The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1896-10-31

gathered-l want to run out the anal
ogy between the production of crops
and the growth of grace in the soul
all these sacred writer's making use of
that analogy.
In the first place, remark, in grace
as in the fields, there must be a pillow.
That which theologians call convic-
ton is only the plowshare turning up
the sins that have been rooted and
in the soul. A farmer said to
his indolent son: There are 500
buried deep in that field" The son
went to work and plowed the field
from fence to fence, and he plowed it
very deep, and he complained that he
had not found the money; but when
the crop had been gathered and sold
Tor Sloo more than any previous year,
then the young man took the hint as
to.whats bis father meant when ne said
there were 500 buried down in that
teld. Deep blowing for crop. Deep
blowing tor soul. He who makes
light of sin will never amount to any
thing in the church or in the world.
IL man speaks of sin as though 1T
We're an inaccuracy or a MISTAKE, in
stead OF the loathsome, ABDOMINAL BILE,
consuming and damning thing that
God hates, that man will never yield
harvest Of usefulness.
When was boy l plowcd field
with team of spirited horses. l
plowei it very quickly. Once in awhile
passed over some of the sod with
out turning it, but did not jerk back
the blow with its rafting devices. |
thought it made no difference. After
awhile my father came along and said:
Why, this will never do; this isn't
plowed deep enough; there YOU have
missed this and you have missed that"
And he plowcd it over again. The
difficulty with great many people is
that they are only scratched with con-
vietion when the subsoil p!ow of Gods
truth ought To be put in up to the
beam.
Ny word is to all Sabbath-school
teachers, to all parents, to all Chris
tim worllers-Plow deep! Piow deep!
But what means al this crooked
blowing, these crooked burrows, the
repentance that amounts to nothing,
the repentance that ends in nothing?
Non gruan over their SINS, but get no
better. They weep, but their tears are
not counted. They get convicted, but
not converted. What is the reason?
remember that on the farm we set Il
standard with q red flag aL the other
end of the field. We kept our eye on
that. We aimed at that. We powed
up TO that. Losing sight of that, we
made crooked furrow. Keeping our
eye on That, we made Il straight fur
row. Now in this matter of conviction
we must have some standard to guide
us. 1t is Il red standard that God has
set at the other end of the field 1t is
the cross. Keeping your eye on that,
Losing sight of it, you will maize Il
crooked furrow. Plow up to the cross.
Aim not at either end of the horizontal.
piece of the cross, but ut the upright
piece, at the center of it, the heart of
the Son of God, who bore your sins and
made satisfaction. Crying and weep
ing will not bring you through. Him
hath God exalted to be 4 Prince and n
Saviour to give repentance" Oh, plow
up to the cross!
Again, l remark, in grace as in the
field there must be sowing. In the
autumnal weather you find the farmer
going across the field at stride of
about twenty-three inches, and at
every stride he puts his hand into the
sack of grain and he spriniies the
seed-corn over the field. II looks silly
to man who does not know what he
is doing. He is doing very important
work. He is scattering the winter
grain, and though the snow may come,
the next year there will BE- great
crop. Now, that is what we
are doing when we are preaching the
Gospel-we are scattering the seed.
1t is the foolishness of preaching, but
it is the winter grain; and though the
SHOWS of worldliness may come down
upon it, it will yield after awhile giori-
Gus harvest. Let us be sure we SOW
the right kind Of seed. Sow mullen
stalk and mullen stalk will come up.
Sow Canada thistles and Canada this
ties will come up. Let us distinguish
between truth and error. Let us
know the difference between wheat
and hellebore, oats and henbane.
Again, remark, in grace as in the
farm there must be narrowing. re-
fer now not to harrow that goes
over the field in order to prepare the
ground for the seed, but q harrow
which goes over after the seed is sewn,
lest the birds pick up the seed, sinking
it down into earth SO that it can take
root. You know harrow. 1t is made
of bars of wood nailed across each
other, and the underside of each bar
is furnished with sharp teeth, aud
when the horses are hitched to
it, it goes tearing and leaping
across the field, driving the seed
down into the earth until it springs up
in the harvest. bereavement, sorrow,
persecution are the Lords harrows to
sing the Gospel truth into your heart.
These were truths that you heard 80
years ago. they have not 1fected you
until recently. Some great trouble
came over you, and the truth was har-
rowed in, and it has come up.
What did God mean in this coun-
al.