Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1904-05-30

that be could not build another cIocl,
| like it for any other city. Thus like
the old clock builder of Strasshure,
many and many man. by one sinful
act. can destroy all the usefulness and
the work of a lifetime. Achan's first
sin was his EYE step" Achans sec
ond sin was his heart step" or
Thought step" Achan's third sin was
| that which drove him at once ont Of
brotherly fellowship with man. 1t was
his finger STEP or his sin of commits
| sion. Cannot you read the stages of
progression in the words of the human
tragedy, Il saw Il coveted" Il
took?" Perhaps we can translate it in
even a better way: Il looked" Il de
Sired" Il did"
Achan's Cowardice
But now, after the finger STEP has
been committed, comes the fear and
! the horror. Aye. the ''covetous step"
NAV lead through an EMPOWERED gar
den. The buzzards may there be feath-
| cred in the gorgeous colors of a yellow
| breasted, black tipped orioIe. The fin
| ger step" may be a leap. a Jump, an
| impulsive bound, but no sooner is that
| fourth step taken than comes the foot
| STEP" or the Stealthy fugitive step. As
soon as Achan. the thief, got posses
| sion of this gold and silver and this
Babylonish garment he did not know
what to do with them. He could not
wear the cloak; he could not spend the
money; so, like a coward, he skulked
away and went and hid them in his
tent
Sin nearly always makes a coward
out of man. Achan did exactly what
our first ancestor did in the garden of
Eden after he had sinned. No sooner
was that forbidden fruit eaten than
for Adam the heavens seemed to be
overcast. He not only skunk away and
hid in the thickets as a cowardly hive
IA would run away from the hounds.
but when God called him forth he did
even meaner act than that He turn
ed and tried to throw the blame upon
the woman by his side as he said, Eyes.
| did eat, but the woman whom thou
gavest to be with me, she gave me, and
| did eat" Oh. my friends. the crimi-
nal uncOnsciously reveals himself. The
accusing voice of his conscience saps
his manliness and robs him of his open
demeanor. If there is not an honest
heart in a man. his face and his bear
ing will not be honest The lowered
eyelld, the trembling hand, the shutting
football reveal the error of his past
A despicable sin always makes a cow
ard out of man-Without an eXcep-
ton, always. always. Sin by it's very
nature is only another name for cow
ardice. No sooner did Achan take the
gold than he ran away and hid it; no
sooner do you sin against God, then,
like all other sinners. you try to get as
far as possible away from God
Shall we follow on and see the end
of this human tragedy? Shall we stop
and watch the twitching limbs of the
Hebrew apostate who is being stoned
to death by his late comrades in arms?
No, | would not for one minute have
you look at the death agony and the
eternal despair. Death by execution is
too terrible for any human eyes to
witness. unless it is our duty to wit
$1,000
was invited, as one Of the jurors, to
be present in Sing Sing prison when a
murderer was electrocuted for his
crimes. | am always thankful that |
missed the train and did not arrive in
time for the execution. So, today, |
would not lead you forth to where
Achan is uttering his means; but rath-
ef would | close this sermon with this
thought: Terrible as sin is in its ma
ture and its effects, there is a divine |
remedy for it. God. in his infinite |
pity, has had compassion on the sinner |
and has stretched out his hand to |
rescue him from his ruin and his de- |
spair. Not only does he offer pardon |
to the sinner. but deliverance from the |
power of sin. Sin" he says to all |
who put their trust in Christ shall |
not have dominion over you" Though,
like Achan, you may have fallen un-
der its power, if you come to Christ
and put your faith in him, you shall
be saved. There is salvation for you,
and peace for you, and eternal life for
you. through the blood of Jesus Christ,
who loves you and who has given
his life for you in order that you
might live.
His Real Birthday.
May this moment be the supreme
moment for your eternal redemption
and not eternal damnation. When
Bertel Thorwaldsen, the great Danish
sculptor, was asked the day of his ma
tivity, he answered: Il was born on the
Sth of March, 1877. Before then l
did not exist" This was not the date
OF his physical birth. Thorwaldsen
was physically born Nov. 10, ITO. and
March s, 1897. was the day that he
was artistically born. That was the
day when he first saw Rome. May
this day be to you the best of all days,
not the day when. like Achan, you
must die, but as Bertel Thorwaldsen
first saw Rome. SO may this beF the
first day on which you can truly see