The weekly intelligencer., 1892-06-11
hearts shadowed by the frown of the AL

hearts shadowed by the frown of the AL
mighty.
81 Put another link to this chain. Man
is endowed with the powers to think and
feel about the past. How startling the
power of memory! That power by which
we look back over the past and revive in
consciousness the thoughts, the feelings,
the actions and scenes, which we imagined
were buried i'll eternal oblivion, and
revive them in all the vividness with
which they first took origin. Thus it
comes to pass, that the seaman, grey
headed and lonely, is heard laughing
merrily or weeping bitterly over the ex-
perieuces of his youthful days. And mark
you, this sepulchre in which the past lies
buried is not far away from each OF us,
We are not separated from 1t by long dis
tances of land and waters nay, it is with
i'm us, and Gods hand is upon the door
And tell me, who will put into language
the ennobling of the soul when the door OF
that sepulchre shall open at the touch OF
omnipotence, and out from its mysterious
depths and custody shall come forth into
the awful light of the judgment, all the
thoughts and feelings and action OF
whole lifetime?
a. Put another link to this chain.
Forget not mans moral faculty which is
enthroned amid all other faculties OF the
soul-conscience.
This conscience is bosom friend or a
bosom fiend." 1t can shed upon the soul
peace which no human agency can dis
| turb; ii can lash the soul into storm
which no human agency can allay. At
peace with God, it can lift the soul by an
| ticipation to the very gates of Heaven; at
enmity with Him, it can lake the guilty
one into conscious and painful proximity
to the bar of judgment, and hold him
there, trembling in "the light of Gods
countenance." Yea, il is conscience my
hearers, that fills the death chamber with
| aCr.aIa NJ mas Of
geance; that kindle the future into the
| light of eternal day, or blackens it with
the aspect of an eternal storm; that sends
the disembodied spirit into the immediate
presence OF God, to sing for Joy or to wall
| for anguish. Conscience will throb at the
very heart OF the eternal Heaven or the
eternal hell of each one OF us.
b. One more link completes the chain,
the quality OF imperishability. Yes, this
creature man, that must think and feel,
think and feel about himself, about the
past, about his obligations to his God
this creature man shall never die. Ami
hilation, the vain refuge of the guilty
skeptic, is figment OF the sinful imagi-
nation. Mans own soul beats and throbs
with prophecy of another existence, tells
him, sit Is not all of death to die" And
over the portals of the unseen world, be
| it the bright realm above or the dark
realm below, God has written it in capitals
OF light eternal, Everlasting! Ever
iasting!"
And what shall we say OF the intellect?
Alas! Unsanctified by divine grace, how
often does mans intellect prove to be
either jewelled fortune in the possession
OF reckless spendthrift, or a deadly
weapon in the hands of a determined sui
eide. 1t may borrow the wings of an an
gel and soar away among the stars, study
them, systematiZe them, and then come
back and teach us of the wonders of the
starry Heavens; but it cannot summon
one OF those stars to throw single beam
upon the path that leads the soul to the
brighter and happier world.
Thus, we have explored the entire field
of mans spiritual nature, and we find it a
total wreck. We have knocked at the
door of every faculty, and have received
no response. Verify, mans magnificent
eye of Heaven.
Think you, my hearers, God could be an
Indifferent observer? Can the Creator look
with unconcern upon the wreck of His
own work? Can the Father be unmoved
by the sight of His own offspring, lost and
man, that Thou art mindful OF himP"
"My grace is sufficient for thee" and
that grace, the divine energy, covers
in its operations the entire field of expe-
rience. 1t touches the spiritually dead
of every truly converted one with the in
spired declaration, "You hath He quick.
ened (made alive) who were dead" etc. II
hlngs constraining influence over the
heart, and makes us know what the
apostle meant, when he said, 'The love OF
Christ constrained u.s." 1t imparts won
derful sustaining power, and makes us
feel "the everlasting arms underneath. u
1t exercises over the soul restraining
power, bringing us into sympathy with
the experience of Gods servant, when the
promise reaches his ears, 81 will hold thy
hand and will keep thee" And, mosi
precious OF all, it sheds upon the heart 8
retaining power. 1t notes the first stray
ing steps; follows us in our wanderings
startles us with the question, "Child Of
God, what doest thou here;" brings to Ut
the Fathers loving message, "Wanderer
return;" fills the Fathers heart with
parental solicitude, opens His ear to heal
the first penitent cry, directs His straining
eyes to see the returning child when 9
great way of, sends Him running to meet
him, and opens His arms and His heart tC
receive him back again to His love and tc
kiss into his very heart full and free for.
giveness. It was this grace that lifted
David out of "the horrible pit'' to the
heights OF praise; that broke Peter.
heart into penitential tears by one glance
of the Saviour's compassionate eye.
Dear young friends, let me earnestly
and tenderly exhort you to be mindful o.
that God who is so mindful of you. Hi
claims our hearts and our lives. Let us b.
ashamed to give Him anything less. Makt
His glory the chief end OF your life.
l pray you, also, to realize that YOU
greatest responsibility is that precious
soul of yours so wonderfully and fearful
ly made" Commit it into the hands o
your Redeemer. Until you make tina
, happy committaL your life is q most pre-
carious thing. You cross the threshold a
this time and will 90 ont into the Norlf
to meet life's responsibilities and tempta
| tions. Who can tell what the end will be
Hasten to put yourselves in that happy
company "who are kept by the power o
God through faith unto Salvation" Ther
will you be safe for time and eternity.
l recently read of an Italian artist who
was seized with the desire to put on can
vass his ideal OF virtue and beauty. See
ing little fellow OF exquisite lovelines
r he paintet portrait of the child ant
hung it on the wall of his studio. Then h'
resolved to paint the contrast of thi
lovely picture, il he could find a model
Many years afterwards, in a distant land
he was visiting q prison, and there looked
upon the most frightfnl object of Grim,
and degradation, demon in human
flesh. He sketched the face, painted i
and hung the picture beside the othe
portrait. His dream was realized. Th,
very antipodes Of the moral universe wer,
hanging on the walls OF his studio. Blu
imagine the painful surprise of the artist
when upon inquiry he found that the tw,
pictures were of the same person. Tha
moral wreck was once that beautiful lit
tie child. What a true parable of thi
3 life were those two pictures. Dear youni
Z friends, may God bless you and make yoI
wise unto salvation. Amen. ...
BOTH MEN NOMINATED.
The two iudicial conventions xyaro Il al,