The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-03-10

on record UldL ne Will Keep us from Ialilng. Ills
strong arm will be our shield. The righteous
ness of Christ will be the towerin which We lodge
i'll times of danger.
Hide me, O my Saviour! hide,
Till the storm Of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide;
Oh, receive my soul at last.
II. "And to present you ~faultless before the
presence of his glory with exceeding joy"
This clause covers the souls existence in the
world to come. In this life there has been
sin and temptation. In the life to come the
soul is made perfect. Aye. it is presented per
feet at the threshold of heaven. By this the
apostle means that our sins shall not be imputed
to us. We are justified before God through
faith in Christ. There is no justification except
by faith. Oh, what a change and what a bless
ingi We are lifted from this sin-cursed earth to
the land of pure delights, where saints immor-
tai reign" There is no falling there, no tempta-
tons, no sin, no death. Death is the gate through
which we must pass from the corruptible to the
lncorruptible-from mortality to Immortality.
The apostle invokes Gods power to uphold the
members of the churches in this life and to pre-
sent them perfect before God in the next. SO l
invoke Ghrists power to present you perfect be-
fore God in the life to come. | would have Him
present you, a pardoned saint, to the company of
all the redeemed.
l. Note that when we are presented to the
Father we are ~faultless. 9Th souls of believ-
ers are at their death made perfect in holiness,
and do Immediately pass into glory" Says Paul,
in writing to the Corinthians: but we all,
4 open ldCb, D6HOlNllE d6 III IL SidoS btc CIV
of the Lord, are changed into the same image,
from glory TO glory, even as by the Spirit of the
Lord"@I. Cor. iii, Is. 1t is plain that all men
come short of duty in this life. 1t IS equally
plain that sin cannot enter the pale OF heaven.
The first wave of sin that would pass over the
threshold of those upper mansions would call
forth the purified hosts to hurl it down to plu-
tonian darkness. There are no sinners there;
then, it no sinners, no sin; and if no sin, there IS
perfection. That cleansing of a soul is between
earth and heaven How COmfOptinO the thO1pht
that the disposition to sin, which is inherent in
this life, is taken from us the moment we take
our farewell of earthly things. We will be pre-
scented ~faultless before the presence of His glory
with exceeding joy"
2. We shall be presented in the presence of
His glory. Not long have we to stay here at
best. Life is but a breath. The years are creep
ing along and multiplying with wonderful rapid
ity. 1t was but yesterday we were children
playing upon the green with a score of others
from the village. How our blood ran hot with
the excitement of our games. "Black man."
hide and SEEK 'blindfold" and 'town ball"
have given away to sterner things. Those
children are the men and women of to-day. And
yet not all of them are busy with life's cares,
for some are dead. Only yesterday | heard that
the boy with whom / recited my first Latin
lesson died in Baltimere-died with the gospel
armor on, preaching the unsearchable riches of
the gospel. The brightest-eyed girl of that
happy group laid down TO rest ten summers ago.
And the fathers, where are they2 Under the
clod, or ready to yield up the spirit to the God
who gave it. Life is a meteor, bursting in
light we call it life, when it fades
we call it death; but it has only been removed
to another sphere with its immortal beauty,
Over there we are in the immediate presence of
Gods glory. In this life Gods glory is the OBJ
iect of our faith; in the next life it will be the
object of our senses. Now we wonder what
God and heaven will be; soon we will know what
they are. Soon, very soon, we will realize the
glory of God, if we but love him.
Observe that where believers shall be pre-
sented ~faultless, it will be with exceeding JOY.
We tremble now lest we fall short of that
glory. We distrust our sinful hearts. Life's
sweetest cup is mixed with aloes. But when we
are safe under the shadow OF that 'ROCk of
Ages" there will be no distrust, no fear, no aloes,
for God twill dwell with us, and we shall be his
people, and God shall be with us, and be our
God. And.God shall wipe away all tears from
our eyes, and there shall be no moro death,
neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there
be any more pain; for tho former things are
passed away" The slaves of many ills to-day
will be ~faultless tomorrow; and where there is
the perfection of holiness there will be the per
lection of JOY. Great will be our Joy on entering
our immortal home. Our cup. our hearts will
be full. Is this not an object worthy of our
%effortsi For the Master says, He that over
cometh shall inherit all things; and l will be his
God, and he shall be my son."
ITO Thee, my God and Savior!
My heart e~xuiting sings,
Rejoicing in thy favor,
Almighty King of kingsl
IL celebrate Thy glory,
With all Thy saints above,
And tell the joyful story
Of Thy r~edeeming love"
ITO the only wise God, our Savior, be glory
and majesty, dominion and power, both now and
ever. Amen"
The apostle has exhorted tho churches
to faithfulness in pursuing. sound
doctrine. He has warned them
pofp 1anaixrapc. ha hoe noipfnl out 4ha nUJ
who is able to uphold them in this life and that
will present them before God, the Father, fault
less.
Now, in conclusion, he would have all glory,
majesty, dominion and power bestowed upon
that God, our Savior, who does all for us. He is
worthy of mans highest praise, his Hottest song,
and his most earnest alteration. There is none
other who could do for man what He has done
for him. None other was possessed of the in
finite merit peculiar to Him. No created being
would have undergone what this Christ passed
through to redeem an enemy; none other could
keep us from falling, even after our redemption
has been wrought out; none other than the Son
of God could present us to the Father, fault
less.
Christ bought US, after having created US; then
He keeps us from spiritual death after
He has bought us-He carries us along.
Furthermore, He bears us aloft to Gods
throne and presents us justified, sanctifed and
glorifed to the Father. Such love was unheard
of outside of revelation. None other than a
merciful and powerful God could and would
have done 50 much for dying men. And then we
were enemies when He did it; enemies by nature.
Yet He bears with us, invites us, loves us and
r~eioices when we do come to Him. Is there not
reason enough, then, for giving all glory, majesty,
dominion and power to this wise God, our Saviorl
This God. this Savior, remains the same to day
he has ever been. His promises are just as good,
He is every whit as able, and His love is as
plenteous as in the time of the apostle Jude. AS
an opening sermon. I would commend you to
this God. He will keep you, and present you to
tho Father, spotless and undefled. Then 1
would have you give all the glory, and
majesty, and dominion, and power, to
this only wise God, our Savior.
In so doing l feel that you will be following the
directions of Gods word and the Instructions of
your nobler natures. l fear many Christians
mistake the ultimate and highest end of a
Christians life. hope you have been better
educated. Allow me to state more specifically
what I moan. II be hannYn is not thn hishest