Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1886-04-15

viour. Luke does not state the question of
the young ruler at all.
The answer of our Saviour to the ques-
ton, "What lack 1 yet," of the young ruler,
went like a barbed arrow to his heart. 1t
produced conviction, but not conversion.
He had a god that he worshiped, but was
perhaps unconscious of the fact. That god
was not his maker, but his own possessions.
The young man was very upright in all his
dealings with his felloW-men because it was
really to his worldly advantage to be so.
The religion of the young man had nothing
of God in it. He did not steal, because he
dare not steal. He kept all the precepts of
the second table of the law because there
was worldly profit in this. His was at last,
only a religion of all gain and no sacrifice.
He desired eternal life, but he was unwil-
ling to make the least sacrifice.
Our Saviour put the test strongly but fair
ly. The young man, no doubt, in his mar
velous ignorance, thought he actually de-
served eternal life. He certainly thought
he was a good, pious man. He, in fact, was
only an amiable young man, without a
spark of real piety towards God in his soul,
dIu IlO real lONC " lie lCllON Illd III HE
heart. He cared nothing for the poor ex-
cept what he could make out Of them, and
as for following Jesus, he regarded that as
the veriest folly. TO take up the cross was
what, with all his alniability, he was deter
mined not to do. Hence, we read that the
amiable young ruler was grieved when he
was told to sell his possessions and give to
the poor and to follow Jesus. He went
away and that was the last that we hear of
him and his great possessions. He was
asked to make a sacrifice. This he did not
desire to do. This he would not do. He
was told to give up his god and follow Jesus,
and he was promised, in the event of his
doing this, treasures in heaven. The young
ruler desired eternal life, he was anxious to
know what he must do to inherit it, but he
did not propose to secure it by giving up his
earthly possessions.
There are multitudes of amiable young
rulers all over Christendom who say they
are anxious to obtain eternal life, but they
do not propose to make any sacrifices, they
do not purpose to follow Jesus. They do
mt propose giving up any earthly pleasure,
or to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. The
fact is they have in their hearts no real love
either for God or man. They mistake good
nature for grace and gentlemanly conduct
toward their felloW-men for keeping the
commandments of God.
GOODWILL TOWARDS MEN.-Ofal vir-
tues, charity, the one most talked about, is
the one least practiced in any essential
sense. We have plenty of alms-giving and
a great deal of personal affection for friends
and relations; a few of us have a certain
broad philosophic tolerance for difference of
opinion, and have come to the belief that
each man has the right to think as he deems
best, provided always that he does not
translate into actions hurtful to the COM
munity. OF real charity as Il habit of
judgment, of sincere good will towards
men not connected with us by the ties of
nature, love or self interest, how few of US
know anything or care to learn what we
do not know! Christianity is the religion
of all that ever came upon the earth, which
is founded most expressly upon the virtue
of goodwill. If it is not charity, it is moth
ing and there is scarcely a chapter in that
New Testament which cannot be made to
yield an injunction to cultivate brotherly
love, either openly enjoined or conveyed
by implication.
FOUGHT TO HAVE ANTICIPATED THIS"
A few days have passed over the grave of a
noble young man from whose lips fell these
words. He had we'll represented the enter
prise Of life insurance, but neglected his
soul. When the physician informed him
that his sudden and severe illness was fatal
and his time on earth very brief, he said
with the deliberation of a deep and awful
conviction, 81 ought to have anticipated
this, but now it is too late"
The words thrilled the hearts of those
that loved him and watched the ebbing life.
Yes, he ought to have anticipated the pos
sibility Of such a hurried departure from
the scenes of probation. o, what a burden
of conscious folly and guilt and peril eXtort-
ed that confession from the dying man!
The number of those who have felt the an
guish of such an awakening to the stupen-
dous failure Of a human soul for eternity,
the judgmentday can alone reveal. Forev-
err will the dreadful ought weigh down the
SplTlC-llcS GVtlcSI pdl VI HILL L|1'fo'3o'
sas" "Dead- heads in the church! How
large the number embraced in this class
They are we'll known. They seldom come
to prayer meeting, and only occasionally at
tend public worship on the Sabbath, contrib
uting only very little for the support of the
gospel. In the line of finding fault and
stirring up strife they seem to be quite
active. The Church cannot afford to carry
them; but how to get rid of them is the
question. Get them converted, and then
they will be all right. Dead in head, they
are dead in heart; they need conversion.
Let special effort be made for their CONVEX
sion; none need the work of grace more.
sa- The resurrection is only the tomorrow
morning of death, and when we think of
the grave we should do so as in the happy
days of our childhood we thought of our
bed when we retired to it for the night, ex-
pecting an elder brother to call us in the
morning and take us with him on a pleas
ant eycursion.-W. III. Taylor.