The Penn's Grove record., 1903-08-28
! goodness-and yet ascribe seduction to

ma goodness-and yet aseribe seduction to
Him.
James holds 10 the lustful human heart
and contends that no external circum-
stances constitute in themselves alone a
seduction to sin. They may provide the
OCCASION for wrong doing. They may make
q powerful appeal to the passions and ap-
petites of men. But they would be utterly
futile to influence conduct and choice but
Tor the corrupt longing Of the heart. The
trouble is this, James explains: Every
man is tempted when be is drawn away Of
his W lust n enticed. Then, when lust
hath conceived. it bringeth forth sin, and
SIN, when 1T Is finished, bringeth forth
But will you make no account of hered-
lty! Certainly, the children Of the opium
eater, the user of intoxicants, the g~iutton-
GUS. the lascivious, will bear in their en-
feebled wills, impaired nerve centres and
scrofuious blood the foul faint of sinful
parents. And may God pity the progeny
OF the viciousl But shall the victim Of a
fathers sim yield weakly to the propensi-
ties he has inherited, and plunge deeper
into the turbid pool OF iniquity? Will it
excuse a mans bloodstained hand that he
received a fiery temper from his ancestry,
and IN a mone;.s of ungoyerned fury muir
dered his fellow?
But will you make no account of envir-
III tnC ECilGldLlOHS IltlQR
from the slums of the great cities can
scarcely be expected to come naturally to
the virtues of your clean-faced, church
bred boys and girls. What, then-shal the
soul make no effort to rise superior to its
surroundings? Is there any environment
IN which allurements to evil will not exist?
DO they not obtrude themselves upon the
scene Of public worship and private deyo-
ton! Is there exemption for any one?
surely not, but IN the last analysis the
temptation IS not in the enticements of
ones environment, but in a heart that
lusts after evil, and which must be denied
Its desires, if good character is to be made.
temptation to evil, then, is a matter I'M
which. our personal moral fiber is in
volved, just as in trial through suffering
our power Of endurance are tested. What
Is your attitude toward evil? Is it one OF
apology and condonement? How perilousi
Is 1T one easy familiarity? God pity your
weakness. We have a duty to ourselves.
Luther used to say: eve cannot keep the
birds from flying around our heads, but we
can prevent them from building their nests
temptation away. but we need not let It
In the house. We should not expect God
to lock the door and keep His hand upon
1t. We are the doorkeeper of our own
souls.
Naturalists tell US that the scorpion will
never use MS sting, OF which he is exceed
lngly careful, unless he can find a spot on
the body of his desired victim sufficiently
soft to admit its insertion without fear OF
injury. Temptation never assails the soul
except at vulnerable points. Our own lusts
determine the spots which the enemy
strikes.
But fortunately the whole burden of re-
sistlng temptation to evil does not rest
witt us. Divine help is promised. '1f any
of you lack wisdom, let him ask God
Wisdom is called by a sound writer 'the
art of Christian conduct" That art can
be acquired of Christ Himself. He was
tempted in all points as We are, vet with
out sin. He can and will impart the power
of successful resistance. Moreover. there
is specific promise in the premises. There
hath no temptation taken you but such as
IS common to men, but God is faithful,
who will not suffer you to be tempted
above that We are able, but will also with
the temptation make a way to escape, that
We may be able to bear it,"
For him that endures there is the blessed
recompense of the crown of life. What the
sculptor has wrought is not to be shattered
by the hammer of judgment. When the
ship comes bounding over the stormy sea
she Is not to sink in view of the harbor.
But after the struggles of this human life
viii come the f~elicities and fulness of the
perfect life. May the victor's wreath be
ours.