The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1904-04-22

place your souls in the slavery Of the evil
one who seeks your destrtlctiony You
are now healed; take TO heart. then The
words of Christ, go now and sin no
more lest some worse thing befal thee. -
Strengthen your resolution, remain faithful
and do not fall into the happy condition
OF him of whom our Saviour spoke when
He said: "All who shall see lin shall be.
gin to mock, saying this man began tn
bullo and was not able to finish"
And then comes the very serious
thought of the limitations of Gods mercy.
1t is possible, indeed, that if You despise
and reject His grace now, you may never
have the opportunity of returning to Him
again. Now is the acceptable time, now
Is the day of salvation" The promises OF
Sod are annexed to the performance of
present duties. To-day is the day of mer.
cY; the future holds the day of justice and
of Judgment. 1T is a horrible hing to
fall into the hands of the living God" If,
notwithstanding your present conversion
to God, your freedom from sin, your en-
joyment of the possession of grace yoli
should forfeit that grace, belle your pro-
fes3ions Of amendment and return to wal
low in the mire of niquity and then close
Your eyes IN death an enemy Of Coda
frightful fate awaits you For death in
mortal sin means an eternal separation
ure to attain the destiny for which God
created you; the forced companionship of
demons who labored hard for your de-
struction and who will goat over your
ruin and finally never-ending pains in
flicted by the omnipotent hand Of an an
CRY God.
But this is melancholy thought. God
has other motives than fear to deter us
from sin and to inspire us with the reso-
luton to persevere in His grace. And it
is a pleasure to turn from the thought Of
punishment to that of reward.
The first effect of good life that can
not fail to impress you strongly is the
cheerfulness and Joy oorn Of the testimony
of a good conscience. Instead of the de-
pressing and empowering sense of guilt
produced by sin, you now experience a
light heartedness and buoyancy which
tells you plainly that a terrible weight
has been lifted from your soul The dom
inant note of your life now is peace, that
peace which surpasseth all understand
ing" the peace that enables you to look
the world in the face unconscious of pub
lie offense or secret defilement. You were
strangers to this Deace while you were
aware that you were not in the friendship
OF God. Now that it is yours you will
guard it against all attacks and never
again forfeit it by sin You will not allow
yourselves to be blinded by the seductive
and heeting pleasures of the moment. Y on
will be brave and loyal and steadfast in
temptation and remain true to your God
and grateful for His mercies Evermore
you will keep before your minds the prom
Use Of our Lord; BE faithful until death
and [ will give thee the crown of life"
And when, at la.s, the struggle is about
to close and this dreary world is fading
from your sight, with the smile Of God
sweetly reckoning you on, You will be able
to lay down youl weary heads in peace
and resignation. You will take courage
from the declaration of Christ He that
perseveres unto the end, he shall be
saved" Death will have no terrors for
you because you will be able to regard it
as the gate through which all must pass
The inspired words of Holy Scripture;
Blessed are the dead who die in the
Lord, will find their ful6llment in your
case, for you will go cheerfully with the
seal of faith to the sweet repose of ever
lasting peace.
Whittier? To God and His heaven. Let
us consider our reward. Let US try to
pierce the skies and catcn glimpse of the
joys awaiting us. Our mental vision
ranges over the myriads angels md arcn-
angels. patriapchs and prophets, cpostles
bask in the sunshine of the presence of
God. Our souls are transported beyond
the bounds of the material body when we
think that we, too. are called to join in
the praise of God, with the nine choirs of
angels. Cur hearts expand with Joy when
we behold those now rejoicing who, like
us, have battled with re enemies of their
salvation. They have fought the good
fight, they have finished their course, they
have kept the faith. Now they are enjoy
ing the crown of justice which God, the
just judge, has awarded them for their
fidelity. They are placed beyond the
reach of tribulation, for in heaven God
shall wipe away az tears from their eyes;
and death shall be no more, nor mourn
ing, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any
more, for these things have passed away"
How clearly does their happy state ex-
emplify the apostles words: The suffer-
mos OF the present tlr'e a." We ,.t
being compared to the glory to come
which shall be revealed to u.s."
And to think that the bessedness Of the
saints is the destiny which God has
marked out for you. This is the final
vocation to which God has called you.
Listen to st. Paul: "You are come" says
he, "to the Mount of Zion, and to the city
Of the living God, the heavenly Jerusa-
lem, and the many thousands of angels,
and the church of the first born who are
written in heaven, and God the Judge of
All, and Jesus the Mediator of the New
Testament" Has earth any joys compared
to these? Is there anything under God
which can justify US in FORGETTING this i'm
mortal happiness? Where shall we find a
more loving father than God, a sweeter
friend than Christ, kinder mother than
Mary, nobier brothers and sisters than the
apostles, martyrs ana virgins already re-
joicing before the throne of God? Oh,
what humiliation it must cause us to feel
ourselves so sin stained and unworthy,
and yet to know that we are called to as
,ociate with such purity and sp'endor!
Who are we that we should aspire to the
of the blessed? What have
we done that with them we should roya