St. Landry democrat., 1883-03-03
! THE PRELUDE.

ImmeuIaL6, tOtaI, anu dntCtiOuatC
self-surrender of the soul to God is de-
manded OF all responsible human beings
every instant by conscience, which Is
obedience is disobedience. The divine
summons is incessant, and refusal to
obey it is nothing less than incessant
rebellion. Thousands and millions OF
times in single week, or, it may be in
a single day, the divine voice within
the soul whispers, ''Thououghtest,a. and
the soul answers, Il will not" All de-
Law of surrender to God is rebellion
against God. The supreme word OF
conscience is now. The supreme word
Of the scientific school and OF the scrip
tural school in theology is to-day. The
supreme word of the siren school OF llb-
eralism in all it's forms is tomorrow.
more convenient season, and, possibly,
the intermediate state, lncessant repe-
titi0n of rebellious resolves III response
to incessant solicitations from the dl-
vine voice of conscience must ultimate
I ", under natural law, fix character IN
| the sense of making its moral state per-
| manent.
II is. however, my special Office here
10 insist on the relations of religious
| truth to natural law, and, therefore, 1
| emphasize the fact that he who is inces-
1 sanity saving Il will not while the dl-
vine voice says s'Thou oughtest," is
fixing his character under those mighty
l natural laws by which habit propagates
I itself and by which SHINING against
light blinds US to the very illumination
j needed to rectify our condition. Hold
4 unf1inchingly to the first truths, the
/ fundamental, primary religious verl-
ties. that similarity of feeling with God
1 is necessary to peace in his presence,
4 and that the longer we live iii dlssiml-
|larity of feeling with Him, the longer
1 we are likely TO do so. 1t is self-evI-
4 dent we must love what God loves and
i hate what God hates, otherwise there is
| no possibility of peace for us IN His
presence. Il is utterly indisputable also
j that the longer we live in the love, o.
4 what He hates and in the hate OF Wha1
i He loves the longer we are likely 20 dt
i SO.
4 These being the stern facts which con
y stitnte the framework OF my discussion lsS9,
now raise the central question:, W ma
constitutes probation by death seen Al
a distance, by death near at hand, ane
J Inv death at its supreme moment 7"
/. Distant views Of death have beer
idisregarded, and their natural moral IN
fluence persistently resisted by any ON
:. of advanced or middle age who ap
proaches death unrepentant..,
J 2. Such persons as resist the natuIa
:. moral influences of death, foreseen at
distance, may very naturally resist IT
) moral influences when it is close at nanc
} e is the general experience OF the hu
man family at large, and even OF ave
race populations In Christendom, tha
J most men of middle or advanced Ut
! die as they have lived. They. usual
: pass out of the world remaining, {
outward appearance, in the genera
! moral state in which they have drlfte
I through life.
1 5. In perhaps seven cases out OF ten
and here I must appeal to the sacre
experiences of the pastors around M
: in their profound and close studies
: human character in its great NOR
8 crises-those who appear to repent
view of death supposed to be near
:, hand show by their lives, when they a
ell delivered from fear of death, that the
y repentance was not genuine.