Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1877-04-05
FAITH.

Nothing short of Almighty power can
save sinner. Every sinner convicted by
the Holy Ghost feels this. That power is
displayed in Christ, in His death as our sub
stitute, in his His resurrection, in His per-
petual forthputting of saving energy. Faith
links us with that Almighty power, therefore
"by grace are we saved through faith, and
that not of ourselves it is the gift of God"
How can we illustrate this? Look at that
ship in the river she is bound for distant
port, has her cargo aboard, and is manned by
an efficient crew, under the command of cap.
tain and mates. A few yards ahead of her
is tug, but there is as yet no connection be-
tween the two. Now, if we ask the captain
to believe certain things about the tug, as to
her construction, her engines and paddles, the
work she has already done, &C., will that af-
feet the position of his ships Certainly not.
There must be hawser attached to the ves-
sci and to the tug, then, and only then, is the
power of the tug communicated to the ship,
and she is drawn to the ocean on her outward
voyage.
Or, again, there are some trucks Of coal on
the line of railway. We wish them convey.
ed to yonder factory, few miles off, Just
in advance of them is locomotive. Now, if
the owner of the Goals believes and under
stands all about the locomotive from the
DAYS of James Watts up to the latest i'm
provement in steam engines will that move
the coal? Of course not. There must be a
coupling chain between the engine and the
truck; only then will the power OF the one
he Unmarried to the other
In like manner a sinner may believe much
about Jesus and His work of redemption
but only when there is simple trust in Him,
the Almighty One, is he made partaker of
saving power. So we are saved by the power
of God. 1t is now as it was eighteen hun
dred years ago. "Unto the Jews" Christ is
"a stumbling block, and foolishness; but un.
to them which are called, both Jews and
Greeks, He IS THE POWER OF GoD.'
What question! What thought for
every one of u.s. Does not death come to
most, if not all, as unexpectedly as this ?
And does not the inquiry impress the lesson
from our Saviour's lips, "Be ye also ready ;
for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son
of man cometh."
nay When man has been faithful in the
honest performance of his duty, he is thought
better of if success attend him in this world.
But if it so happens, in the providence of
God, that these material results do not follow
that performance, still he carries in his own
mind the consciousness that he has tried to do
what is right in the sight of God, rendering to
everybody his due, contributing all he can to
the general happiness and improvement, diff.
fusing as much enjoyment and contentment
as he can in the little circle of which he is
the centre. With this consciousness he goes
through life "happy as king. though he may
not be king" ends it in felicity, and goes
where there is an end of all those oontrover-
sizes, because there is but one God and one
Father before whom all his children are
equal.
neg- Leaves are light and useless and idle
and waverng and changeable; they even
dance yet God has made them part Of the
oak In so doing he has given US a lesson
not to deny the stoutheartedness within be-
cause we see the lightsome without.