The Wilmington daily Republican., 1901-09-04

wal " VIC MAIN iOI IhC paiLS Va VhS
high calling Of God in Christ Jesus"
We ought to covet earnestly the
best gifts. | have no right to be
satisfied with my preaching and
perhaps | have no right 10 expect
any body else to be satisfied with
1t. Am sinful when after hearing
Conwel or Henson or Lortner,
covet a gilt like theirs! l cauuot
sing correctly a single s,anZa OF
any hymn Am to be blamed if
after hearing some sweet soloist
move 10 tears and action a vast
audience, want such gift! |
tell you the gilt Of sony IS a glit to
be dearly priced DO you wonder
that when sit by the bedside oil
some dying saint and am asked to
sing Jesus Lover OF My Soul, Let
me TO Thy bosom fly and | be un.
able TO do it. want to--covet the
ability and the privilege? Yes,
covetousness in good sense is not
only right but dutItul.
But covetousness in a bad sense
III the sense ot excessively to
desire IS wrong. Eovetousness
which is avarlciousness IL sinful.
1t does uot consider the right OF the
other mao. 1t IS not wrong to covet
Il house; It 10 wrong 10 covet a
ueiyhbor y house. 1t is not wrong
to eovet wife; It is wrong to covet
a nelshbor's wife. 1t is uot wrong
to covet servant; it is wrong to
covet ue'bhCor = servant. 1t is
not wrong TO covet an OK or an ass,
unless these ANIMALS are the prop
erty oi another man.
The right to covet legltimatelv is
the rlsh, Of every man. But it must
not bs<orgotten that this does not
include The right 10 covet that
which belongs 10 a nelghbor.
Covetousress in a bad sense is 10
be avoided because it :s unsatity-
ins.
Iovet your ncighbor's house and
secure it and you will soon want his
wife. Get his servant and you will
want his pocketbook. Get his OK and
you will want his driving horse. Get
his ass and you will want his flock of
sheep. A man covetLus in this sense
Is never satisfied. He always cries
for more.
Moreover covetouSEess is to be
avoided not merely because it salts,
!ics not, not merely because it may lie
ridiculed aud shown to lie Useless.
but because it is positively slntuI.
DR.. George Dana Boardman has
shown ,hit this tenth commandment
is an cpilome Of the other nlnc and
that he who breaks this one Is guilty.
Of them all. .'ovctoIs ness as he
shows leads to polythei>m or the
breaking of the urSt commandment.
IT leads to iduiatry which !, forbid
den in the second. Paul in hi, letter
to the tullOsSianS bears out this idea
when he says "CUvetuu >ile,S the
which is ldolatry.h
Coyeionsnes leads to irrevereEcc,
to the breaking OF tie third COM
mandment. 1t leads to Sabbath
~ tiClll al hI1ilJCtiIS NV,
to murder, to adultery, IT, theft, to
SANDER and these thing, are furbld-
,ien III the fourth, iiith. 5 MIN, seventh
eight and ninth commandments re-
spectiveIy. Thus covetUuSnrS, is a
band Of nine wilhS, stronger than the
with, that bound Samson and which
If broken leaves the Chr!S tian as
helpless us was Samson shDrn Of his
locks and held in pnllistiue nand,
There are some TIM, S that ought
TO be said before take my seat aud
one of them is this: No man. tcXrcpt
the tine Perfect NAM ever kept the
tcnlli commandment. There are
doubtless men in tins audicnct who
are not poly thciStS and idO'alcl&,
though such men would be rare
There are men here who do not take
God $ name in valn, nor break his
Holy Dly, who are submissive 10 pa
rental and pl'riarchal authority, vino
do no murder, commit no adultery,
steal 10 man 5 property, and never
Slluier neIThOor. but there sits no
man between these walls who can
plead mot guilty" before the search
iny SIlent accusation Of this tenth
commandment
This is II commandment of the
heart. 1t is not il struggle in the
open Where the Slecring world Ge.
comes Il spectator and p,lyiat angc.s
drop tears at the failure of II man.
Ii IS no. the visible act of sin lnil y
here forbidden but the inward unseen
terrible fact Ut sin that is condemned
This is the commandment Of the
heart and also the heart OF the com-
mandmentS. 1t has to do with
mans desires. And. my friends,
what Il man desires to do is the
thinketh in his heart 50 is he. Keep
thy heart with all diligence TO-. out
of 1t are the issues of life. lie who
looks may Inst. he who hates murder
he who cuvets steals and ISLANDERS and
shiycrS the dccaOgue.
Just one word more. ana rather by
way OF closing appIicaton 1t is
this 1t is right and dutifnI tsrovet
GIl S forgiveness. No man evcfere.
ceiyed it who did not covct 1t. A
real earnest eager desire for forgive.
ness must receive its bestuwa.
1t IS right and dutif'll TO- covet
Gods powcr-not to display it in
such fashion as to call attention to
ocrseIves but to use it for his glory
and the good Of men.
Its rishtto covet Christ's presence
To long for a vision OF his blessed
face. To desire the Fastening of the
day when robcd in righteousness we