The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1890-07-11

stand looking over into heaven and
admire its beauty and it's song,and SO
pleased with the looks from the out
side that they c@nnot be induced to
enter. They could make q better
argument for the truth than ten
thousand Christians who have in
their hearts received it. If syllogisms
and dilemmas and sound propositions
and logical deductions could save
their souls, they would be among the
best of Christians. They could COR
rectly define repentance and faith
and the Atonement, while they have
never felt one sorrow for sin nor ex-
ercised moments confidence in the
great sacrifice. They are almost i'm
movable in their position. We can
not present anything about the relig-
ion of Christ that do not know. The
Saviour described the fate of such n
one in His parable: "And that ser
want which knew his Lords will, and
prepared not himself, neither hid &C
cording to His will, shall be beaten
with many stripes" Theories in re-
Egion have a beauty of their own, but
if they result in no warmth of Chris
tian life it is the beauty of horn
blende and feldspar. Do not call
such coldness and hardness religion.
The river of life never freezes over.
Icicles never hang on the caves of
heaven. Soundness of intellectual
belief is beautiful cloak, well woven
and well cut, but in the honr when
God shall demand our souls it will
not of itself be sufficient 70 hide our
iniquities.
My friends, can it be that I have
been unkind. and torn from you some
hope upon which you were resting for
time and eternity? Verify, I would be
unkind if, having taken away your
cloak, did not offer you something
better. This is cold world, and you
want something to wrap around your
spirit. Christ offers you q robe today.
He wove Himself and He will nov
with His own hand prepare it just t.
fit your soul. The righteousness He
offers is like the coat He used to wear
about Judea, without seam from top
to bottom. There is day of doom.
Coward would be if I did not dare
tell you this. It shall he day of
unutterable disappointment to those
who have trusted in their official
dignity, in their elegant manners, in
their outward morality, in their
soundness of intellectual belief. But
see n soul standing before God
who once was thoroughly defiled.
Yet look at him and you cannot find
a single transgression anywhere about
him. How is this, you ask. Was he
not once Sabbath breaker, blas-
phemer, a robber, q periurer, a thief,
murderer? Yes, but Christ hath
cleansed him. Christ hath lifted him
up. Christ hath rent off hia rags.
Christ hath clothed him in spot
less robe of righteousness. That is
the reason why you cannot see his
former degradation. This glorious
hopo in Christ's name is proffered to-
day. Wandering and wayward soul,
is not this salvation worth coming for,
worth striving for? Do you wonder
that so many with bitter weeping
have besought it, and with very en-
thusiasm of sorrow cried for divine
compassion? Do you wonder at the
earnestness of those who stand in
eH5nfIs eIed % eSs1 GoaF ftsy; aUyvaws.ss a a. ~ a
the Importantly of the Holy Ghost
who now striveth with thy soul? In
many of the palaces of Europe the
wall arc mosaic. Fragments of shells
and glass are arranged by artists and
aggregated into pictorial splendor.
What! made out of broken shell and
broken glass! Oh, yes; God grant
that by the transforming power of
His Spirit, we maya be made part
of the eternal palaces, our broken and
fragmentary natures polished and
shaped and lifted up to make a part
of the everlasting splendors of the
heavenly temple!
For sinners Lord, thou cam st to bleed,
And I'm sinner vile indeed.
Lord, believe Thy grace is free;
On, magnify Thy grace In me,