St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1904-06-04

nothing by Shishak's raid? Why
should he proudly hold his head aloft
and flatter himself with the glitter and
display which he had enjoyed before
his sin and punishment? And why
should people to-day, having forfeited
the gold of Gods favor and presence,
seek to ignore the loss and substitute
therefor the brass shields of their own
making? =
The Possession. -Rehoboam pos
i sessed shields of pure gold. They
constituted rich treasure which had
been committed to his hands. They
typified Gods protection. andsthe gold
from which they were made was SYM
bolic of purity. Their possession was
sign of Gods favor and blessing. Gold
shields for Rehoboam when he came in
to the kingdom, and gold shields Tor
you and me when we enter the kingdom
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Rich treas
ures committed to our hands. Colo
shields IMPLYING the protection OF GOO
and His purity. All, how we delight IN
their possession! We have them hung
about the walls of the palace of our heart,
and we delight to take them down and
march with them to the temple OF our
God, where we may worship Him. Colo
shields of protection promised to them
that love and obey Him. Gold shields
of purity, because through the blood OF
Jesus Christ we are made clean and His
righteousness and purity are counted for
us. Purity and protection-what more
can God give? Within these two are
comprehended all that God has to give
to the trusting soul. Purity is God-iike-
ness. And the Christian attains that
condition or quality in two ways: BY
imputation and by requirement.
Through the cleansing and Transforming
power of Jesus blood the sinner is made
pure. That is, Jesus, having borne the
punishment of our sin, is able to throw
over us as a mantle His Righteousness
and purity. Apart from Jesus Christ
there can be no purity in Gods sight. II
God sees in us Christ, Hesees purity and
holiness. II by faith the heart lays
hold of Christ, by that act of surrender
and obedience we becdme possessed OF
His purity and righteousness, and God, In
beholding us, sees not the marred and
SCARED life, but His precious Son, behind
Whom the sinner takes refuge. Thus is
His purity and righteousness3imputed
unto u.s. And the requirement Of purity
is but another manifestation Of the
Christly presence within. Here is the
germ of the new life within, formed in
purity and righteousness and planted
by the eternal love of God. This germ
must grow or be strnted and dWarfed BY
unfavorable conditions. It needs the
pure air and bright sunshine of Gods
presence, and thisAcan only be gained as
the will and purpose are united to that
end. 1t is our part by set purpose of
heart to seek God. and it is His promise
to give His presence and blessing in re-
turn. Blessed are. they which do hum
ger and thirst after righteousness, for
they shall be filed" seek and We shall
find, knock and it shall be opened unto
YOU" This then is the twofold aspect Of
Gods dealing with us. The purity and
Righteousness of Christ are imputed un-
to us by faith, and then by surrender of
will and obedience of heart and life we
acquire more and more Of that purity
and righteousness. And this purity in
cludes all the graces and virtues. -.
III HE Shield of Protection.-Thi is Of.
L fensive and defensive. It implies
the surrounding presence of God which,
shields from every danger, which nerves.
for every conflict, which sweetens every.
joy, which soothes every sorrow, which
intensifies and deepens every relations.
ship and responsibility of life. This is,
what Gods protection means. It in.
cludes everything essential to the well
fare and enjoyment and success of life.
The child enjoys the protection of it's
father, and this protection comprises
shelter, food, clothing, as protection
against exposure, hunger and cold It.
includes provision for the best welfare.
and needs, and Development of the child
as well as shielding from the dangers
that Turk on every hand tosharm and
destroy. God speaks of holding us in the
hollow Of His hand. And Jesus in His
last prayer with His disciples reported
to the Father that He had guarded them
and not one OF them had persisted save
the son d. perdition, who never really
belonged to Him The protection of
God is of three-fold character: Of
fensive, defensive and intensive Of
fensives as that protection enables us to
grow from weak and immature babes
into full-statured and strong saints
ready for aggressive warfare in His
name. Defensive in that He prevents
the world, the flesh and the Devil, the
Ubiquitous trinity, from crushing to
eternal destruction. When talking about
His righteous servant Job, God said to
the Devil: You may test him to the
point of taking his life, but upon his life
you shall not even lay so much as your
finger. Peter was in imminent peril Of
utter humiliation by the Devil, but
Jesus prayed for him and set the bounds
of the Devils power over him. And it
is so with Gods children always. They
are kept from utter defeat and destruc-5
zion, His protection is defensive. And
Gods protection is intensive. It gives
the sunshine and the rain, the rich soil
and the tender care which are essential
to the deeper roofing In Him and the
pushing upward of the trunk and branch
and the bearing of much fruit for Him.
A larger growth, God says, and He deep
ems the soil Of our experience and en-
riches it and mellows it so that the
roots can spread far and wide and OBJ
tain nourishment and drink deep Of the
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