Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1904-11-24
NEW SERIEs--VOL. XIV. NO. 3.

fear" That about expresses the sffnat;nn
OF many Of you. Look at the faces on the
street. Almost every one is eareworn and
anxious. There is no doubt that care sits
heavily ON mankind What is wrong
Simply this: That while God has promised
peace and is ready to give it it must be re-
ceived by faith. It goes witfout saving
tnaG the amount OF peace and quiet we
sLall experience will be in proportion to
cur trust in God. If we were really able
doing, as most Christians do, never trust
Iag God and more than they can help and
never feeling quite sure as to- what He
may do: it we would cast our cares upon
II I'M instead of bearing them ourselves.
WIat unspeakable peace we should ENJOY.
root of the difficulty yet. Doubtless some
OF you are thinking that if some particular
thing which vexes you were out of the way
you would be all right and your peace
would How as a river. No that is not the.
troube. 1t IS not some petty vexation
Inat constitutes the bitterness in your cup.
Il you probe your hearts deeper you viii
discover that the real reason is that you
are, not right with. Cod You have not
truly and heartily believed in Jesus. You
nave thought good deal about religion,
but you have never clearly taken the peace
tul STEP and until you do you will never
experience true and abiding peace. I'm
til you do this fully in obedience and devo.
ton to Jesus Christ; not until you are able
to say, very humbly, yet with sincerity: 'sI
know whom | have believed Not till
then can you be at peace.
am not called upon to explafh the nys-
terry Of Christ by which we are able to ar
rive at this blessed conviction of faith. It
would be difficult thing to follow by {.
logical process. There are many things in
the working out of your deepest conscience
Which are beyond our logic. Nevertheless,
say there Is no escape into the realm Of
rest save by faith in the atonine grace of
Jesus Christ. The thing that is at the bot
tom OF the fear is the latent conviction that
you are not right with God It is that
which kept. you vaguely unsatisfed. It is
eating the heart out of your enjoyment of
life. Get that right once and you will re-
celve the peace of God which passeth un-
derstanding.' Perhaps I may not have
been sufficiently personal: direct and pun
and yours. It will not heal deeply
poisoned wound to skin it over. I pray
you, probe your hearts to the uttermost.
Ii you feel you have been wrong until now
begin to be right from this hour Get the
centra! stay made firm and strong Get fast
hold OF God. The great step is to be really
persuaded that God is your father To
be persuaded that He loved you, unworthy
as you are; that He reckons you among
the number of those to whom He gives
eternal life. The unrest comes from the
fear that you have not got on the solid
ground: that you are still worse, risking
the losing of your soul At any moment
Your soul may suddenly look back upon
the probation period, forever and look for
ward toward heaven for everlasting o,
try, beseech you, for the hope set forth
in the gospel Have it out with God, orces
for az, Get on terms of peace with Him
before the day may close. Cast yourself
have spoken of two things. First, the
consuming care; second, the latent convic-
ton. There is one other experience that
may break our sleep. I pray God that none
OF you may have it. It is the experience
OF one who has committed spiritual suicide.
In one of Victor Hugo's books there is a
character who, after long series of exper-
fences. at last arrived at a great. crisis; he
wavers, hesitates, and then commits CO.
lossal sin. Conscience is insulted beyond
forgiveness. Then suddenly he hears, as it
were, an internal burst of laughter-laugh-
ter of the soul-and the soul rarely hears
without hearing it forever. This character
afterward falls asleep and dreams. He en-
ters the town: he comes upon many men
standing in various postures, silent and i'm
movable, as it dead. In unspeakable terror
he tries to flee ont of the lifeless city,
WHelI, loolAIlIS DdcA, lie is appdlleO TO see
the inhabitants coming after him. They
overtake him and hold him and cry: "Do
you know that you have been dead for
long while?" Now and then, in polite So
ciety, in select communities, even in this
fellowship, unknown to us. but not un-
known to God, one comes upon one of
these dead men, who have heard the inter-
nal burst of laughter, who mocks and de-
ies God and insults divine mercy. There
is such thing as spiritual suicide. Men:
sometimes by their action or non-action
take the life Of the soul; they are dead to
repentance and to hope, and at last they
are dead to God. Thus men drive sleep
forever from their eyehds, like Macbeth.
When once the conviction seizes upon the
soul then farewell to slumber and peace.
God forgive me if I have spoken too
plainly. If l have misrepresented the spirit
of truth. but if l have been true to the
word of God then let him that hath ears
hear what the spirit says: To-day, if you
will hear His voice. harden not your
hearts" Lay hold upon eternal life Then
you may lay down in sleep, since when yon
awake you shall still be with Him: and
whether you wake or not, you will be the
Lords and His forever.
Keep Moral Ideas Clear.