The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-02-25
SOWING AND REAPING.
A Law that Is Unalterable in Both the
Physical and Moral World.

A Law that Is UEalterable i'm Both the
Physical and Moral World.
With the exception of few ladies in the choir,
the audience last evening, was composed exclu-
sively Of men and boys The usual amount of
singing started in the meeting. r. Y. Hunter
and Rev. r. E. Neighbor offered prayers Mr..
Moody prayed briefly, about three minutes, and
afterward announced his text for the evening:
Galatians vi. z: BE ncs deceived; God is not
Knocked, for whatsoever man soweth, that shall
he also reap"
/ want this lodged in you mind, or rather in
your heart. We have all lived long enough to
know what it is to deceive. We have been de-
ceived by cur friends by our relations and, lit
tie nearer than twin brother, by our own heart
But want to call your attention to sowing and
reaping-the last part of the text Close up the
Bible and look into history. and you find it fixed
in law, you see it in the newspapers
in your own circle of acquaintance, that
q man reaps that which he sows. Now,
(1), a man expects to reap from what he sows;
~, he expects to.reap the kind of seed; ~
he expects to reap more than ne has sown-the
increase Ignorance of the kind of seed makes
no difference. We are going to reap just what
we sow. A man would not SOW unless he ex-
pected harvest. If he expected a blight he
would not SOW; not a seed would he SOW, did he
not expect harvest.
Learning a trade means looking forward to
reap something from it. So does learning pro-
fession. A man does not work hard to make
both ends meet without expecting to reap. If I
SOW wheat do not expect watermelons; if on
ions, | do not expect turnps. If sow wheat
reap wheat; II tareS, reap tareS. A man does
not learn to be carpenter, expecting to be a
blacksmith.
God makes men to reap exactly what they
SOW This has been a fixed law for 5000
INIT in
the moral world. Where did God ever
punish Jacob, some people ask. That shows
how carelessly men read the Bible. God said
He would punish Jacob according to his doing
have heard men say that Esau was better
man than Jacob / will not try to defend Jacobs
character, but the Bible shows how he suffered
for his deception of old Isaac in taking the bless
ing intended for Esau. The kid was dressed to
The kid skin was on Jacobs hands When
blind old Isaac put his hand upon it he said
the hand is the hand of Esau, but the voice is
the voice of Jacob Jacob paid bitterly for that
lie Joseph's coat was dipped in the blood of a
kid and the ten brothers said they had found it.
The lie was multiplied by ten. Who can tell the
bitter tears that Jacob shed over his missing
sen, whom he supposed killed! Who can
know the suffering that followed the deception
of his father, which was reaped in the
quarreling of his own sons. Was he not deceived
too. in being given Lean to wife when he had
served for the beautiful Rachel2
Mr. Moody took up the character OF David in
the same way and showed how he had suffered
for his sins, reaping as he had sowed
/ find young men talking about the sin of
adultery as if it was not much. They 60 un.
punished, while the woman is an outcast. This
is because the law does not reach him. But
Gods law will reach him. He will not go IN
punished. lie will not speak to the woman on
the street. Perhaps he Inarries. May not his
sin come home to him in his sons or in the ruin
of his daughters. BE sure that whatsoever you
sow that shall you also reap
Mr.. Moody gave number of illustrations that
had come under his own eye, where men had
committed crimes which had been followed by
years sometimes life punishment.
Among his illustrations were the following:
Suppose hire man to sow wheat and he
becomes angry and sows tlistles with it. He
comes to me and tells me what he has done. He
is penitent. say, John, I'll forgive you, but
when you reap you will have to reap the thistles
with the wheat
Wen you see young man sowins his wild
oats don't laugh at him; il will be bitter reap
ing. There is merchant prince Of Edinbure
who tells of himself that one night he WAS out