Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1902-09-03


and real and certain seemed life as
they glided with the swiftness of the
wind across the country to the CAV
scenes of Paris. How dim and unlikely
seemed death and the threshold of
eternity. The peasants stopping in
their work and leaning on their hoes
gazed after them and envied them
their lot, and thought of the years
which yet seemed before them and of
all the luxury and travel and pleasure
that would be counted off TO them in
The days of the years as they rolled
around one by one. And 10, while they
are gazing the rushing auto swerveS
TO one side, and with the suddennesS
OF the lightning fash the crash comes,
deaths silence settles down upon the
fair young pair as they lie amidst the
wreckage, and their souls are in eter-
nifty.
Four Important Points.-There are
four essential points TO our text. As
Mr.. Moody used to put it: /. There is
one God. 2. We are accountable to Him.
3. We must meet Him. 4. We need
preparation to meet Him. Let us turn
our thoughts TO the first point. There
is one God. One God, the Creator. One
God, the Ruler Of the universe. One
God. the lover Of mems souls and the
hater Of sin. One God, the Saviour of
men. One God who is all this. And
because He is the one and only God.
Thou shalt have no other gods before
Me" Is this n message for to-day?
We carry it to the heather lands.
where the hideous little gods have
their place in every home and receive
the worship and alteration of its in
mates. We know il is n message for
those daTkened lands, but ours il a
Christian land, with no shrines in our
homes and no ugly images before
which we fall down and worship. And
because of this are there no strange
gods that are claiming our worship
and our service? How about the god
OF pleasure, the god of gold, the god
of social supremacy, the god of self
will and self-indulgence, the god OF
pride and worldly ambition, the god
of religious forms and ceremonies.
Read the last half of the fifth chapter
OF Amos If you want tOsee how Jealous
in outward religious activity the chill
dren Of Israel were. They had their
feast days, their burnt offerings and
meat offerings, and peace offerings as
in days of yore, when they assembled
as a sweet smelling SAVIOR to the Lord
from consecrated hearts. But God
says: 81 hate, | despise your feast
days, and | will not smell your solemn
assemblies" They had their fine
church music, but God says: Take
thou away from Ne the noise of thy
songs; for / will not hear the melody
Of thy VOLS" Why was this? Because
there was no longer one God before
them. but "Moloch and Chiun, your
images. the star Of your god, which We
made 10 yourselves Gods of their
own making and which were being
served in the form Of their many re
ligious activities There is n god
in every heart, there is a god in every
home, there is a god in every church in
the land. If it is not the one God of
Spiritual power and presence, it is a
god Of human making, and abhorrent
to the one God Of Heaven.
The second point before us is that
we are accountable to Him. Cain was
accountable to God for the killing OF
his brother Abel. 1t is significant that
Scripture gives no record of the par
ents calling their son to account for
his awful sin, but tells of the wicked
youth being brought face to face with
his God, the one to whom he was first
accountable and from whose search
ing gaze he could not escape. The all
important question was not what
would father or mother say or do.
but what does God think about il, what
Will He do? The all-important ques-
ton to you, my friend, is not your
standing in the community, not what
your friends or relatives say or think
about you, but what is my standing
before God, whom ] am to meet some
day face to face? David with the
crimes Of murder and adultery black.
ening his soul was accountable to God.
He realized it after he had hidden his
sin for months and tried to account to
his family and his nation for his sin
by making the widow Of the man he
had cruelty slain in battle his wife.
When David got into the presence of
the Lord, upon his face. he cries.
Against Thee, Thee only, have
sinued, and done this evil in Thy sight"
God is the final auditor Of all accounts.
We cannot escape Ills searching eye or
the record Of Heaven. Fine speeches
before the throne or God will not pre-
vail. We may plead: Lord Lord.
have we not prophesicd i'm Thy name
and in Thy name have cast out devils?
and in Thy name done many wonderful
works. But the Lord will look deep
er than the mere outward profession
Of the life and will say TO many a soul.
Depart from me, We that work in
iquity' Are YOU more concerned
about the opinion Of those about YOU
than you are as to what God thinks
Of you? Remember that your final
accounting is 10 be with Him. Are YOU