Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1904-02-25


Him yea and amen. Some one has said that
Gods promises are the Lords branches
hanging over the water. that our Lord g
| silly, half-drowned children may take a
| grip Of them. Rather are they glimpses of
the mountain n top, inspiring the traveller to,
heavenly realms beyond. Yet all of Gods.
promises have expressed or implied condo
| tions. Something must be done by us ins
| regard to His commands Does He say, s'Is
will give thee a crown Of life:'' He also
| says, IF thou art faithful unto DEATH
Does He say, sThou shalt be saved?" He
also says. IF YOU believe on the Lord
/ Jesus Christ Does He say that He Will
| come in unto anE make His abode WITH
| us! He makes IS the condition, that we
| open the door. Does He declare that we
shall bear much fruit? He also makes as
the condition that we shall abide in Him.
What, then, shall we do in the face Of
Gods commands and promises which thus
| set the limit to our endeavor? Certainly
accept the limit and be satisfied with no
less. A command means a duty, and
promise privilege. The Christian life isl
easy not by trying nothing but what seems
| easy, not by failing gracefully with the
hope that Gods favor will pardon our neg
lect, not by thinking that His commands
and promises are not really for us, bnt by.
agreeing with General Armstrong: What
are the Christians in the world for but to
do the impossible:" But in accepting the
! high ideal the soul must as certainly accept
the complementary conclusion that all
strength is of God. Power belongeth unto
God. Our sutficiency is of God. Some peo-,
pie act as ii God had been deposed. John 81
three words are light. life and love: PaufsI
are grace, faith and power. 1t Is by thai
grace of God. His unmerited favor, reached
by faith, a complete trust in Him. that wet
er! When Paul had reached the lowest
depths of Romans, the seventh chapter,
and sees that he must sin, and eXclalms pa
thetically, Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? he can only answer
himself with humility and rejoicing, Fl
power Of the Holy Spirit, ain the demon
straton of the Spirit and of power,"l
able to do exceeding abundantly above,
) all that we ask or think according to thel
power that worketh in us; s'that ye mayI
| His power to upward who believe accord
ing to that working of His might which,
He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him
from the dead, and made Him to sit at.
His rigEss :ss.a.nd in heavenly places 80
j rgkc yoaf c,,n Condition, # you are not,
{ up your mind otter examination that zou
CAL keep all Of the requirements q the
) constitution ard pledges. You know your
r own ability and strength. But when you,
! come to Christ, YOU do not begin by says
ing, Can OF can ] not hold out to the end,
: taking into consideration the powers that
l now possess, Rather you say, He has.
promised to keep that which I commit
. unto Him. and therefore shall hold out
e 7 Ou will make the conclusion of Charles
1 &. Finney as he went out into the woods
u engaged in life and death struggle with
t the Holy Spirit. The voice was saying,
e ..Will you accepe now--to-days" He went
s out determined to give his heart to Christ
n before he came out and he did. But it
: was promise which he laid hold Of. That
e promise was: ~ e shall seek Me and find
!; Me when ye shall search for Me with all
q your heart" His answering faith said-s
Lord, Thou canst not he; take Thee at
h Thy word; | do search with all my heart
/ and [ know therefore that [ have found
e Thee And as he continued in prayer the
Q peace of God came into his heart: u
1 Then there are commands and promises
y connected with your burdens. Christ said,
t "Do not worry over the morrow" Can we
e keep from worry? You have read again
e and again the words, "Cast thy burden on
e the Lord and He will sustain thee," but
v note that the margin of the revised version
0 says as the other reading for ''thy burden,ss.
:. that which He hath given thee" and also
notice that GOD sustains not the burden
:. but 't.:ee." Cast ;Do-i God what He has
e -, eli -S1a to bear and He will bear-thee,
). and in bearing thee the bn-aec:i r-ill be q
|, blessing, not curse.
n Is prayer a farce? Or can the limit OF
e endeavor in prayer be also Gods promisesz ?
e Whatsoever We shall ask in My name, it
J to the disciples as, they had stood helpless
t before the demoniac boy, This kind com
e eth not forth save by prayer" Beyond
d the reaches of human strength and wisdom
L is the dolndn of ayer-achieyement. DIR.
y David Gregg when he was pastor in Bos-
fo,, loI 4 .041
; DR.. CYRUS Hamlia. long of Constantinople.
II the5year 1881 Mahmoud had issued an
\ cdict ordering the expulsion of all mission
t aries from the empire. The British and
$ American ambassadors told them that they
E E must n, 60 William Efodeell replied to Ham
I Heaven can change. this; let us appeal to
Il Him in prayer Together, like Hezekial
v of old; they spread the edict before the
4 Lord and PRAYED all night. The next day
Q Mahmoud died and the edict never
a mentioned. Robert College is the monu-
t rnent OF the work of Dr. Hamlin
IL You. to-day, are thinking especially Of
e the work before you. How much dare you
t attempt for God? We must often begin
S our duty before we feel conscious of the
e strength. But God gives grace for living
|, and dying both and always when we need
e it. Thank God. we are co-workers with
n Him, winch means vastly more than that
d we are engaged in the same work or the
5 same kind of work. Christ said. My
J Father worketh hitherto and [ work, y
y showing that He was simply carrying out
. the work which His Father was doing
v But He also said, MY Father, which
i worketh in Me. He doeth the work" So
$ we mean when we say that we are CO
e workers with God, more than that we are
t doing Gods work, but that He Himself Is
d in us working in both to will and do
$ Of His good pleasure" Professor Peabody,
= Of Harvard, declares that there are three
n classes that make problems for us in so
e ciety, the can t-works,'' the aged, sick and
defective, who must receive gentle and CON
n tinuous consideration; the 'out-of- works "
e able to work, but temporarily unemployed; !;
;. the won't works" the professionally idle,
d vagrant, mendicant poor.
s In the church there are but two classes
n to make problems; for there are no cant
0 works." every who cannot take a
0 Sunday-school class or do some other
:. church service, does work by Christian tes-
It timony and Christian living; first, the
:. .out-of-works," who are willing to work
:. but cannot find employment, and for this
|. neglect the church is responsible; and sec
S ond, the won't works. and God pity the
$ church that has many of them. Let us
= rather be the .'can works" the Gin works,
J. the will works."