The National tribune., 1897-07-15

There are men in all circles who will
bow before you, and who are obsequious
In your presence, and talk hatteriugly, but
who all the while in your conversation are
DIGGING FOR BAIT
and angling for imperfections. In your
presence they imply that they are every thing
friendly, but after awhile you find they have
the fierceness of n catamount, the slyDess OF
snake, and the spite of devil. God will
expose such. The gun they load will burst
in their own hands, the lies they tell will
break their own teeth; and at the very
moment they think they have been success
1ul IN deceiying you aud deeeiving the
world, the sheep will bleat and the oxen
will below.
learn further from this subject how
natural it Is to try to put off our sins on
other people. Saul was charged with dis
obeying God. The man says it was not
he; he did not save the sheep; the army
did it-trying to throw it off on the shout
ders of other people. Human nature is the
same in all ages. Adam, confronted with
his sin, said: "The woman tempted me, and
l did eat" And the woman charged it
upon the serpent; and if the serpent could
have spoken it would have charged it upon
the devil. / suppose that the real state of
the case was that Eve was eating the apple,
and that Adam saw it and begged and
coaxed until he got a piece of it. / suppose
that Adam was Just as much to blame as
Eve was. You cannot throw off the re-
sponsibility of any sin upon the shoulders
of other people.
Here is young man who says: 81 know
am doing wrong, but have not had any
chance. had a father who despised God
and mother who was disciple of goddess
fashion. / am not to blame for my sins
1t is my bringing up" All, no! that young
man has been out in the world long enough
to see what is right and to see what is
wrong.
Here is business man. He says: al
know don't do exactly right in trade, but
oil the dry-goods men do it, and all the
hardware men do this, and am not re-
sponsible." You cannot throw off your sin
upon the shoulders Of other merchants.
God will hold you responsible for what you
do, and them responsible for what they do.
l want to quote one passage Of Scripture for
you-1 think it is in Proverbs: Eff thou be
wise, thou shall be wise for myself; but if
thou soonest, thou alone shalt bear it,"
learn further from this subject what
God meant By determination. Saul was
told to Stay ell the Amalekites, and the
beasts in their possession. He saves Agag,
the Amalekite King, and some of the sheep
and oxen. God chastises him for it. God
likes
NOTHING DONE BY HALVES.
God will not stay in the soul that is half his
and half the devils. There may be more
sins in our soul than there were Amalekites.
We must kill them. Woe unto as if we
spare Agag Here is Christian. He says:
+" will drive out all the Amalekites of sin
from my heart. Here is jealousy-down
goes that Amalekite. Here is back biting
down goes that Amalekite;;" and what
slaughter he makes among his sins, striking
right and left! What is that out yonder,
lifting up his head? 1t is Agag-it is
worldliness. 1t is an old sin he cannot bear
to strike down. 1t is a darling transgres-
sion he cannot afford to sacrifice. Oh, my
brethren, l appeal for entire conservation!
Some of the Presbyterians call it the
higher life" The Methodists, I believe,
call it perfection" do not care what
you call it; without holiness no man shall
see the Lord" l know men who are living
with their soul in perpetual communion
with Christ, and day by day are walking
within sight of heaven. How do 1 know?
They tell me SO. / believe them. They
would not lie about it. Why cannot we all
have this conservation? Why slay some Of
the sins in our soul, and leave others to
bleat AID below for our exposure and con-
demnation Christ will not stay in the
same house with Agag. You must give up
Agsg, or give up Christ. Jesus says, "All of
that heart or none" Saul slew the poorest
IF the sheep and the meanest of the oxen,
and kept some of the finest and the fattest,
and there are Christians who have slain the
most unpopular of their transgressions, and
saved those which are most respectable. 1t
will not do. Eternal war against all the
no mercy for Agsg.
learn further from this subject that it
q vain to
Thy TO DETRAUD GOD.
Here Saul thought he had cheated God out
If those sheep and oxen; but he lost his
,rown, he lost his empire. You cannot cheat
God out of single cent. Here is man
who has made $4,000 in fraud. Before he
lies every dollar of 1t will be gone, or II
will give him violent unrest. Here is a
Christian who has been largely prospered.
He has not given to God the proportion
hat is due in charities and benevolences.
God comes to the reckoning, and he takes it
III away from him. How often it has been
hat Christian men have had large estate,
md it is gone. The Lord God came into |
he counting-room, and said: Z" have al |
cwed you to have all this property for 10, |
-, or 20 years, and you have not done |
Justice to my poor children. When the |
,eggar called upon you, you bounded him |
1T your steps; when my suffering chill |
lren appealed to you for help, you had no |
mercy. I only asked for so much, or so |
much. but you did not give it to me, and
low will take it az"
Come, ye martyred dead, awake! and come |
Up from the dungeons where folded darkness |
,earsed you, and the chains like cankers |
,eeled loose the skin, and wore off the flesh,
md ratified on the marrowless bones. Come,
70 martyred dead, from the stakes where you
we're burned, where the arm uplifted for |
mercy fell into the ashes, and the cry of pain
vas drowned in the swapping of the flame
nd the bowling of the mob; from valleys of |
and Smithfeld Market, and Lon
ON Tower, and the Highlands of Scotland,
GATHER IN GREAT PROCESSION,
nd together clap your bony hands, and to-
ether stamp your mouldy feet, and let the
hains that bound you to dungeons all clank
t once, and gather all the flames that
urned you in one uplifted arm of fire, and
;,,Io To- Ill Al. 1