St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1909-09-18

it will /. You all know that already
there d. some of our brethren who
have len to the king and secured
licensdo do after. the ordinances OF
the hEShen as though they were
Gentilss indeed. And thou knowest
how thy have built places OF wor.
ship III our holy city Jerusalem &C.
cordinkto all the manner and custom
of theiteathel, and have made them.
selves 1ncirclmcised and have for.
sakeng5he hoy covenant. Yea, they
have sld themselves to do mischief"
Thisearnek plea had its effect and
il was )lain b see ere he had finished
speaking tina all were determined to
stand sgains the enticements of the
Gentles except the one who had
brought the message. 1t was evident
that he a&eciated that further ar
gument wa of no avail. for he turned
and |as he fepped through the door
he turned nd with q sneer on his
face he sat
"You ar'foolish, indeed. Trouble
will surelyome to you"
Not lonafter this the king Anti.
ochus retued in triumph from Egypt,
where he i'd been waging war, and
came dow upon Jerusalem with a
great arm And when he had taken
the city entered proudly into. the
sanctuaryof the temple and took
away the olden altar and the candle.
stick of Sd and all the vessels there
of. And e table Of shew bread, and
the pouri vessels. and the walls, and
the censt of gold, and the precious
vessels, d all the gold and silver.
and muclid treasure. And he caused
all kindof indignities to be prac-
ticed up those Of the Jews who re.
fused tconforn to all the customs
of the Athen. Those were terrible
days in rusalem, for the strength Of
the you men and the young women
was tab, and the beauty of women
was chged. Thsu matters continued
for tweears and then the king sent
his CHI collector to gather tribute
from ,lsalem and the cities of Juda.
Thiscollector spake peaceable
wordslto the Jews, but all was de-
ceit, fwhen they had paid him all
his bends he fell suddenly upon the
city loot and destroyed much
people Having done this, he brought
| in gr companies of heather, and
they heightened the walls of the
city brought in armor and victuals.
And teneVer any heather coveted
aughhich was a Jews he ruthless.
ly 81 the Jew and toook his ALL.
Ntthe king, Antiochus, was not a
littltnnoyed because of the obsti-
nacf some few of the Jews, and he
SEM decree into the land of Israel
thaTery one should leave his laws
andbey only those laws which the
kinimself had made.
| 4 very many of the Jews were
counting to this thing, pricing their
liv higher than obedience to Gods
laRnd acceptabiIity with Him, and
TIL sacrificed unto the strange idols
wi which the city became filled and
th profaned the Sabbath days.
DIV among the few who refused to
OF the commands of the king was
tt faithful Jew who had kept that
lie company from compromising
VII evil some two years before. And
t one of that group had proved
lthless to the stand taken that
tght. Some had been put to death
nd others had fed into the Businesses
the mountains. But their leader
ill remained in Jerusalem, and now
became evident that he was the one
pom whom the wrath and enmity of
lie officials of the city was centering.
ut that they might cause him all the
lffering possible before putting him
J death, they seized his wife and his
FAINT son and put them both to death
efore one of the affairs erected to
lie idols. All of which they forced
lis devout Jew to witness. There
y his wife in the awful agonies of
10 slow and torturing execution,
lille their little son was strung by
le neck along the street with other
fants much as bead pendants might
! hung from a string.
wilt thou not yield now, seeing
e sure fate which awaits you If you
, not?" demanded the official. He
as hoping that he would be able to
It recantation from the man, for
, knew that if he did, this mans in
fence was so great that many others
o would bow before the idols and
inform to the requirements of the
ng.
But no, he would not, exclaiming
it'll voice which sounded above the
oans Of the dying and the shrill,
cries of the gathered null
.udes:
death is sweet when it comes
cause of obedience to Gods law, for
cry stroke of the executioner is but
e added blow which opens wide the
ties of heaven and gives entrance
the presence Of God"
Would you get others to stand
It'll thee?" exclaimed the execution.
, angrily. "Thy bold tongue sounds
Ieer in the presence of DEATH" and
It'll that he made one clean syeep
It'll his sword and cut of the mans
lad. And the echo of the words
me back as the man sank a lifeless
zap upon the ground:
death is sweet when it comes be.
use Of obedience to Gods law"