The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1903-04-17

AHllHUIf
In the third placc we find him sparins
Agog and the part OF his flock. He the
KING with lying upon his lpsl This sin
becomes very easy. ~ wo allow the corrup
ton Of two or three days 10 he In oul
souls without being cleansed how sad Ire
resultsl No one ought 10 close his ewes al
night until he has absolutely made certain
that all of the sins OF the day have beer
washed away in the precious blood o.
Christ.
The last we see Of Saul lie when he fails
upon bis sword and takes his own lile-a
murderer in the sight Of God and IN the
sight Of man.
Sin Is awful. In the very beginning Of II
you seem 10 get the hiss Of the serpent o.
he trails through the Garden Of Eden. 1t
breaks up home, drags multitudes away
from God and down to hell. But the
warning cry is given here that we must
forsake the small sins If we would not bp
overpowered by the greater ones. We
must be cleansed from little tranBgres.
sons il we would not finally be lost. II
any one should ask the secret of failure,
the reason why az last the crown should
be lost, it could all be summed up in three
letters-S-I-N.
THEN CONFETTI THE END.
The day Of awards is a great day. It IL
really the judgment seat of Christ, when
we are TO receive the reward of the deeds
done through the body. 1t is not q time
when we are judged for sin, for the sin
question was al settled at the cross for
those who accept Jesus Christ. 1t is not to
be confused with the day Of judgment spo-
ken of in the twenty-hfth chapter of Mat
thew; and certainly it is not identical with
the great white throne judgment presented
In the twentieth chapter of Revelation. 1t
is simply the day when the Master, before
whom the records of our lives are laid
bare, shall give to us the reward for our
faithfulness, or express His estimate Of
our faithlessness.
l can see the Master, with His people
gathered before Him. A name Is called
that is familiar, and | see that one stand
ing before Him with great expectancy.
Then the Master speaks-with that voice
that John tells us sounds like the flow OF
many waters, that voice that stilled the
tempest tossed sea, and caused Lazarus TO
break the bonds of death. ] hear Him
speak. The crowns are being lifted up,
ard the first one is the crown Of life. !
hear Him say
'This is given to the one who has done
little things well for My glory, or to the
one who has suffered for My sake. You
might have had it, but you failed in your
own home. You had no testimony for your
own circle Of friends A kind word You
might have spoken, but you left it unsaid.
The cup of cold water was never gwen.
You might have had the crown Of life, but
it has been taken by another"
I see Him hold aloft the second crown.
This" He says, is given to the one
who has done hard work for Me. | suf-
fered the pains OF Gethsemane ana the
mockings Of the crowd, and the stripes OF
the Roman hagellatoT, and the pains OF
hell upon the cross. This crown is for the
one who has endured all things If only My
cause might have been advanced. But
alasl when there came a time when the
church seemed about to move forward you
opposed it. When thousands of souls
might have been converted your prejudice
against the work of the Holy Ghost
BLOCKED THE BLESSING.
You might have had the crown, but an
other has taken il"
l see Him hold aloft the third crown,
respondent with jewels. All the angels
shout aloud;
This is the soul-winner's crown"
There has always been joy in the pres.
ence of the angels Of God over those re-
deemed from sin.
'TYou might have had this crown, but
alasl your culture, your intellectual
strength and your social position never
won soul for Me- The members of your
own household were led into My kingdom
by others, The people in your own store
did not know you were Mine"
/ remember once holding a series of
meetings in Paris, Illinois. In walking
down the street with one of my assistants
ko1
asking him to be a Christian, but he made
no impression upon him. / heard him say,
"Your mother wants you to become a
Christian, does she not% And the young
man began to cry. Then / heard him ask,
your father wants you to become a
Christian, does he not?' And there was
no answer. But soon I heard him make
this statement: my father is an officer in
the church and my mother is leader in
the work of the women's society in the
church, but neither of them has ever spo-
ken to me about my soul"
believe many father and mother will
stand before the Judge on the great day of
awards and hear the words:
'You are crownless. Your children were
not saved, or if they were, in their saliva
have had this crown, but another has
taken it."
l can see Him holding aloft the fourth
crown, the crown Of glory. l can hear Him
picture how one came into the church
from great depths of sin; how his constitu-
tion had been undermined by the power of
an evil life; how he had been saved by
the power of God and cheered by the
warm hand clasp and the sympathizing
word, and a brothers sympathy to hold
out to the end. And I can almost hear
Him say:
"Such an one sat beside you in church
and walked with you in the streets, or
in the store, or possibly lived with you in
your home, and you said never a word.
You let him slip away from fellowship
with Christ and when he wandered you
exclaimed in surprise: I expected no
more
l can catch the tones Of His voice, as
He says:
"You might have had this crown bnt