St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1904-02-13


NO. second as the
- stern, all-power-
N&~~ full God compell-
Ing in the end
the bending Of every knee to Him
ana me confessing of every tongue
tnat ne IS Lord. The day In which
the soul may look to God and be
saved IS to be followed by the day
~ the which those who have resisted
HIS onertof mercy will feel the power
OF Ills Judgment against sin. !. "Now
IS the accepted time, now is the day
OF salvation" now is the day of
grace, but the period Of grace IL to be
1olioWed BY the Judgment
just before the fail OF Sardis the
inhabitants refused the overtures Of
cyrus the Great who was besieging
the city with his powerful Persian
army. But after the capture of the
city the conquered people came to
the victorious monarch and offered
tneir submission, to which proposal
Cyrus replied by the following keen
and pointed parable: "A fisherman
wanted the fish to dance for him, so
ne played a tune on the flute, but the
nsh Kept still. Then he took his net
and drew them out on the Shore and
they all began to leap and dance
But the fisherman said: 80. "A truce to
your dancing now, since you would
not dance when wanted you.'"
Sardis had missed the day Of grace,
and was come to judgment So It is
with every soul. While God stands
and makes overtures of peace and
pardon II may find safety in submits
sion. but when the soul persists In
its rebellion it is taken at last by
force and brought into judgment,
where every knee must bow and
every tongue swear" What it would
not yield by voluntary act, 1t must
in the end yield by compulsion. For
ultimately unto God every knee shall
bow and every tongue swear
HE prophet Isaiah may have failed
l to recognize the full import of his
words and perhaps held the view, quite
common to-day, that the bowling OF
every knee and the confession of every
tongue was to be the glorious consum-
nation OF God s call to look to Him and
be saved. all We ends of the earth" But
that there was wide separation be-
tween the twenty-second and twenty
third verses In point Of time and condi-
tions isE clear from Paul's quotation Of
this passae n the fourteenth chapter
of Romano he declares that I'VE shall all
stand before the Judgment seat Of God. -
and follows this with Isaiah's prophecy
that every knee should bow and every
tongue swear. The day of grace was not
to see all IN the earth looking to God and
being saved, but the day Of judgment
was to compel the bowling OF every knee
In subsection to God Isaiah sees God
Is Saviour, standing and pleading for
the lost world to look to Him and be
saved. and then In prophetic vision he
beholds the Lord In final triumph with
every soul bowed before Him, but there
fs wide gulf between the two. Oh, that
II were true that a. God calls the world
to repentance and salvation. every
knee would bow and every tongue con-
fees to God. But the word OF God and
past experience do not sustain any such
view Many are called but few are
chosen" It was q remnant of Israel
which was to be saved. and 1t is to be a
mart OF the world which is to believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. Not
because God has decreed it so, but be-
cause the will of man refuses to have 1t
otherwise.
AaANY Of Jesus parallels and His d.
M rect teachings bear out this view.
Even Of Jesus disciples one was traitor
and son OF perdition. The field OF wheat
and tares growing together until the day
~ harvest. when the tares would be
senarated from the wheat and burned;
the sowing OF the good seed, some fall
ing on the hard beaten path OF the way
side and being devoured by the birds
.,me falling among thorns and being
choa.ed some falling on stony ground
and diving because OF shallowness OF
.oil and only . fourth falling in good
.rnnnd and bringing forth fruit. The
80 cast into the sea bringing In Its load
:, All manner of fishes, and the good
being separated from the pad. Inepara-
HES Of Judgment in which the separation
of the good from the bad is pictured
Tha description OF the two ways, the
strait gate and narrow way with the
fsv going in thereat and the wide gate
"a broad way with the many crowd
to - and rushing on to destruction
-, this goes to enforce and emphasize
~ ccrintural teaching that many are
called but few are chosen. faul
declaration proves this when ne propne-
s.as That .in the last days perilous
s.,ass shall come. For men shall Dt
,ov.rs OF their own selves, covetous
hnasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedi'
at to parents, unthankful, unhol'
80. -a+,ral affection. truce break.