Milford chronicle., 1906-10-26

drum is gone there is no hope in going
to a specialist He will have nothing
to work upon. The hearing, in that
case. can never be restored. So is it
with the degeRerates. 1t is useless to
cast pearls before the swine. Back
into the filth tbey will go. 1t is useless
to read the Ten Commandments to a
flock of huRran wolves. Only upon the
carcasses of Sin will they banquet. All
that you can do is to leave them to gor-
mandize at their corrupt and disgust
ing feasts."
Not "A Hopeless Field.
Well, my brother, what you say may
be true EphrahA may be welded to
his sins. Bat, when you 90 forth to
SOW gospel SEED ana are tempted to
leave Ephraim's land unsOwn, be very
sure that it is really swamp land. Per
haps you may be making a mistake
Perhaps you are hastily passing judg-
ment of condemnation upon men whom
God has not YET given up as hopeless.
What l do know is this: If you had
lived in ChFist's place many of the sin
ners and the OBtcasts with whom he
talked you would never have spoken
to for fear of defling your garments.
Many of the thieves and robbers and
the lihertines and the moral lepers
whom he lifted up out of their sins you
would never have touched. You would
have said: 1T is useless. They are de-
generates. They are Ephraims welded
to their sins. Leave them alone" You
bad better be careful when YOU refuse
to scatter the gospel seed in the shrivel-
ed heart of an outcast. Even there |
Christ will bless your seed planting. |
Yes, he will bless you when you plead |
with devil possessed Mary. or with a |
libertine and a murderer like David, or |
with hard hearted tax collector like
Zacchaeus, or with even an adulteress
like the woman of Samaria. Your Cos
pei seed planting viii never 20 astray.
No matter how unprOmising the human
field which you SOW, those seeds will
never be lost. Cast thy bread upon
the waters for thou shalt find it after
many days"
Among the lowest and most depraved
characters there is always hope Of sal
ratiOn if we go forth with faith in
Iesus Christ and scatter the right seed. /
Has not Christ saved many who. like
Paul, have been the chief of sinners?
,annOt he then save others from their
ins? An impressive parable found
mong the Hindoos is the following:
lany years ago thief was captured
With stolen money in his hand and
entenced to die. The night before his
XecutiOn he devised this novel plan
or rescue: He called the jailer into his
ell ana said, 60 tell the king that if
can come to him l can tell him how .
grow gold" The intelligence was \
lrried to the king, and he said. LET '
le culprit be brought before me-"
fhen the thief entered the royal pres
nee he produced a piece of gold and
lid: Your majesty. if this piece of
Did he planted in the soil it will grow
ITO tree, every branch of which will
laden with gold, as an orchard with
uit But this golden seed must be
anted by hand which has never
zen stained by a dishonest act. OF
urse l am thief and cannot plant
is seed. My hand is not clean. so l
ss it TO your majesty" The king
Dked at the gold a moment; then he
id: Il would plant it if | could: but.
rs, my hand is not clean! [ will pass s.
to my prime minister" The prime q
nisters hand was not clean, so he On
ssed it to the governor of the citadel. .,c
le governors hand was not clean. ,h
d he passed it to the high priest ns s1s
e high priests hand was not clean an
d he passed it on TO another. ,so
An Ancient Legend. T.
thus the golden seed went from A
nd to hand. Then the thief said. -
our majesty, if no mans hand is n
an, why should l alone die for the =
me?" you are right" said the
g. IF you are to die, then l must
also" Then the conscience strick
king pardOned the culprit because
and his officers were all sinners
,e. Is the story a mere legend, a III
lie? l think not. We say certain ''
D are degenerates and beyond the
e of gospel hope. Are they? Are T,
own hands morally clean? Have IS
always been pure? Have we never 'Pp
ned? Are we not SHINING now? Oh. NJ
Lord and my God. if thou canst -
e us. the chief of sinners, canst
j not save even the lowest and the
st with whom we come in contact Al
'ur daily life? Yes, even the low bS u |
and the vilest the Lord Jesus can whi
.. Cast thy bread upon the wa qqBs Re
J.. for thou shalt find it after many Rep
, - Gen
>. men
1t the next unpromising field for here
Del seed planting to which my mind ne
S naturally is the bitter hearts of sam
persons who for years and years SS,s asi
; been identified with Christian gistr
<, whose labors were unappreciat- ist1a sll
1y their contemporaries and who Pa
! been east out, or, rather, frozen VI al
of the churches with which they
: identified. Some of these men
women now are among the most A,P
r of all enemies of the churches. a. =
e are hundreds and thousands of
and women who despise the of De
ch of God because some Christian ard +
d or some church has nrOved foIea i,Sia i q