The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1900-04-13

CHAPTER XII.

CHAPTER MI.
Alice, with the quickness of thought
that always characterized her. planned
that all the rest shou:a go to church
while she remained with Clara. Will
was able to go out now. So, for the
first time in months. Robert and his
wife and Bess and the two boys sat to-
gether in the same seat. George had
not been to church for year. and Will
was very irregular in his attendance.
The opening services seemed espe
cially impressive and beo utiful to Mr..
Hardy. He wondered how he had ever
dared sit and criticise Mr. Jones and
the way he had of reading the hymns.
To be sure, he was not perfect speak
er, but his love for his people and his
great love for men and his rare good
life every day were so well known that
they ought to have counted for more
than they ever did.
1t is astonishing how many good
deeds and good men pass through this
world unnoticcd and unappreciated,
but every evil deed is caught up and
magnified a~d criticised by press and
people until it seems as If the world
must be very wicked place indeed
and the good people very scarce indeed.
Mr.. Hardy Joined in the service with
q JOY unknown to him for years. He
had come to it from the reading Of his
Bible instead of the reading of the
morning paper and from prayer in
stead Of from thoughts of his business
or yawning stroll through his library.
His mind was receptive Of the best
things in the service. He entered into it
with the solemn feeling that 1t was his
last
And when the minister gave out the
text, For we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ. that ev-
cry man may receive the things done
in his body, whether they be good or
bad" he started and leaned forward
intently, feeling that the message of
the preacher was for him and him
alone and strangely appropriate for
his own peculiar condition. The first
statement Of the sermon arrested his
attention and held him to the argu-
ment irresistibly to the end:
"The judgment seat Of Christ will
not be dreadful place to man whose
sins have been forgiven in this world
but If he comes up to 1t scanned and
Scared and stained with sins unre-
pented of and unforgiyen because he
has not asked God to forgive him it
will be place of awful fear to his
soul. There are men here in this au-
dience who are as ready to die now as
they ever will be. They have made
their peace with God. They have no
quarrel with their neighbors. Their
accounts are all square in business
They are living in loving relations
with the home circle. They have no
great burdens of remorse or regret
weighing them down, and If God
should call them this minute to step up
to the judgment seat they would be
ready.
But there are other men here who
are not at all ready for such tremen-
dous event. They may think they are,
but they are mistaken. How can they
stand before the greatest being In all
the universe and have no fear when
| they are unprepared to answer hisq
tons: why did you not confess me be-
fore men? Why did you not do as 4
commanded and bear the burdens of
the work instead of pleasing yourself?'
| What will the man say then?
at is true that Christ is all merciful.
all loving. But will it make no differ
ence with soul whether it comes up
| to his judgment seat out Of life If
selfish ease and indulgence or out Of a
life of self sacrifice and restraint?
| When every possible offer of mercy is
| held out to men on earth and they will
not accept il. will it be all the same as
If they had when they come before the
| would be to mock at the meaning of
| the incarnation and the atonement. 1t
| would be to cast scorn and contempt
! on the agony in the garden and the
| crucifiXion. 1t would make unnecesSa-
| ry all the prayer and preaching. What
| possible need is there that men preach
a gospel of salvation unless there is
danger of the opposite?
eff we are all going to be saved any
way, no matter whether we accept
Gods love in Christ or not. what use is
the church? And why should we be
anxious any more about our children!
| And what difference does 1t make
whether thew go to the bad here in this
4 world if in the world to come they will
| all be saved? For eternity will be SO
much grander and sweeter and endur-
ing than time that we might as well
take it easy here and not pay much at
tention to the message, God so loved
the world'-that is. if we are going to
be saved anyway.
"Why should we care very much if il
docs say in the revelation of Cod
! word that the wicked shall go away
into everlasting punishment if we
don't believe it? Why, the wicked viii
stand just as good chance of eternal
] glory as the good if the judgment seat