Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-03-11

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yation. s6en - t1emselves Is ~ under
! gracious compulsion 70 spesk ont
and let tho world know y their glad
experiences. David says: Come AL
ye that fear the Lord, and / will dis
close what He hath done for my soul"
Then, They that feared the Lord
spake often n to another" They
communed together concerning the
| things OF God, and Gods dealings with
them. 1t was hardly possible for them.
especially in warm, spiritual moods,
not to do SO. AS the sun shines because
it is the sun; as fountains pour out
waters because they are fountains; as
| roses emit fragrance because they are
roses; so a soul lifted by the illuminat-
ing power OF the Spirit into the light
and made alive with the life Of God
finds tender, grateful, spontaneous ut
terance and moral necessity of its be
ing. Try to imagine Paul, with his
sense of obligation to the Son of God,
and with his anticipation of the
crown Of righteousness in the life to
come, just keeping still. Try to imag-
inc John-the beloved disciple-hear-
ing what he heard and seeing what
he saw and having the experience he
did of the marvellous infowing upon
his soul Of the light and love Of God,
and then not letting anybody know
anything about it. 1t is straight-for-
| ward, manly thing to o. your faith.
4. The confession OF Christ, having
been made with the mouth, needs to
go on and authenticate itself in a
| course OF conduct which will prove the
honesty and earnestness of the confess
sion.
Confessed in form, in the act Of pub
lie admission into membership in the
church, there is to be a daily confess
sion Of Christ, in the school, in the
counting-room and mill, by the way
side, and everywhere. To say, in SO
many words: II believe" is not the
end-it is the beginning.
If our confession Of Christ is gen
uine and earnest, the fact will be made
evident by an increasing vigor Of spir-
itual life.
This will show itself In a growing
love of God, and in a growing appre-
hension of the love God has for rs.
Instead of thinking Of God as far away
we shall think of him as near, and as
becoming every day more and more
| personal to us in His friendship and
help and care.
/ There will be steadfastness and an
increasing diligence in %well-doing.
That is an instructive passage in Pill
grim's Progress where Bunyan says:
When the Interpreter had done, he
takes them out into his garden again,
and led them to a tree whose inside
was all rotten and gone, and yet it
grew and had leaves. Then said
Mercy: What means this?" This
tree" said he, sis it to which many
may be compared that are in the gar
den of God, who with their mouths
speak high in behalf of God, but in
deed do nothing for Him; whose leaves
are fair, but their hearts good for
nothing but to be finder for the devils
Undertook" Giving a cup of cold
water in the Masters name, sowing
beside all waters, doing with ones
might what n finds to do, working
while the day lasts because the night
cometh, and walking humbly and CON
sistently in the sight Of God, are
matchless evidences to the quality and
Vitality of faith. If we feel an in
creasing desire to do the kind work
which shall he to the glory of God,
to see poor SHINING men helped into
the acceptance of the truth, and proud,
wicked men brought into loving sub
lection to Him who rules in righteous
ness and who never fails to exalt the
humble, to make humanity better by
bringing all lives and customs and in
stitutions and homes and states and
nations into conformity with the Di-
vine will, We may be sure that our
formal confession of Christ was not
a mere empty form, but a genuine
confession. Such confessions have on
them the seal of the yea and amen of
God. whatsoever therefore shall con-
fess Me before men, him shall 1 con-
fess before My Father which is in
Heaven. But whosoever shall deny me
before men, him shall I also deny be-
fore MY Father which is in Heaven"