Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1902-06-20

mage, the boy hau u sudden change to-
ward physical recovery. In spite of all
the doctors said. he got well. But. sir.
from that minute my life was changed
toward God. and now l must reap the
results OF my past sins in my boys
execution. Oh. sir, will you not plead
with the governor TO pardon my boy
on account OF his mothers sinsY' That
woman reaped the harvest OF her cor
ruption twenty-five years after the
seed OF sin was sown. So when we sow
TO the flesh sooner or later we shall
all reap our earthly and eternal har-
vest OF agony.
The seeds of the flesh always pro
duce such great harvests that many
pairs of hands instead OF one pair
must be employed IN the reaping. One
man can plant In day what it will
take score OF men the same time to
reap. The sower would be helpless IL
he himself had TO gather in all the re-
suits of his sowing. So every farmer
has TO look ahead to prepare for the
harvest time. And If he is the owner
of a large farm he rides around the
country engaging extra laborers for
it must be cut and carried into the
barns right away, else the grain will
fan of aud the farmer will have no
results from his planting but straw,
which he uses for stall bedding. Six.
seven. eight months OF the year you
may find unemployed men in the coun-
try But during harvest time every
healthy man can find work and big
wages If he is only willing to work
and knows how TO WELD scythe or
how to tie up the sheaves Of grain.
Who are the reapers engaged be-
forehand to help the sower to the flesh
gather in his greatest harvest, which
Is to be garnered at the brink of the
open grave? They are the demoniac
reapers. They are Satan and all his
evil spirits. They are the demons that
live in the impenetrable darkness of
a lower world. They are the demons
who will gather only the most corrupt
OF harvests. Ii is said that the week
before Mazarin, the sinful French car
dinal. died he hobbled- .ksough his art
galleries crying and moaning: 'AIust
leave you, oh, my beautiful pfc
lures? Must give you upT' And the
day before he died he had himself
reused and painted, and his servants
passed before him and bowed ana
kissed his hand and mockingly told
him how well he looked. And when the
French statesman died he was boil
stored up in bed, playing n game of
cards, But when the Satanic reapers
came TO gather that mans harvest of
corruption they did not take along
Mazarin's pictures or his cardinals
hat. which he had disgraced. They
only took away his sinful and dcpraved
heart. Mazarin sowed to the flesh.
The Satanic reapers garnered the cor
ruption.
The Way or Escape
WELL" says some discourag ed soul,
convicted of his past sins. what am
to do? 1 fully realize my evil past.
Must ! die an eternal death? Is there
no hope for meT" Yes, my brother,
there is hope for you IL you repent of
your sins and throw yourself upon
Christs mercy. as wide as the forgive
ness OF God. ! only quoted one-half OF
the verse from which my text was TAX
en-. The last half of the verse reads
thus. But he that soweth to the spirit
shall of the spirit reap life everlast-
Ing" The first half is n red light OF
warning flashed far out over the trou.
bled sea of sin. The second half is n
beacon inviting you up the Narrows TO
the harbor OF Peace.
First. my brother. you must get your
heart right for the spiritual seed plant
ing. In the fur east the ancient plow
was made out OF wood and not from
iron. You must let the beam OF the
cross plow up your sinful heart. Then.
having prepared the ground for the
spiritual seed planting. you must go TO
work for God with ten times, one hun
dred tlmes-aye. with thousand times
the zeal you have ever felt as disci-
pie of sin. You must enlist yourself,
body, mind and soul. for the gospel
planting. AS | said before you can.
not change the past The past is dead.
But. oh, by the power OF the Holy Spir-
it you can spiritualize the future, You
can make your last earthly days hon
orcd days In heaven and on earth, be
cause they have been lived for God
and TO help your sinful fellow man.
whatsoever will. let him come and
take of the water OF life freely" That
means you; that means me. We can
all come.
NO." you answer. II will not. can.
not, dare not come TO Christ now. |
have had too black past. / Lave
sown too many evil seeds to the flesh.
j feel great deal like that young col
lege boy who was dying from an acct
dent in Edinburgh. When the chan.
lain knelt by his bedside and said. My
lad. will you repent of your sins and
look to Christi he answered: NO, sir.
have served the devil all my life, and
served him well. and now at this last
moment I would not be so mean as to
ask Christ to take my broken down
body and my wreck of life. No, sir.
I would not be so mean.'"
Sow to the Spirit Now
But, my sinful friend. even with all
your sinful past is that right? Is
that what Christ would have you do?
IL you had Maynard boy. and he had
run away from home and trampied
upon your bleeding heart for many
years, would you want him TO stay
away and die hardened against you
and bitter merely because he had been
sinful and Maynard? No, If YOU
L.. n.