The Tupelo journal., 1904-07-15

stepped in the wisdom of man. His
course is with men and of men. 1t is
mans day. Mans day in which he is
building of wood, hay and stubble a
structure which will fall and be utterly
consumed in the day of the Lord" 1t
is mans day now! Consider it well, for
it is different from that great and glori-
Gus day of the Lord"
THE day of the Lord will be marked
i by judgment upon sin, by destruc-
ton of the u~nrepentant sinner, and by
the absolute triumph of Gods right
eousness. 1t will be a time when God
shall rule supreme; when sin, in all its
hideous unsightliness, which is every
where disfiguring Gods fair world to-
day, shall be put away, and when the
will of God will be no longer thwarted
or hampered by the devices OF man.
Naught but that which bears the Dr.
vine impress will be found anywhere,
and the same sweet harmony which
prevails in nature to-day as 1t m
fresh from Gods hand will be found
10 exist among men. There will be no
discords then. There will be no more
violence, for the lion and the lamb
shall lie down together and a little
child shall lead them. This is what
it will mean for those who have found
in God and His Christ their refuge.
But to the nations and individuals who
reject Gods offer of mercy now, it
will prove to be a great and terrible
day, and who shall be able to abide
it? Only those who were with Noah
in the ark were able to ride above the
flood, and only those who are in Christ,
of whom the ark was a type, will be
able to outride that greater storm
which is coming when the day OF the
Lord dawns. Against sin and upright
eousness 1.-The Lord will roar from
Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusa-
lem; and the heavens n the earth
shall shake" but, Joel goes on to say,
the Lord will be a refuge unto His
people" In the center of every cyclone
there is said TO be a place of perfect
calm. All about is the roar OF the
mighty wind, the crashing of great
timbers as they are torn and twisted
from their places, the thunder of fall
ing walls, the shrieks of the terrified
and groans of the injured and dying,
but in the very core of that awful de-
struction there is perfect calm and
safety. There a babe might rest in
security and have its sleep u%nbroken.
AID ~ will no CO in tho "1aV Of the |
Lord" The Lord. who will execute ter
rible Judgment upon sin and the I'M
r~epentant sinner, will become a refuge
into His people.
A ND while the day of the Lord will
n be filled with the awful cry of the
lost. while those who have rejected
Gods mercy and Gods Christ are
shrieking out in the mad terror of that
day, there will rise upon the air to
Gods listening ear the song of %rejoic-
ing because righteousness has triumph
ed and sin has been put away. 1t Will
be a great day of darkness to those
who perish, but it will be a day of light
and gladness to those who are found
within the ark of safety. Not joy be-
cause the wicked perish, not songs OF
gladness because of the weeping and
gnashing of teeth" in the outer dark
ness, but joy and singing because the
righteousness of God has triumphed,
and sin has been judged and put away.
Do you remember what joy there was
in your heart when you opened it to
receive the Christ as your Saviour and
you realized that you were free from
sin and it's consequences through the
cleansing and saving power Of Jesus
blood? Do you recall how sweet the
will of God seemed and how the
thought that God was to rule in your
heart and life thereafter brought mex
pressible joy and peace? These ex-
periences are common for those who
have accepted the Christ and surren-
dered to His will, and II such may be
the experience here and now, while sin
still Bullets us and the will of God is
not fully done in our lives, neither in
the world, what think you will be the
joy and peace of the great day OF tri-
umph which the day of the Lord will
usher in? The foretaste here is enough
TO fill our hearts full of expectancy and
to cause US to cry out with John:
Come Lord Jesus!"
LlNTULTITUDES, multitudes' are
N1 gathering Gin the valley of de-
cision, for the day of the Lord is near
in the valley of decision" The great
day is approaching, and while mans
day lasts he is either gathering in the
valley of decision, where Gods wrath
will fall upon him because OF sin unre-
pented of and a Saviour rejected, or he
is needing Gods warning message and
fleeing from the wrath to come. There
are many roads which lead to the val
ley of decision, to the place OF irrevo-
cable and fixed rebellion against God
and unavoidable destruction. There is
the way of representation, and more
there be that travel over that road
than m other. Comparatively few
there are who do not recognize the
truth of God, who are moi willing to
admit that they ought to turn from sin
and accept the Saviour, and who do not
expect to do so at some future day.
But not now. Not when 1t will inter-
fere with personal plans and ambitions
and desires. At q more convenient
season when life is not SO full and free
and abundant; a time when there