Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1904-09-22

cent IL III honor 1T Will their HOS6nnAnB
become Hallelujahs, snd the Lord pro
v. The Blessing of the King. Immedi-
Jerusalem and His cleansing of the Tenn
nle. we read these significant words, "and
The blind and the lame came to Him in the
Temple and He healed them" Purifica-
ton always leads on to power. b cleans
ing. Of the Temple was followed by the
the great and good Physician. So, still, it
will be found in our personal experience.
This was not a momentary CLEAN OF divine
heneicence over q dark and suffering
world. but Jesus Christ is the same yes
terday, to-day and forever.
"And warm, sweet, tender even yet
A present help is He
And love has still its Olivet
And faith its Galilee.
The healing Of His seamless robe
Is b. our beds of pain.
We touch Him mid life's pain and strife
And we are whole again"
But, of course, all this awaits its perfect
fulflment in that happier time when the
King shall come to His own again "and
the ransomed Of the Lord shall return and
joy upon their heads; they shall obtain
Joy and glad1ess, and sorrow and signing
shall flee away"
Then, when this earth is purged of all
iniquity, will it be also true the ~inhabitant
shall no more say, I am sick, and the
their iniquity."
VI. The Curse Of. the King. But the
King has not only blessing, but also judg-
ment in His mighty hand. Tie only mira
Jesus Christ Immediately followed these
incidents. It was the cursing Of the bar
rem fig tree, to which He came seeking
fruit and encouraged to expect it by the
| luxuriant leaves tLat covered It's branches;
but 10! there was nothing but leaves"
and He pronounced upon it the whitening
words t 1T left it leafess AMI dead.
This ~as, of course, a type of the fruit
to under the parable of the Barren Fig
Tree, and it forecasts the solemn Judgment
that awaits every professed follower of
Christ who shall meet Him at last with
empty hands and ~fruitless life.
But there is a beneficent aspect, even in
the curse of the king. It tells US of One
that has the power to consume and destroy
the things which we are unable to cast out
of our Ives. There are fig trees of sinful
habit and physical disease which our hui
man strength cannot throw off a.one. Oh,
how glad we are sometimes to have a God
who is "a consuming fire" and from whose
presence Satan, sin and sickness flee away.
structive power against these things and
hand over to His flaming sword adver-
saries and obstacles too great for us to
overcome.
ct am so glad,' said a little child once,
"that I have a God that can shake the
world" Our Christ is not all soft and
easy benevolence. Back Of Els gentleness
= - -
memorable as the. lightnings Of the sky,
Oh! sinner; whatever else you dare, be
VII. The Sceptre of the Kingdom. In
the closing verses of our lesson, chapter
81, verses 20 to %, the Lord reveals the
secret of His own power and tells the
disciples how. they may share it also
The secret of it is faith. eff ye have
faith and doubt not, We shall not only dc
also, if We shall say unto this mountain
be thou removed and be thou cast into
the sea, it shall be done; and all thing.
whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, be:iev
ing, We shall receive" And so He passe.
over to us His sceptre, and tells us thai
of faith through which He wrought Hi
mighty works. 1t was by faith that HI
. overcame and became for us "the Author
and Finisher of our faith" But we ma,
exercise the same faith, too. Some tim
in that coming kingdom we shall be lik,
Him and exercise a power over the uni
verse of God, of which. could we full,
realize it now, we would be amazed AM
appalled,. But He is training us now in tn
use of this mystic sceptre, and teachin,
! US the lessons of that faith of which H
once said, Cali things are possible wit
God, all things are possible unto hin
J. that believeth."
: We have but touched its borderland
I beloved. There are great continents Q
faith and power and prayer for us, yet t
2 explore. "Lord, teach us to pray" he,
: our unbelief and give US "the faith Q
! Cod"