Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1868-02-20
THE REPUBLICAN.
RELIGIOUS MISCELLANY,

thing TO die, to exchange worlds, to
pass into tho moro Immediate pres
ence of God and angels Ii is also
very solemn thing to live in such q
world S this of ours, under the NOR
al algovornmant Of Jehovah, surrounded
by thousand hallowed influences,
rapidly forming our characters, aud
fixing our eternal destinies We shave
souls of infinite value God has high
" exalted US in the scale Of immortal
beings-'a little lower than the an
gels"-crowncd with glory yand honor
Yet Oh how wehave fallen We have
sinned and come short Of his gloryj
provoked him TO anger by our multi
piled transgressions, yet he in his
wonderful compassion and mercy has
been pleased to provide a ransom, so
that all may be saved who will. All
glory be to his name
Which will you do, smile and make
others happy, or be grabbed and make
everybody around miserable You
can live among beautiful flowers and
singing birds, or in the mire surroun-
ded by fogs and frogs. The amount
Of happiness which you can produce
is incalculable, if you will only show
smiling face, kind heart, and speak
pleasant words. On the other hand,
by sour looks, cross words, and fret
ful disposition, you can make hum
dreds unhappy almost beyond endur-
ance. Which will you do? Wear a
pleasant countenance; let JOY beam
in your eye and love glow on your
forehead There is no JOY so great as
that which springs from a kind act
or pleasant deed, and you may feel
It at night when You rest, and in the
morning when you rise, and through
out the day when about your daily
business.
TRIALS AND TENprATIoSs.-To be
tempted is TO be tried. Trial devel-
ops strength and natures principle.
Christ forewmned His disciples Of
the trials they would be necessitated
to bear, and calls such ones blessed.
The apostle James says: "Blessed is
the man that endureth temptation"
The blessedness is not in the endur-
anee of trials, but in the final results
thereby secured 'for when he is tried
he shall receive the crown Of life"
Such things are inevitable, none are
exempt. Christian, meet them, meet
them calmly, believingly, submissive
ly, heroically, Christ like. Are the
robes made white without the great
tribulatiOn The blessed ones above,
whose voices are ever uttering JOY
gained the promised crown only by
bearing the cross. Nocross, no crown
No action, no reward. The one is
sure guarantee of the other. The bat
tie fought, the faith kept, makes GER
tain the reserved glory and immortal
ity.
The Archbishop of York, in ser
mon at St. PauPs, thus notices the
four chief dangers of our existing
high state Of civilization First, The
tendency to glory unduly in this ma
terial progress, forgetting the real
littlcness of man. Second, The temp
tation to seek and trust in riches to
enjoy our possessions, like Dives,
without thinking of Lazarus lying at
our dOors-a danger to which we are
all liable, the struggling for wealth as
well as the wealthy. Third, The SEN
suality of the age--a sensuality pc
culiar in this respect, that it is gener-
ally united with strength and hardi-
hood-the votary Of manly exercises
by day being also the votary Of dissi-
patton by night; asensuality without
softness, none the less perilous because
less repulsive. Fourth, The ultimate
danger consequent on all this--of liv-
ing ior the present only, of substitu
ting a blind materialism for the real
ization Of the great verities of the
eternal world.
81 will search Jerusalem with can
dies, and will punish the men that are
settled on their lees Two steps in
the process of Divine dealing are here
indicated-exposure and retributiOn.
The omniscient Judge declares that
He would subject His people to
strict oversight, laying open their
most secret retreats and uncoyering
the hidden wickedness of those who
had forsaken His scovenant and brought
dishOnor upon His name. And if He
was thus watchfu to detect unfaith-
fulness under the old economy Of
forms and shadows, can we suppose
Him to be blind to it, or regardless Of
1t, under the purer and more spiritual
dispensation of the Gospel ? All, no
With q scrutiny not less comprehen-
sive and all-revealing He walksamidst
"thc golden candlesticks amidst the
churches of Christ-inspectng their
purity, their fruitlulness, their zeal,
marking the backslders in heart and
bringing 10 bear upon them such in
auences, and poaring around them
such a flood of light as cannot fail to
search them out and expose THEREON
dition, not only to others, but to them
selves.
The fatal influence which backsld-
ers exert upon others will bear no
small share in their punishment 1t
is a never failing law OF the moral
world, that the evil we do to those
around us comes home TO scourge our
selves No man can contribute d.
rectly or indirectly, to the ruin Of his
acquaintance, without bringing an in
durable sorrow into his own life. Ahl|
young Christian, who hast forsaken
the society of the godly and given
thyself up TO profivate companions.