
TO do otherwise than all that the
Lord commanded him. But if we
Will try to forget for the time being
the glorious ark riding in safety on
the crest of the mighty food, bear
ing its living freight above the wa
terry graves of those who refused to
hear Gods voice or heed His. warn
ings, and stand with Noah when the
command of God first, came to him,
we will see that only implicit faith in
God could have given Noah the cour-
age to- act. Is it not probable -
Noah saw the sun rising day after
day, in his strength and glory, as
his feet passed through his grain
laden fields, and bearing orchards, as
he heard the music of the birds, as
he beheld the. busy rush of life all
about him, people marrying and be-
ing given in marriage, commercial
and industrial enterprises command
ing and occupying the skill and en-
ergy and brains Humankind; is it not
probable that Noah found it hard
to believe and obey, God? In obey
ing God he could not hope to secure
the support or even Endorsement of
his neighbors and friends. Perhaps
he knew that at first it would mean
opposition in his own household.
PUT there were other things besides
u ridicule and opposition and perse-
cution which would make the obeying
of God no easy thing. He must give
up personal plans and ambitions. 1t
must not be supposed that, up to the
time the command came to Noah,
he had been standing around idly
waiting for something to turn up.
The Lord always seeks out the busy
hands and brains to work for Him.
He has no more love for the drone
than has the employer whose sue
cess depends upon the industry OF
the men he employs.
And I, for one, believe that Noah
was one of the most Industrious and
successful men of his time. He was
respected and looked up to in the
community. The godly life always
commands the respect Of the wicked.
There is no doubt that the times in
which Noah lived were distressingly
bad, for the record preserved by God
declares that ''the wickedness of
man was great in the earth. and every
imagination OF the thoughts OF his
heart was only evil continually"
But Noah lived an upright life, and
manding figure in the country in
which he lived. He was an important
and influential citizen, and as such
was undoubtedly fun Of his own
plans and ambitions. And so, when
the command of the Lord came to
him to turn from these things and
build the ark. it doubtless cost him
NO little struggle to obey.
THE Christian has to meet the
same conditions to-day in yield
ing obedience to God, but the reward
is as certain as that which came to
Noah. We see $50 clearly the glory
which issued from Noah's obedience,
that we forget that, when Noah per
formed the Lords command, the re-
ward Of that obedience was still
ahead of him, and unrealized, while
the skepticism and opposition all
about him .strove to drive him from
his task, and make him unhappy and
rebellious under the commend Of the
Lord. But he obeyed Col in the
face OF it all, and reaped sure re-
ward of that obedience. This is the
first thought which we wish to drive
home to the heart of the Christian,
YES, and to the unsaved soul, as well.
Obeying God paves safe roadway to
final victory and glorious reward. To
the Christian it leads to all the riches
that are in the treasure house of God;
II leads to the crown of life, the crown
OF righteousness, and the crown OF
glory. And to the unsaved soul it
leads from the land of death to life
and liberty in Christ Jesus. The one
command to the unsaved is: Repent
and believe on Jesus Christ. Obedi-
ence to this command reveals the re-
ward of Eternal Life to the soul after
that obedience is rendered. The
soul that walks with Noah and does
ali that God commands it win not
pass over an easy pathway, but the
rlory OF tho certain reward which
rests at the other end tinges the hori-
ron of the sky Of life, and encour-
.oes and leads the soul on. It is no
imaginary pot Of gold at the end
If the arching rainbow. That is what
the world is chasing after. Man is
nbeying his own impulses and desires
With the vision of the yellow gold
drawing him on to the end of the
rainbow of life, and when he comes to
the end he finds it disappears, as the
mirage in the desert fades before the
disappointed gaze Of the dying trav-
#.1er. There is no sure reward await
inc the soul that obeys man rather
than God, and that follows its own
.srcfinations. It is always a case of
+he rainbow and the never-found pot
q 0old when Gods commands are
Sorootten and disobeyed. But as
.-.,-e,v as Noah rode in the ark ON the