The Newtown bee., 1906-02-23
street welcomed a daughter to their home, last Saturday morning.
LITTLE SERMONS.
THE SPIRIT OF Ey1L.-BYo. o. WRIGHT.

| THE SPIRIT OF EVIL.-BY o. o. WRIGHT.
 Matt 13: 2s, "An enemy hath done this.'' It is we'll for us to bear in mind that there are various phases and degrees of evil. There is physical evil, and there | is moral evil. There is evil which
 grows out of weakness, ignorance and
 error. There is evil which results from prejudice and misjudgement
 and there is evil which is hateful and
 malicious, seeking to do injury to an other. There is evil with reference to
 an accepted standard of conduct which
 may be only relatively bad; and there is evil which is absolute violation of the moral law, which is sinful, wilful
 and wicked in itself, the spirit of evil. We recognize the difference in our everyday life. There is evil which is
 caused by ignorance, neglect, error of
 judgement, or mistake: and we excuse
 1t because there was no intention of
 wrong on the part of the evildoer. The and purpose. We may blame, but we
 accept the excuse for the sake of the offender; but on the other hand there
 is evil which was born of malice and
 hatred, which was meant to injure the object of it's spite: and we exact in such case the full penalty of the law
 for the sake of the righteousness of God, and the common welfare of socl- ety.
 The man in the parable of the Wheat and Fares, ''sowed good seed in his when all honest and we'll disposed peo- pie should be at rest, in peace, "hiS en- emy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away" It shows us the sly, cunning, hateful. malicious spirit of the Devil. It was under GOV CT of the darkness; he took advantage of the man in his weakness, and in his unguarded condition. So also he comes to the innocent with his subtle deceptionS, and to all who are not strong in the faith and love of God. We do not realize sufficiently the ter rible power of the evil one, nor are we go about to do his will, in his evil spirit. 1
 While good men sleep, in innocence and in ease, the trap-doors of hell are open and the angels of the arch-adver- Sary go forth throughout the world to decOy the weak, foolish and unfOrtun- ate; to lead aStray the ignorant and discontented, to deceive the doubt ing and to corrupt the pure in heart. ErrOr and perverSlty of will are every where prevalent if not dominent in human life. Many stand waiting only to be lured to their own destruction. Indeed, the very fountains of being are often polluted from the beginning of life. The infant is tainted with sin even before it's birth. Its innocence is dispoiled in it's nurses arms. Its child ish prattle and play are betrayed by falsehood and suggestions of evil. The growth of it's little body isstunted by the adulterations of it's food; and on it's way to school there turks some i'll report, or foul insinuation, or some depraved association against which the anger of God must guard with all the vigilance and care of di- vine love.
 Wherever God sows wheat the Devil SowS tareS. And at first the tareS look very much like the wheat. Hence the spirit of evil is to deceive. In the be- ginning it looks like good; but it is not good. Evil at first appears so much like good that only the pure in heart, and those who have the wisdom of ex- perience, can tell one from the other. ] But later on by their fruits ye shall know them. God is not mocked, that which we SOW we shall reap.