The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1866-11-07

Jesus Christ our Lord--fFor the law OF
the spirit Of lie in Christ Jesus hath
made me free from the law Of sin and
DEATH" Hetells US further, Except ye
have the spirit of Christ, ye are none Of
His" This all goes to verify that scrip
ture which teaches that "God created man
upright" and put his laws in our hearts
and wrote them on our minds, and estab-
lished His kingdom within US, so we need
not THAT any man should teach US, for He
has given us better instructor, which
the Savior promised, "The Comforter,
which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Fa-
ther would send, should teach all things,
and bring all things to our remembrance /,
and abide with us forever" 'Tis true, we
mayresist and grieve this teacher till we are
lost to its influences, insenSible to Its stri.
wings still it attends us, is ever present
to guide us Alright, if We but give heed to
its counsels. IT'S this spirit Of whIch it
is written, "When thou goest it shall lead
thee; when thou sleepeth, it shall keep
thee, and when thou awakoSt, it shall talk
with thee" l have heard it's voice, small
ard still, like that which aroused the
prophet in the cave Of Horeb. Often in the
quiet hours Of night often when alone in
the field, has it come pad talked with me,
and have listened as it told me of
the goodness Of God, the beauty of holi-
ness, of purer and holier life, till l have
been so overcome with Heavenly rapture,
that for time could scarcely realize /
belonged to earth. Nor have I been
wholly lisobedient to the instructions Of
this divine visitant. 1t has taught bet.
ter system of manners and morals, land Ell.
evated the mind to higher standard than
human philosophy. 1t iustructs in tru-
er and holier theology than all the schol-
ars and Priesthood. It's admonitions
give relish for the society of The good
and just among men, ard prepares ug for
the enjoyment Of state OF society sur.
passing that Of, the best of men in this
life. AS the Savior promised, "If a man
love me, he will keep my words, and him
will my Father love, and We will come
unto him and make our abode with him."
Again, "BehOld l stand at the door and
knock if ary man hear my voice and
open the door, I will come in to him and
sup with him and he with me-" Can we
prepare our minds, can we purify our
hearts sufficiently to dwell in such socie-
ty? The Arabs have tradition, "that
Hhen Mahomet was three years old, an
Angel was sent to him, who opened his
breast, took out his heart and wrung from
it the black drops of original sin, replaced
his heart again, inspired him with the gift
Of prophecy, and from that time forward;
he was enabled to overcome all evil temp.
tations." Now, whether this tradition is
true or false, do not decide, but we are
assured, by good authority, that there is a
"faith which purifes the heart," no less
effcctually than Mahomet was said to haye
been purified by the Angel, and we are
assured also, that this faith is the girt Of
God, that it cometh by hearing, and hear
ing, too, by the word of God, not by the
word of men, and that tits nigh us, even
in our heart That is the word of faith,
the Gospel breaches. / have arrived at
that period Of life when this question
seems naturallg.to press itself upon the
mind, "If l die, shall / live again ?"-
This is the most important question ever
presented to the consideration Of mortals.
| cannot doubt the truth Of the scriptures
II proof were wanting, the history of tho
nations fully verify their truth /; histories
written, too, by men who kncw nothing of
divine revelation. Surely such historians
would not be partial religion at vari-
ance with theirown. The every day expert
ence of life neither short nor observant,
together with careful study Of the scrip.
lures, fixed in my mind belief of all
that is written in the law, and the Proph.
cts, and in the Gospels, and has given a
hope toward God that there shall be
resurrection Of the dead, aa immortal life
in the world to come-in that world
where wo shall appear with such feelings
and sentiments us we have cultivated
here, and where the spirits of the jIst are
made perfect in holiness where the wick.
ed cease troubling. and where the weary
find rest Surely the holy Evangelist was
not writing fiction when he assured us
that he heard great noise out Of Heaven.
saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is
with men, and he will dwell with them,
and they shall be his people, and God
himself shall be with them and be their
God, and He shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes, and there shall be no
more death, neither sorrow nor crying,
neither shall there be any more pain.".-
Sand he that is holy, shall be holy still.
And he that is unjust, shall be unjust still
And the fearful, and the unbelieving, and
idolators, aud whosoever loveth and ma.
keith lie, shall have their part in the
Lake that ,burneth with fire, which is the
second death" Verify, the Christians
faith and hope, Of future life, is not one
of those delusions, so frequently palmed
upon mankind. could not, If l would,
entertain doubt, in matter so well au
theuticated, by conclusive testimony. 1t
must be 80. They who have washed their
robes, and made them whito in the blood
of the Lamb, surely they will be permit.
a. ,N..,1 LoE..a l. af n.I