St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1904-10-01

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| kMNM(fNI lfl|I LHdt ne mas 1Ouu(
| EMM S@k#|lII Him in all His gra
HNE Wll cious mercy ant
EAH N tender love. The
IL : VII search for God neeG
III not end as does the
0JD search for the IA
III III IN bled pot of gold al
ii HI& the end of the rain.
49, bow, or the persist
ent effort to discover the fountain Of
perpetual youth All, how vain and dis
appointing is much OF the struggle and
search of human kind! Much seeking
but little finding! Feverish, persistent
quest for fading joys and perishable pos.
sessions, and never realization OF de-
sires or satisfaction of soul! It Is be-
cause the things sought for are either
unattainable, or, If attainable, are dis
appointing and unsatisfying when
tering gem, which, when within the
grasp, proves naught but the worthless
bauble of tinsel and gilt Search for
happiness, wealth, power, business, So
cial or intellectual preferment and sue
cess, and when the prize is won at last
after the first delightful thrill of pos
session has passed, it proves unsatisfy-
| ing. The ideal is never attained. 1t
Is always just beyond the reach. But
not so the search after God. God is the
attainable and the satisfying reward of
every hungry, seeking soul. He is the
''Findable God" But how many there are
who doubt this. How many believing
1t, yet grow weary in their search, and
fail to reach the goal of Gods presence.
But there are those who seek Him with
their whole desire and He is found Of
them. Many, like Job, cried out, as they
struggled through darkness and dis
enlargement and suffering: ooh that
knew where I might find HIM" The
way seems so long. Faiths eye grows
dim and the heart faint and discouraged,
but at last the soul merges into the
light of His presence, and Gods voice
Is heard, even as Job came face to face
with Him in the whirlwind, and heard
Him speak His rebuke and pronounce
His blessing. The seeker after God
always comes into the Divine presence,
If faith fail not and the heart turn not
from its purpose. "Seek and We shall
find" was Jesus encouraging promise.
The seeker shall be rewarded, but how
much is involved in the seeking!
T HE declaration of our text that "He
(God) was found of them" has refer
ence to spiritual apprehension and ap-
probation of the Divine God-head. Man
may and does find God in the nature
about him. God is everywhere in His
universe. The efforts of the atheists
and the Darwinian scientists have never
succeeded in eliminating God as a
Factor and Conscious Presence in the
heavens and the earth which declare
His handiwork" and reveal His wis
dom and power. God is found In every
starry height and every retreating and
shadowy depth. His presence is found
upon the wide expanse of the fathomless
sea; upon river, lake and sparkling rill.
The rugged mountains mark the course
of His mighty tread through the earth,
dure and beauty of His omnipotent hand.
The woods are vibrant with the life
which has been bestowed by Him. The
birds in joyful note; the insects with
their busy hum or lazy swinging on
the gentle breeze; the thrifty ant, with
hurried passage through his forest jun
gle of grass on definite business bent;
the animal creation from the little squir-
rels that find their coy home in the
friendly, hospitable heart Of the great
tree, or the sleek-coated gopher that
burrows meath the mellow sod, or the
rabbits that scurry away before the in |
truding presence Of man, and then stop
long enough to raise their saucy, in
quisitive heads above the tall grass and
woodland flowers to watch you as you
pass; up to the graceful, swift deer that |
takes one fleeting glance at you as you
invade his leafy arbor and then dashes
away with the speed of the wind to some
more secluded retreat-all, all speak of
God and declare His presence In the
world which He has made.
A ND man may find God all about him.
n He may be conscious of His pres
ence. He may realize that God is every
where in His nature. He may be among
those who in loving appreciation hold |
with natures invisible
forms and hear her speak varying Ian
guage, with God as the keynote Of it
all. But such recognition of God, such |
finding of Hen. Is not the experience to
which our text has reference God is
to be found and known in deeper and
fuller and richer sense than this. Mans
1uickened soul finds God to Whom
he natural heart and mind of man are
4 complete stranger. "Who by search
ing can find out God?" The searching OF
he natural man will never be rewarded
by that finding of God which reveals
Him in His saving, cleansing, keeping,
,ructifying power So the finding of God
means more than the superficial, the
Intellectual conception of God. 1t
means the quickening of the heart to
he deepest sense OF. the need of God, and
he expanding and charging OF the
leart to the realities and consciousness
# God. When the whole desire goes
,ut after God, then is He found of
hose thus yearning for Him. Have
7ou found God, or are you still a stranger
% Him? And If a stranger to Him here,
| stranger to him in the life to come?
Tod may be found. He waits for the
inner to find Him in saving power; He