Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1874-06-11

w
God without pain-agony both of body and
soul. 1t may be mysterious, but the fact is
undeniable, that God chastens every son
whom he loves. Hence the conclusion is that
if we have no trials, no Affections, no chasten-
ings, we are bastardsand not sons. No doubt
our trials are, to some extent, the measure Of
our progress in the divine life at least, they
are no insignificant Part Of the means which
God uses to cause us to grow in grace and it-
ness for Heaven.
BESETTING SINS.
Every forti6cation has its strong places and
its weak places. 1t is an evidence of good
generalship on the part of the commanding
officer to guard, with vigilance, these weak
places. Every man has his strong points and
his weak points. There are some sins that
some men never have committed, and never
will commit. Not because of any moral good
ness that is in them; but because of the natur-
al disposition and temperament of the individ-
ual. They can claim no merit, because they
have had nothing in this particular direction
to resist. On the other hand, every individ-
ual is prone to violate Gods law in some par
ticular points more than in others. Every
one has besetting sins. Some persons are con-
scious of their besetting sins, and others are
not. The former, if they are Gods people,
are constantly on their guard lest they may
be led away captive by Satan. The latter,
60 on and are punished. The sin by which
we are most easily beset, is not necessarily the
sin that we most frequently commit. By di-
vine grace, we may be enabled to seta strong
and invincble guard at this place which will
successfully resist the enemy of our soul. 1t
is possible for the child of God, led by the
spirit of God, to keep the weak point so we'll
concealed that Satan may never discover it.
1t is plain that every one who would live
godly in Christ Jesus should study his own
nature and place a guard at the places most
easily forced. The unmistakable duty of ev-
cry one is to keep out of temptation, and not
to walk in the path of the destroyer. There
are some things that never would injure us if
we would keep out of their way. They never
come to US; we 60 to them.
BY THEIR FRUITS YE SHALL KNOW THEM.
Christianity is vitality. 1t is not dead
and lifeless formality, destitute of anything
by which it can be known and felt. 1t has a
potency about it, which is in and about moth
ing else. It's divine author proposes by it,
not simply to effect reformation, but to pro-
duce transformation, amounting to making
a new creature of each individual who is
brought under its influence. Its object is to
change the heart from state of haired to
one of love; to enlighten the mind and to
subdue the will. Nothing less than new
creature is proposed to be produced by the
gospel of Jesus Christ. There must be some
means of discovering a change which is so
thorough. God, as an omnicient being, can
discover this change by looking at the heart.
The individual in whom the change from ma
lures darkness to Gods marvellous light has
been effected, may be conscious oft; but how
can the world know that an individual is
Christian? THERE'S but one test ofa Christian,
and that is the one which is given by the Sa-
viour, "By their fruits ye shall know them"
This is the only infallible test. The man who
serves God must love God. The man who
keeps the commandments of God must have
been born from above. 1t is possible for a
being, dead in trespasses and sins, to make
profession of religion and live moral life.
All this may be brought about by the force
of circumstances, but the desire and power to
obey God, can be produced in the heart, only
by the regenerating influence of Gods grace
Hence, we may conclude, when we see an in
dividual struggling to resist sin and to make
his acts conform to the law Of God, that he is
a Christian, in the proper sense. His life may
be very Inconsistencies is the life Of every
Christian but if it is evident that he would
do good, and that the evil which he does, he
would not do, we may conclude the root OF
the matter is in him. If we see any one
striving to deface the image Of Satan, in
which he was born, and struggling to be more
assimilated, each day, to Jesus Christ, we may
safely conclude that such individual is
Christian.
SPEAK A WORD FOR JEsUs.-In crowd
ed railway car, an old man, his hair white
with the frosts Of many winters, was singing
vile song to listening group of young men
who appeared greatly delighted. Afterwards,
while indulging in some shcckingy profane
expressions, young man outside this group
stepped up and expostulated with him respect
fully, telling him that Jesus was his best
friend, and that it gave him great pain to
hear that name so dear to him thus profaned.
The old man Immediately became silent, and
seemed affected by the reproof
The lesson was not altogether lost upon
other members of the company
Do not hesitate when a proper occasion Of
fers to speak word for Jesus; not boastng-
ly or with an air of superiority, but kindly
and out of full heart speak Of your love to
YOUR best Friend, and your grief at hear
ing his name profaned or evil spoken Of. 1t
will certainly quicken your own soul, and may
prove word in season to one sorely in need Of
it.-American Messenger.
asg" John Newton compares the troubles of
Christian to bundle of faggots. God
does not require us to carry the whole at once.
He mercifully unties the bundles, and first
gives US one stick which we are able to carry
to-day, and then another which we are able to