St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1903-02-21

reconciled with the doctrine of free
grace, but, as it has been beautiful
~ expressed, they are like the two
sloping sides of roof, we know they
meet, though the point of union is
hidden from our view in the mystic
rious glories of eternity. From
Gods point of view the election pre-
cedes the call; from mans side of
the case, the call is heard and obeyed
before. the fact of the election is real
lied. AS Henry Ward Beecher once
said: ''The elect are the 'whosoever
WILL and the non-elect are the whose
ever WON'T" Only God knows into
which division man is going to cast
himself by the exercise of the power
of choice, which God has given to
him. And as we have already said.
our text considers the matter from
mans standpoint, and Peter may
well admonish US: wherefore the
rather, brethren, give diligence TO
make your calling and election sure"
A Good Start.-It is compare lively
easy to make good start, but the
start is not the finish. Between the
two, there may be many failure
and many fall. 1t is long, weary
journey, sometimes, from the point
where the call is first heard to the
time when the call is realized to be
the supreme purpose and privilege OF
life. But a good start is important,
and the failure and fall, the wander
ing and backsliding which may come
before the soul is fixed steadfastly
in its purpose towards God must not
and need not become an insurmount-
able barrier cutting the soul OFT from
realization of its earlier hopes and
aspirations. Peter made good
start. He heard the call of the Mas
ter as he fished by the lake OF Call
lee, and leaving all he followed the
Christ through the three brief years
of His ministry. He drank IN the
spiritual truths as they dropped from
the Masters lips, and he beheld the
mighty miracles which testified that
Jesus was the Son of God, and the
One sent to be the Saviour of the
world. When the controversy grew
sharp among the 1nultitudes as to
who Jesus was and the disciples were
asked: But Whom say We that l
amp" Peter quickly and boldly de-
clares: Thou art the Christ, the
Son of the living God" When Jesus
warned Peter that he was to deny
Him before the morning light gilded
| the dome of the temple with it's
glory, he was vehement in his pro-
testations of loyalty, declaring that
he was willing to die with Him. But
when the awful fury of the betrayal
and trial of Jesus burst upon them,
overcontident Peter fell before the
prying question of a maiden and
thrice over denied that he knew the
Christ, and the vile oath stained his
lips in his effort to convince his
ouestioners. 1t was terrible fall
before a terrible temptation. His
first call to service by the Master
and his three years OF tutelage
seemed as naught to him now as he
went out into the blackness OF the
night and wept tears of bitter re-
pentance. The possibility OF further
service for the Master, of even the
slightest association and fellowship
with Him, seemed closed forever.
Peter stood where every backsliding,
| turn-coat Christian is standing or
has stood. The good start made
when the call of Jesus came to the
soul, and it surrendered to Him and
obediently turned and followed Him,
has been succeeded by the period OF
failure and disloyalty, which began
at the point where self-interest was
allowed to dominate in the life and
which had it's full fruitage in the
final denial. And when the soul
awakened to a realization of its fail
ure bitter anguish crushed with its
load and all was felt to be lost. The
period between the death and resur-
| rection of Jesus must have been full
of awful dread and suspense to poor
Peter, and not until his Lord ap-
peared unto him was new hope re-
vived in his heart. It is at this point
that the calling and election of God
are made sure. When the heart is
humbled and broken as conse'
| quence of repentance after the foil
ure and the fall Jesus always comes
| and reveals Himself anew to that
soul. It is the first step to reinstate.
ment. In the verse preceding the
ones of our text Peter speaks OF u
class of so-called Christians, who
have failed to seek with diligence to
make their calling and election sure
and have as a consequence become
blind and unable to see afar off and
have even forgotten that Jesus had
purged them from their sins. It is
not to these that Jesus appears and
revives the hope of a new and sure
call, for they are blind and would be
unable to see Him; they are unre-
pentant, and not in position to re-
ceive His full and free forgiveness.
But he who walks with Peter over
the hard stones of repentance and
waits patiently through the dark
days which follow failure and dis
loyalty will be rewarded by new
vision of his Lord and new call to
service.
Days of Diligent seeking.-Those
were days of diligent seeking for
Peter after he was granted a vision
of his Lord. He gives us a hint OF
what he was seeking for in the fourth
verse, where he speaks of the exceed
ing great and precious promises,
which, believed, would enable one to
become a partaker of the Divine ma
ture. That which he says he wants
to do for you and me in the thirteenth
verse, 'stir you up, by putting you
| in remembrance" was exactly what