St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1904-01-09

J ! J ! ! !: !
Wxy-A He bore in his
lGlA body the marks OF
1N'YHd. n - the Lord Jesus as
FYN6H the honorable and
TtaH$ indisputable evil
TAX dences of his 10y
IL, sRs-lM atty and faithful
r:ss4E service. Hear his
brief, modest sum-
mary in the elev-
enth chanter If second Corinthians,
and remember, too, that it was maoe
before his imprisonment at Caesarea
and journey to Rome and cruel Donuaee
there: 4. ''Of the Jews five times r.
ceived / forty stripes save one. thrice
was | beaten with rods, once was i
stoned, thrice l suffered shipwreck,
night and a day l have been In tue
deep; in journeyings often, in perlls Oh
waters, in perils of robbers, in perlls
by mine own countrymen, in perlls by
the heather, in perils in the CITY, IN
perils in the wilderness, in perlls IN
the sea, in perils among false bretnren'
in WEAKNESS and painfulness, in Watcn-
ings often, in hunger and thirst ~
Hastings often, in cold and nakedness.
A battle-scarred warrior, surely! Inc
persecutions. the trials, the sIfferings'
the dangers began at Damascus at the
time he first enlisted in the cause OIL
Jesus Christ when the Jews went ABOUT
to kill him and he escaped over the
wall of the cityan q basket, and they
had followed him wherever ne nad
gone. to Jerusalem, through ASIA
Minor. into Europe His back was
scanned and sgashed with the innumer-
able blows which had fallen thereon.
His wrists and his ankles bore the
cruel marks of the irons and STOCKS
which had encircled them. upon his
face and head might be seen the livid
scars left. by the jagged rocks as they
fell, UPON lin lat Lystra. But every
scar, every pain and ache, every nara,
ship was testimony for the Aoro
| Iasus and he was proud of them.
THE soldier bears with honor the scars
L which he has won in battle Inc
| emnty sleeve or trouser leg, the dis
\ fiSured face and form through when the
shot and shell have ploWed thelr ugly
I burrows. are eloquent tribute to the serv-
4 ice which has been rendered. The soldier
issproud of that empty sleeve, OF that pul-
let wound. Paul, too, was proud OF MS
scars, but it was with no spirit OF ooast-
fitness that he pointed to the cruel evil
dences in his body CT his warfare in the
Gospel. He was proud OF them and calls
attention to them because they were the
visible evidences of the presence OF the
i Lord Jesus in his life. In the same
breath with which he declared that ne
/ bore in hisebody the marks OF the Lore
4 Jesus he had exclaimed: God 1or'
1 bid that should glory save in the cross
i of our Lord Jesus Christi" and it was
1because those marks were an expression
4 in his life ofethe cross and sufferings o.
\ Jesus that he gloried. To him 1t was ONT
\ Of the proofs of his discipleship. AS II
i those days the slave was branded witt
I the mark or initials Of his owner, 81
was Paul. 1t was his pride to count him
/ self the slave of Jesus, and to regard tn
II scars which had eaten into his flesh al
the brand marks of his Master.
] , @4s A. ssass 90 So 5sSHs
|fsyAUlTH sublime contempt he utterl!
II w ignores those who had so cruelty
tortured his body and sees only Jesus
He knows that nothing can harm hin
and no one lay hand upon him, except q
his Master permits, and save as it shall
be to His glory and the advancement o
the Gospel Therefore when the Jew
beat him, he sees Jesus and rejoices il
Him; when the rods of the heather fal
upon him, he Knows each stroke vii
make the light OF Jesus shine brighte
and farther into the darkness; when b
is stoned. he rises, up to bless; when h
is imprisoned, hA sings, for Jesus is wit
him. The marks in his body were tn
marks of the Lord Jesus-not those
the raging mobs at Jerusalem, at Lystra
lat Ephesus, at Thessalonica; not thos
! Iof the magistrate and Tailor at Philipp
It was Jesus, his Master and Lord, mark
ing his body for the furtherance of tn
blessed Gospel which he preached. Fac
stroke, each triaLand hardship deepene
the. proof Of his discipleship. It was full
filrrnent Of the promise and prophecy c
! kJesus; it was proof OF Divine favor;
Twas the evidence of fellowship wit
Him; it was the making complete Of th
sufferings of Christ.
#Aes----sga EFglt
THE suffering of the disciple Of Jesu
Christ for the sake of the Gospel
fulfllment Of prophecy. Over and owe
again Jesus told His followers that the
should suffer persecution. IF they hav
prosecuted Me, they will also persecut
you. Theservant is not greater tina
his Lord" And how the storm of perst
cution has ragged about the church {
Jesus Christ! The prison and the stake
torture and death; hardships and suffer
ings, have marked the pathway of tt
Gospel through the world. The earl
church felt the fiery trial and bittere!
opposition, until the. religion Of Jes,
Christ was popularized by the Roma
emperor Then came new persecutio
to the true disciples of Christ from will
in the organized state church, culm
mating in the reformation, when tt
fires of persecution burst forth with r
doubled fury But the form of persec1
ton charges, and to-day we have 4
{ lStephens being stoned to death, or Pau
{ Ebeing cast to the lions, or martyrs beir
burned at the stake. The torture chan
bers have disappeared, and no longer