The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1886-02-20
Written for The Republican,

Et NOs W
Sod IN his wisdom permits his
ehiidren to be tempted by satan a.
lucy journey through this world OF
sinand sorrow. Why he does thi-
We DO not know. His ways are pasl
taiulng out. His W, y, are not as our
ways. The Saviour himself when IN
Inc world was tempted by the devil.
yer without sin. We may not expect,
therefore, to live free from temptation
ahsi trial, hut we may live without
yielding to temptation. For we have
tho blessed assurance that if we are
tempted the grace of God shall be
sufficient for us. We know, then, that
temptations will come to us, and we
know that we may overcome them.
N'sshould, therefore, be ever on the
art, constantly on the lookout, for
s igfS isSvery industrious and aiw "
Hiacss at the weakest point. If we
have any besetting sin, we may well
imagine that satan knows our " eak.
ness and will strive to take advan-
tage of il. Christ was hungry and
see how quickly satan suggests, il
thou be the son of God command that
these stones be made bread. But
Jesus said man shall not live Ivy bread
alone. Again, satan will often make
Us promises which he cannot fulfil, in
order to break our allegiance to God.
He took the Saviour up into a high
mountain and showed him all the
kingdoms o. the world, and offered
him the whole of it if he would fall
down and worship him, when he did
not own a foot of it, and was unable
TO carry out his promises. How ten
does the victim find out after he has
yielded TO temptation that satan i.
unable to make good his promises
We knowthe devil lisa liar and we
are not ignorant of his devices. More
over we are assured by the word o
God that if we resist the devil he viii
flee from US, Is it not strange tina
with the blessed privilege of livin:
close to the cross, the word of God al
the man of our counsel, and the grac
of God, which is always sufficient fu
us, so many of us yield to tempta
ton? Why is 1t? If we examin
ourselves we will find that the faul
ia within. We do not use the mean
God places at our disposal. We ne
glect to watch and pra =. We do NJ
resist the devil. We do not com
boldly to throne of grace that W
may obtain mercy ana find grace I
help in every time ofneed. Our he ,rt
are not filled with the. Holy Ghost
and when satan approaches he find
the door of our hearts open and henc
he walks in and leads Us captive Il
his will. Is it not our own fault?
we avail ourselves of our privileges a
sons and daughters of the most high
it will be beyond the power of sata
10 harm us. Although he may temp
us there will he no welcoming re
sponse from within. 1t is our rivi
lege to have Jesus dwelling in on
hearts and to be filled with the 1ol
Ghost all the time. But in order I
keep Jesus in our hearts we mus
avoid the places where Jesus does ne
90. We can't 60 to the grog shop'
or other dens of iniquity, becaus
Jesus don't go there, and if we go W
would have to part company wit
him. Neither must we say or do any
thing which would displease Kim, he
rause if we do he will leave us.
we carry Jesus with us wherever W
90 we shall be safe under any and Il
circumstances. The great troubl
with so many of us is that we met
the devil half way. This is altogetht
wrong. What is the use of praying
"lpad us not into temptation," an
then deliberately going in the way {
lii. Would it not he folly for a ma
who has IN appetite for strong drin
10 frequent the saloon and expect
overcome temptation? Would il NJ
I he madness for the girl VINO has
passion for dancing To frequent tt
ball room and hope to escape IT
temp,er? Resist the devil aud h
will fee from you. May our hear
he filled with the grace of God. Ma
we constantly enjoy the presence nj
rompaninnship of the Holy Ghost al
i've daily At the cross. There we ia
smile at satan's rage and face frow
ing world