Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1873-01-23
&eadiuq tur the Sabbath.
CONDUCTED BY
REV. ROBERT LATHAM.
THE INFLUENCE OF LITTLE SINS.


Little sins are as really sinful as larger.
They are foxes, and they spoil the vines. One
flaw ruins US in the eye of God. We recog-
nize and act upon this in other things; sad
and strange that we should fail to do 80 in
higher. "Who does not see that the tiniest
flaw or fracture in diamond vitiates the
whole gem, be it very Kohinoor-that the
smallest streak or stain sets aside the marble
block of Carrara, that is like the driven
snow-that the slightest spot or speck dims
to rejection the whole polished lens-that the
most insignificant leak is perilous?" In these
cases it will not arrest the verdict to allege
the fault is 50 very small. Actual transac-
tions established this. Once famous ruby
was offered to this country. The report of
the crown jeweler was that it was the finest
that he had ever seen or heard of; but that
one of its facets-one of the "little" cuttings
of the face-was slightly fractured. The
result was, that almost invisible flaw reduced
it's value by thousands of pounds, and it was
rejected from the regalia of England. Again {;
when Canova was about to commence his
great statue of the great Napoleon, his keenly-
observant eye detected tiny red line running
through the upper portion of the splendid
block, that at great cost had been brought
from Paros, and he refused to lay chisel on
it. Once more in the story of struggles of
the elder Herschel, while he was working out
the problem of gigantic specula or telescope
lenses, you will find that he made scores upon
scores before he got one to satisfy him. A
scratch like the slenderest spider-line suficed
to vitiate what had cost him long weeks of
toll and anxiety. Again in the "leak of a
ship, the measure of the ship to resist the
shock of wave or the strain of the wind is not
the strongest but its weakest part.
The tremendous issues contingent on the
attention or non-attention to the slightest
"leak" was illustrated in a recent incident in
the late deplorable civil war in America. One
of the Federal war.ships had what seemed "a
merely superficial "leakage," and, though not
noticed, it was not thought necessary to coun-
termand, the order that she should take part
in an approaching conflict. At the crisis Of
the encounter, it was found that the sea-water
had got oozing into the powder magazine, and
rendered nearly the whole useless. On that
powder hung victory or defeat. The "httle
leak" went uncared for, and an inferior force
won.
would have you see and. know assuredly
that nothing in or about sin can be-except
in the relation of words -"little;" that sin is
and ever must be sin only and sin absolutely
and sin eternally. The smallest neglected
spark of fire has flashed out into conaagra-
tion the smallest neglected leak has sunk the
proudest ship; the smallest neglected sickness
has drought down" to the grave; and the
smallest consciously-neglected, unconfessed,
and therefore, unpardoned sin will lose you,
o man, o woman, thy soul! Only when our
sin has been carried to the Lord, in penitent
confession, when placed beneath the "sprink-
ling blood" is there deliverance-G Grosart.