Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1914-04-23

OBEDlAH pOOROEVll's PRAYER
Published by request.

easy going. good people, who attended
to his own business and had but little
to say to anyone. His education was
acquired by jerks in one of the little,
old log school houses. sam
pie of which we find yet in some OF
the new settlements of the southwes-
tern states. He seldom attended
church, but when he did he wole such
solemn look that it excited the sus-
picion that he possessed religion. Act
ing upon this suspicion one day old
Deacon Twenty Percent invited him
to pray. Obediah said he didn't have
woIds enough to pray, and they must
excuse him, but old Deacon Twenty
Percent and Deacon Skinfiint told MIN
he didn't have to have words. The
Lord furnished them. All he had to
do was to get down on his knees and
open his heart AMI the Lord would
put words in his mouth to express his
feelings for tout of the abundance of
the heart the mouth speaketh, said
Twenty Percent. Obediah said he
would try it lick anyhow, and hav-
ing placed himself in the proper atti-
tude, he poured out his heart in the
following manner:
sob Lord, they tell me that you
will give me words to express the feel
ings of my heart. Oh, Lord, send EN-
down right now. for I've got whole
lot to say. Oh, Lord, I'll tell yon who
l am and mebbe you won't want to
listen to me, for I'm poor and haint
got much education. I'm just plain
Obediah Poordevil. | hain't been a
very bad sinner nor very good Chris
tian. Oh, Lord, mebbe I'm wrong.
but it seems to me that this world is
wrong. Nearly everybody is going to
the devil or else am. Mebbe have
MT got the right kind of bible but
its just like old Deacon Twenty Per-
cent uses Oh, Lord, want to know
about whole lot of things. want
to know who you made this earth for
anyhow. My bible says "the earth is
the Lords and the fullness thereof. "
but old Twenty Percent claims to own
half of this township and us poor dew
lis who do the work have to pay him
the fullness thereof. Lord, / want to
know if he pays it over to You. l
don't taink he does for l have seen
him sell it and put the money in his
bank where he loans it out for per
cent.
sob. Lord, want to know if You
didn't make a mistake when you COM
manded the people not to collect usury
from their brethren. Somebody is
mistaken and if you meant what You
said some people who stand mighty
high in this community are going to
20 to hell sure, and this church will
lose some of its mighty pillars. Oh,
Lord, want to know if you made
some people to work and some to play;
some to wear fine clothes and some to
go nearly naked; some to drive in fine
and some to work in the hot
sun every day. l watt to know if you
did this on purpose or If these fellows
are running bluff on us, and, Oh
Lord, / want to know why we have to
divide up with the fellows who don't
work. I want to know why old Dea-
have to live in little old shanty
which I had to make. want to know
son Twenty Percent lives in a fine
house which he didn't make, and |
why his gals can go off on an excurs-
on with a lot of fine haired dudes,
ind not be talked about, while If mine
happen to speak to a young man they
IRE bad medicine. I want to know,
Oh Lord, if you meant what you said
when you declared that it is easier for
camel to go thru the eye of needle
han it Is for a rich man to enter the
of heaven. If you did I'll
ell Sallie when I get home. 1t will
10 her lots of good. If it is so, there
II be some mighty disappointed peo-
lie in this neighborhood, and, Oh
Lord, l want to know If you have got
be same opinion of lawyers you had
vhen you were down here. / don't
hink they are any better than they |
we're then, worse, If anything. Oh
4ord, will you please tell me if you
made me on purpose to work for old
twenty Percent and others who don't
york. / want to know if you intend
d for old Brother Skinflint's girls to
% better than mine. If you didn't,
Why does the world treat them better,
nd If the world is wrong, why don't
on jerk it baldheadedr
Now. Oh Lord, haven't got any
hing agin old Twenty Percent. but Re
as got note agin me. don't want
on to kill him. but if you can make
i'm read his bible like l do he'll
mock off some of that per cent. and /
an get my wife new dress next fall.
Oh, Lord, l wish you would enlight-
n me, is it right for people to go to
hurch to show their fine clothes. Is
right to talk scandle about your
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