The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1886-02-25

1t was much easier for Moses to ascer
tain the will of his Heavenly Father con
cerning the children of Israel than it wa.
to impress the knowledge he received
upon the Israelites. They were not pos
sessed of that patient faith and trus
which awaits the "own good time of the
Father. In the experience of Israel there
were murmurings of doubt or dissatisfac
t1On, and an inclination to break away
from moral restraints which required
watchful care on the part of the great
leader, and but for the constant miracu
lous manifestations of Gods power and
love, the great leader and law-giver would
have been cast out. When the children
of Israel journeyed from the Wilderness
of Sin, and pitched their camp in Rephi-
dim, there was no water to be obtained
and the people began to chide Noses In
replying to this complaining, Moses in.
quired why they should thus tempt the
Lord. But the people clung to the idea
that as Moses had brought them out of
the bondage of the Egyptians, he was
able to do all things, and so eager were
they in their demands that Moses cried
to the Father that they were almost
ready to stone him. But the Lord per-
mitted Moses to smite the rock of Horeb,
and the water gushed forth, and the
complaints of the people were stilled, for
the time being.
This trait of the Israelites is worthy of
our careful attention. The great tendency
of the human mind is to draw line of
thought or course of conduct to suit the
individual mind, and to chide, without
mercy or charity, all who fail to adhere
strictly to that course or line. Human
nature always was, is now, and doubtless
always will be, the same Minds have
different degrees of enlightenment, and
different methods of grasping at great
problems, and any radical change in
mortal experience is supposed to be ac-
cOmpanied by some unusual, sensational
| manifestation.
There is a man who joined the church,
many years ago; he was always good
man as the world goes; his walk was ever
circumspect. There seems to have been
no very great change in him. His life
runs along smooth, even channel, with
little deviation, and so far as the outward
man is concerned, there seems no
change. But who can divine the inner
workings of that nature? Who can tell
what blissful experiences are his? Of
this one, those who wish to chide Gods
cause will say: "Oh, he was al1Cdys a
good man-it has made him no better to
profess faith in God" Again we have
hn y,in Of -
been for years living a careless, ungodly,
or even criminal life. He is arrested in
his wild course, and like Saul of Tarsus
turned to better life. In the broad ray
of the light of Divine wisdom, he is en-
abled to see in all its fullness, the error
of hts ways. He Identifies himself with
the church of God, and makes public
declaration of his intention to lead a bet
ter life. The whole purpose of that life
may be changed, that man is not so bad
as he once was, yet his nature is not rad
ically changed-he is human still.
Those who are seeking an excuse to chide
the church, and those who are trying to
live right, will pounce numerically upon
the poor fellow who has once been bad,
because he has not been at once trans
formed into an angel. But even should
such transformation have taken place
the same persons would continue to gloat
over the fact that some poor fellow who
is now protesting an intention to live a
Christian life was once miserable sim
ner. whats the use of my joining
church ?" says young man, 'you have
people among your membership who are
not as good as 1 am" That may possibly
be young man, but on the other hand,
there are doubtless many who are great
deal better than you are. 1t is easy to
chide. The fault-fnder has little at
stake, and needs no capital stock but
big mouth, a strong pair of lungs, and an
insinuating smile, or rather leer.
Says the skeptic: 81 don't want to go
to Heaven in such a crowd as the mem
bership of the churches" Then we say to
you, friend, keep right on in the way you
are going, and your wish will be fully
gratifed. All this time the skeptic is
pursuing and chidng the people who are
trying to live right-now let these people
turn and pursue the skeptic for time-a
very short time. Let us learn from him
what honesty, piety, and Christian living
really are. Does he live better than his
friends in the church? Is he more honest,
and charitable in his dealings? Does he
sustain better character?
The trouble is, those persons who de-
light to chide have come to a barren
rock, which bars their advancement
There is no water gushing forth to cool
their heated prejudices, and all about
them seems bad, utterly bad. Little heed
is given to the great fact that from the
barren rock which bars their way the
water of life may freely flow for their
own souls in answer to the prayer of
faith It is not every one, perhaps, in a
church. who will reach the Kingdom of
Paradise A king may be followed by
beggars, or a finely-dressed lady by foot
pads-all moved by mercenary motives,
but the beggars or the foot-pads cannot
hope to enter the palace of the king or
the mansion of the lady, save by the
methods of the burglar So you may find
bad men in church. just as you find
them on the street, and you conclude that
because there are men in the church who
are not doing right, you will not do right
outside of the church-that you place
your moral character on level with the
worst characters in the church, and con-
clude that because they are there, there
is no use or opportunity for you.
There will be no breaking into Heaven.
The soul that depends upon it's chances
for slipping into Paradise will be sadly
] awakened to sense of its mistake, when
it is too late to change the state of affairs
The soul that turns toward God in an
honest, earnest endeavor to lead correct
life, may be compelled to associate tenn
porarily with those who seem to be hypo-
| critics. yet such association only lasts for