The Farmington times and herald. (Farmington, St. Francois Co., Mo.) 1902-1905, 1904-06-24
The Passing Of the Old, The Appearing
OF the rev.

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Farmington NJ. T. Church. South.
God gave the world full time and
opportunity 10 try and test her
ideas. her theories, her strength
her desires and her appetites. And
man has not been idle, but has tried
things until there is nothing new
under the sun. All things have
been tried-all things that seemed
to promise any good or any pleas.
ure, and one thing has been dem.
onstrated, one thing has been
proved beyond doubt, and that
one lhing is that parth's wisdom
and precepts will not build the best
and purcst manhood and woman.
hood But that one thing is not
all. Another thing is very clearly
demonstrated, and it is that human
life apart from God has proved
itself n failure. This is not what |
think, nor is it what the Church
says, nor what the Bible says, but
it is the sad fact proved by the
lives of earth's millions. Vanity
of vanities, all is vanity" is the
language of one who had filled him.
self with earths good things aud
forgotten God
There are certain things that
have brought the race defeat and
shame and weakness and death
every time that they have been
tried, and yet men and women are
still trying these same things to.
day.
Let the man who would follow
selfish ambition remember the fall
of his predecessors, for she is no
respecter of persons. Let them
who love unfair gain consider the
lives Of those who have gone thnt
way. They have proved that gold
is a good servant but poor god.
Let the young woman who dreams
only of fun and fancy and fiction
and fashion know that this is an
old way and that myriads have
walked in it before her 1t is II
path that has been tried and does
not lead to life nor end III delight
Again, let the young man who
thinks only of n life OF pleasure re.
member that his is no new dream
Others have dreamed it before and
have gone out by armies to prove
the nature of the way. II is m old
path and its dangers nre not hid.
den 1t has been tried by mum
berless army OF our best and bright.
est boys. My childhood days were
passed with neighbor boy Of eX-
cellent gifts, who, when hc reached
young manhood, promised himself
rare pleasure lie went ont from
the good old home to seek what
earth would give. But the old way
made no exception of him The
pathetic story of his early fall is
bur a pitiful tale of how the old
way deceived and destroyed another
of our fair young men The way
of sensuality whispers of sweet
things. but it has been tried 1t
cannot fulfill its fine promises.
But above all, let not any who
would he n Christian imagine that
he can lawfully practice any of
these things which have brought so
much shame to the sons of men
For if any one be in union with
Christ old things pass away and all
things become new. | venture to
say that no man can consider the
claims and mediate upon the mis-
sion of Christ aud remain un
changed. When the claims of
Christ are pressed upon man he
either draws closer to the old
things, or, leaving them altogeth'
er draws nearer to the Christ
Christ either lOosens the ties that
bind us to the old things" or we
tighten the cords and make them
more secure. We turn our back
on the old things and go to Christ,
or, gathering the old things in our
arms and pressing them to our
heart, turn our back on Christ. If
vision of Christ does not intensi.
fy our spiritual life then it makes
our worldliness more intense
But if the hearing of Christ will
thus change things, how much
more must things change when we
give ourselves to Him! Indeed old
things pass away and all things be.
come new. When we have truly
Joined ourselves to Christ this old
world turns a new side to us. Said
Il young man, Il never knew how
beautiful every leaf was until |
gave myself to Christ" " When we
become His servants this earth
ceases to be an end and becomes
grand means. AS an end it is a
miserable failure, but as n means
it is a path of life and II thing of
beauty. 1t is the only place in the
universe that | know of where
man or n woman can get ready for
Heaven.
In coming to Christ the earth
changes aud the fullness of it. The
rising sun does not change the face
of nature more than does our union
with Christ change the meaning of
material things.