The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1902-11-21

him, Lift M thine eyes and lool, from the
place where thou are northward. and
southwark and eastward. and westward
For an the land which thou secst. 20 thee
will ] give 10, and 10 thy seed forever"
How ike this Is 90 our own inheritance
Ephesians 3: 1919 THAT Christ may dwell
IN your hearts bv faith; that sc being
rooted and grounded in love may be able
90 comprehend with an saints what is the
breadth. and length and depth, and
hcieht. and to know the love of Christ.
which plsseth knowledge, that We might
be filed with all the iulness of Cod" The
story Is told of a man who was confined in
a prison cell. Being an artist his paints
and brushes were given him, and on the
wall of the cell he painted the picture of
the cross with Christ on IL. Over the cross
he painted the word love, at the top and
the bottom of the cross the words height
and depth, at the cross beams the words
length and breadth, and indeed Il is true
that no one ever quite appreciates what the
love of God is to him until he has tins pic.
ture of the cross clearly in mind.
Have you ever noticed the differences in
Che ending Of the lives Of Abraham and
Lot; Lots story is written in Genesis 10.
il is an awful picture. His wife is taken
from HIM, his daughters are disgraced and
he IS In despair, while with Abraham the
picture is exactly the opposite, and to my
mind is most beautiful. Genesis 25: rs,
"And these are the days Of the years Of
Abraham's life which he lived, an hundred
three-score and fifteen years Then Abra-
ham gave up the ghost and died IN a good
old age, an old man, and full Of years, and
was gathered to his people"
Second Moses was an Illustration Of
the text. In Hebrews IL: n, "He endured
as seeing Him who Is invisible. That ex-
plains the mystery Of the burning bush
and this vision Of Christ explains how it
was that when your hope seemed to be
consumed and the dearest plan Of your
life was burned as in the fire, you rejoiced.
David has learned the secret of happy liv-
ing when he says in the text, 81 have set
the Lord always before me; because He is
at nv right hand / shall not be moved"
This vision enabled Moses to surmount
every difficulty What did he care that
| the mountains were on every side, certain
Of the Egyptians behind him and the Red
Sea before him. He marched like a con-
! queror until the water parted in advance
of him and dry shod he went over to, the
! other side. But such pictures as these
| have been realized in our day when men
| have passed through Red Seas of difficulty
/ where other men of the world have gone
! down in defeat and all because they en-
dured as seeing Him who is invisible"
! Third, our Saviour is an illustration. He
! always set God before Him. As He came
into the world He said 10, I come to do
! Thy will" as He sat on the we'll curb Of
Jacobs well, my meat is to do the will
! of Him that sent Me-" as He bowed
in Gethsemane, mot My will. but Thine
! be done" At the beginning of His minis
tEv. in the midst of it and near to its close
He gave forth the same music. What a
life it was.
'The strong mans strength to toll for
Christ,
The fervent preachers skill.
sometimes wish, but better far,
To be just what God wills.
No service in itself is small.
None great though earth it fiji,
But that is small that seeks its own,
That great which seeks Gods will"
Fourth. Paul was certainly an illustra-
ton of the spirit of our text. He caught
that vision in the sky as he made his way
to Damascus and he never forgot it. He
said truthfully. 81 was not disobedent I'M
to the heavenly vision" This made him
insensible to him surroundings. There is
really nothing more pathetic than his re-
enumeration of his trials. II Cor. II: 24-27,
"Of the Jews five times received l forty
stripes save one. Thrice was beaten with
rods, once was / stoned, thrice | suffered
shipwreCk, a night and day | have been
in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils
of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils OF
mine own countrymen, in perils by the
heather, in perils in the city, in perils in
the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in
perils among false. brethren; in WEAKNESS
| and painfulness, in watchings often, in
hunger and thirst, in Hastings often, in
cold I'd nakedness." And yet here he
says, ~ have learned with whatsoever
state I am, Herewith to be content. He
was with Paul to the very end. IL Timothy
4: rs, 81 have fought good fight, l have
finished my course, have kept the faith
henceforth there is laid up for me a crown
of Righteousness, which the Lord, thu
righteous Judge, shall give me at that day
and not to me only, but unto all then
also that love His appearing"
That was the secret of his victorious
life, and that the secret of his triumphant
death
II.
If He is before me no path is too hare
for me to travel since He walks in every
way in which He would have me go: MOI
shall / ever walk in darkness, for HE il
the light Of the world, and in Him is NJ
darkness at all, i" nor shall | ever be moved
Have you never noticed the difference
between the second and sixth verses in th'
Sixty-second Psalm. The second vers
reads, "He only is my rock and my saliva
ton; He is my defense; | shall not b,
greatly moved" And the sixth is the SAM
with the exception of one word. "He onl.
is my rock and salvation; He is my de
tense; / shall not be moved" That word i
greatly" There is deep meaning in tn
omission of greatly" Confidence ha
grown evidently. In the first, hope wa
that the waiting heart should not be mucl
shaken, that the tottering fence shoulo
not be quite thrown down. the second i
that it shall not be shaken at all.
III.
He is before me in all experiences
whether of sorrow or of JOY, but since mel
are born unto trouble as the sparks fly up
ward it is well to remember that He is be
fore US in suffering, There never has bee
heart ache on the part Of any of His fol
and He had fellowship with us in our sui
| ferinps aa we are privile0nd tO do in His