The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-03-21

lsf the faith, love and service of his peo pie. There are ways In which this ma, be allowed to He wastes with greater gull to us, even though we give every atten Ition to the visible and material interests of Gods work.
 "This may be done. for instance. by ( neglect of attendance upon public wor' ship. Many of us lay an entirely insuf, going. To us it makes little difference whether we go or stay. If the circufn. stances are entirely agreeable, we TO But. In any event our motion is in the line of least resistance. Many or us need an awakening. We need 10 be enligft, ened as to the richness of the priviiegs which God bestows In the opportunity for worship. We need to realize the truth so beautifully expressed in the old hymn. that. in the public service of the sanctuary.
 Heaven comes down. our souls to gree, And glory crowns the mercy seat ''we need to have flashed upon our comprehension that "0od is honored in the assembly of his saints.' and that HS is as truly dishonored by them when they neglect that assembly.
 Herein is my father glorifed,' says Christ, that ye bear much fruit I have yet to see or hear of remarkable fruitful. ness on the part of one who was will fui and hsbitual neglecter of the public worship of God. Whether we understand why it is so. or not, God does bless His people in their public assemblies, and visits with loss of his gracious favor those who neglect this duty.
 "The temple of God is allowed to lie waste. when there is an unwiliingness on the part of his people to assume the ac- tive obligations of service in the winning of souls. Here again there is need of great enlightenment. Acceptance of the benefits of the gospel involves a respon- sibility for the transmission of the gos- pei. Being saved yourself it Is your duty to help save others. Won by the lovc and grace of Christ you are bound to try to win others to the same grace and privi- llege
 "Yet along this line of activity for the reaching and winning souls for Christ how few SO. How few seem to have en- tered into a conception of the richness of the reward enwrapped in the say ing, He that winneth souls is wise." How few appreciate the splendor of the promise, ''They that be wise shall shine as the firma- ment and they that turn many to right eousness as the stars forever and ever How little do most of us enter into a NOAAGSBtiuA OL kHG nlHEVGiOua tFuIn IHaI He that converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death and shall hide multitude of sins .
 Parents arc neglectful of the spiritual interests of their children. Earnest and thoughtful about all other clements in the training and care of their little ones, they leave to others the duty of leading their children to Christ. Ready and willing to speak of all other things, they are actually afraid to mention the sub ject of personal religion to their off spring.
 Friends are neglectful of this duty. Intimately associated day after day with those who are without Christ, they never speak a word on the most important of all subjects. Often it seems that pro- fesslng Christians did not know that men need saving. To talk to them of their duty in this regard Is to speak in an un- known tongue. To press the duty upon them Is to be regarded as fanatical and foolish. Surely the spiritual temple of God is left to lie waste when His ser wants allow their lives to pass with no effort to win souls from sin to holiness, to the praise of Ills infinite glory.
 ''But in the most direfuI way. from the individual standpoint, the temple of the Lord is left to lie waste. when His fol- lowers neglect His claims upon and His work in the inner life. Tn a marvellous sense Christs mission was to the inner life of man. He came to introduce into the soul a new principle. to all the life with a new joy, to put into the mouth g new song, which should be the natural and necessary expression of the changed heart The Father, who, out of His love sent His Son. has then the right to expect that those to whom he comes should recognize and yield to his office and ministration. If there is then no growth in Christian grace. no forming of Christ within, no progress from glory to glory, no fruits of the spirit manifest in the life, 1t is the proof that the mis- sion and work of Christ on and in the inner life Is being thwarted.
 This thwarting of the mission of Christ can como alone from the giving attention to other than the claims and work of God. The fruitage of spiritual life Is being cholsed out by the lust of other things We have been evidently turning every man unto his own house.
 Let the light now of these considera- tions fall upon yourselves Consider your ways The one question for you to ask is as to where you have been con- centrating the attention. interest and ef- fective energy of your life. Has 1t been upon wealth, or fame, or power. or pleas uref Or has 1t been upon God7 If 1t has not been upon God, if 1t has been in any degree elsewhere. then. so far as you are concerned. the house of God has been waste, and you have been turning every man unto his own house.
 Upon you then must rest the woe, the emptiness. the unsatisfied hunger of the selfish life, the looking for much and ob- taining little, the eating, and the con tinulnR hunger, the drinking and the per- sistent thirst, the earning wages to put
 1t into a bag with holes. Consider then your ways
 But to indulge in a course of self inspection merely to perceive shortcom- ings, and to indulge in a vain and in- effeetual regret over failings and sin, Is to simply waste an opportunity and to | add to the catalogue of undischarged ob- hgations It was not the purpose of the prophet to stir the inhabitants of Jerusa-