Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1889-12-14

Written for THE HERALD.
JUMBLE'S LETTER.

Written LOT IHE HERALD.
JUMBLE'S LETTER.
YOUR INEVITABLE DUTY TO REMOVE
WRONG, SIN LARGE OR SMALL,
WHICH? CHRISTMAS AND ITS
GIFTS, THE w. G. tt. U. "A
RULING FORCE.
Wrong is not right, never was and
never will be. To remove wrong and
put right in its place. is very diff
cult task. 1t Is a hard nut and he who
cracks 1t will have sound teeth. 1t is
a. puzzling problem, and he that
solves It mustntiliZe energy and feel
nerve force. He will offend many
and alarm some. Those in the wrong
who are molested, will square for bat
tie, as the liquor business has done
against total abstinence and all meas
nres looking to prohibition. The
friends of those in the wrong, looking
rather to social relations, than to the
results of present or future evils, tax
ing the surface and limited view,
rather than the inner, spiritual and
moral, and SO eternal relations of all
actions, will be disturbed, like one
unaccustomed to the storm at sea, but
in the settled elements, equilibrium
will be restored. In the meantime the
wrongs must be righted. The crook
ed sticks must straighten scr break.
Every lover of right. who will re.
main right must report, and give his
mite of influence against wrong and
the wrong doer, as he sees things; or
else, he must consent to be party to
the wrong and with the wrong doer.
In morals there is no middle ground,
though many are all their lives trying
to find such standing room. He that
Will remove wrong doing, and estab-
lish righteousness will find it waste
of time to stop and look after his repu-
| tation, and he has no such time to
lose; sure he is right, the promptings
in divine authority are forward and
on he must move if death be in the
way. On such conditions the Christ
ian religion is here, so the reforma-
ton came and true religion walks the
same path; spirit ually consecrated
heroines and heroes are in demand to-
day as in the past, and will be while
error and wrong endure. The simple
but almighty gospel of Jesus Christ,
proclaimed and lived by the faithful
is ever meeting gigantic hydraheaded
evil, limitless in shape or form, that
suggests the cunning of the old ser.
pent which deceived our mother Eve,
and finds in her posterity many will
ing dupes. Let US awake, sharpen
our instruments, keep individuals out
Of view, but rush into the ARRAY to
remove wrong wherever we can find
it.
Are there such things as little sins
Many think there are, comparing
them with sins of larger magnitude,
and thus in human view there are lit
tie sins. From such human reckon
ing our first parents first sin was very
small, -eating the forbidden fruit,
and only once. Many of the so called
little sins of to day are much larger
even in our view. The omitted duties
to God, and toward one another, otir
failure to reach the required mark
"TEou shall love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, soul. mind al d
strength, and thou shall love thy
neighbor as myself" Certainly su, h |
sin appears larger than the eating OF
little forbidden fruit. If we will
take the right view of sin we will see
no little sins at all, every sin will be |
large, while some sins in magnitude |
will be comparatively mountainous.
Our first parents sin was not small, |
and does not appear so, when seen as
violation of the law of the greatest |
being of the universe; nor does it ap-
pear small in the results that were en- |
t iiled and followed in and upon their |
posterity and viewed in the same |
light, only true light we have to |
look through to see what sin is,-n0 |
sin can appear small. 1t is a violation |
of the law of the same almighty be- |
ing to begin with, and that with the
results of sin before us, which are |
fearfully warning and truly alarming,
that Adam had not yet seen or known; |
so 1T must appear to us that our indi |
vidual smallest sins are larger in the |
sight of God, and consequently more |
to be condemned than the sin of our |
first parents, which entailed so much |
misery upon our race. AS we are as |
sured that we are not living unto our |
selves. it must appear that our small |
sins, if only of neglect of duty, may |
prevent much good, and may license |
much evil. Large oaks from small |
acorns grow. A little leaven of evil, |
may produce large Jumps of iniquity.
After such existing enevitable law, |
there may be large crops of vice and
ruin, the outgrowth of our sins of neg |
lect, scarcely known beyond our own
consciences. Let us awake to righte- |
BUSINESS and sin not.
Hurrah children, Christmas is near
at hand, and know you all are very
glad of it. And why? Is it because
you expect to receive some or many
presents, in candies, books, jewelry
and clothes. 1t is good time in our
country for giving and receiving, and
for good deal of pleasure by all the
participants. DO all you children
stop to think of one great gift made by
the Great Father of us all, called in
the Bible "the unspeakable gift" and
beautifully set forth in st. Johns
Gospel, chapter Sd, and 10Th verse,
"God so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten son that who
soever believeth in Him should not
perish but should have everlasting
life." And then the Word of God 10
another place tells US that Jesus re-
ceived gifts for men. On Chris tmas
we celebrate the appearing into this
world as it is generally called, of our
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and
thus we keep before our minds, and
we want to keep before your minds
children. the greatest gift ever made
by anyone,-that of God to you in the
blessed Jesus. What gift he is.
And how blessed are we who intelli
gently and willingly and gladly re-
ceive Him into our hearts and homes
to become our teacher and protector );
and children we all need teacher
and protector to keep us from wrong,
more than we need candy or presents,
books, or even nice warm winter
clothing. God knew what we want
ed children, and in his general love to
US, He gave us the best he had to
| piye.-His Onlv be0otten son. and