The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-10-08

torv of the world, became steeped in vice even in the very midst of their beauty worship. The beauty I speak of Is a spiritual beauty which Is seen in pure thoughts. and words, and deeds. That ktnd of beauty is really goodness, for 1t is from God Himself. If we long for 1t earnestly, if we strive for 1t faithfully, we shall not long and strive for 1t :n vain.
 Above all, in our struggle for pur- ity, , ,uld we turn for help and in- spiratlon and strength to Christ, the one person who has ilveo on .his ear.n that has exemplihed purity in all It's perfe ,tion and beauty. He was the in- carnation of purity, its ideal and its standard. How suggestive 1t is that the quality of purity in Him appeals far above all others to us. It is one of the strongest proofs we ourselves are m lde for purity. He had the quail ity of love, for instance. love which binds up the broken hearted. love which draws all men to Him everywhere, love which pardons and accepts the peni- tent We rejoice in 1t and are su- premely grateful for it. lie had the quality of righteousness, upon which is based right living We admire and reverence 1t profoundly. But infinitely precious as are both His love and His righteousness. instinctively feel there Is something in Him higher, something sublime and Divine. It Is purity. Before that purity, we who are ourselves impure. We who arc stained with sin, we who are utterly unworthy
 at best. should tremble in awe, even while wo venture to draw near in wor- ship and adoration.
 With a radiance bright and ineffably glorious, straight from Gods throne. purity shone always and everywhere, through His Ainless nature. As We 1oo ln, countenance with the dignity and maj sty of Heaven itself.
 "Yes, and the effect. too. of purity Is most wonderful. This is so because it Is not a quality which begins and ends in itself. It is not an abstract virtue It permeates our whole spir- itual being. It is living. active. ever present power within us. It enables us | to recognize and value that which is pure wherever and whenever 1t is seen. Purity always discerns It's like. It is l essentially spiritual quality. and | therefore more able to perceive than if 1t were merely physical. At once quently Is able to know that God is pure. It strives and strains to be like Him, and to grow from day to day into His Divine image. It reveals us at the same time, to ourselves. for 1t en- | ables us to see that in comparison with tHc Ol 1Ou tneFe Is hardly a hairs breadth between the lowest sin- | Ter an dthe highest saint. And because 1t is akin to them. purity loves all | things true. and holy. and good.
 "On the other hand. while purity is all this and has such power with re-
 gard to other things. 1t is nevertheless | a virtue, a goodness, that is complete
 in itself. This wonderful fat is true ! of purity alone It Is not so of right eousne~s. or of love. for instance. They | can exist, have a place in this world
 cnlv because of our relationship to | others.- and the dealings with them
 which grows out of that relationship. Let me illustrate: Take the case of
 man living entirely alone upon some
 desert island. There could be no place | for righteousness It Is goodness
 based upon our duties to others. There l could be no place for love, inasmuch
 as there would be no object upon which
 purity it is altogether different. He
 could desire and cherish 1t still And l through purity he could grow into the | likeness of God For purity is su-
 preme quality of the soul, and is ab-
 solutely inder rendent of external condi-
 tions. While all things pure and good
 ana true, loves them as spiritual ideals.
 we may say 1t Is because of 1t our
 purity that 1t loves them. Seeing that | purity has all these Divine character |
 to say: Blessed are the pure in heart,
 for they shall see God
 l Tt it indeed sublime blessing
 which He promises to the pure in heart,
 they shall see God We cannot hope
 to understand fully now and here what
 1t means to see God We can under | stand it however. for all the practical
 purposes of Christian life if we but
 appreciate and realize as we ough,
 the quality of purity itself by means or which God is seen. It is an absolute
 ly essential knowledge. To this end we
 must go to the source of purity. We
 must study 1t where 1t has it's life, its ! being. its home. and that Is, in God l Himself. We must study His revelation | of Himself in Christ Jesus. This is ex- | tremely difficult. of course, because of cur limitations as finite beings and sins dominion over us. Nevertheless, by virtue of the Divine which He has implanted within us we can apprehenI Him even if we cannot comprehend Him. Therefore can we see that Gods tfree most essential attributes are
 love, righteousness and purity.
 NOW Is 1t not true that of these. purity appeals to us as the one which most supremely and completely expres- ses the nature of God. It sets Him forth
 to our souls. it reveals Him to our apprehension, 1t discloses Him to our
 
 as far as can be the case with our in-
 tellects beclouded by the mists of sin
 It enables us not simply to know about God but to know God. quite a differ
 ent and much higher knowledge. It teaches us also that while love and
 righteousness are attributes of God,
 that is qualities He manifests to His
 CT eatures for whose sole benefit they
 exist. purity is far different, for 1t Is
 of the essence of God. It would exist
 in Him even had he not called a single
 human being into existence.
 Our Lord promises the pure in heart
 they shall see god How can this be? Certainly. He cannot be seen with the
 physical eye. But, Is that our only or
 gan of vision? Is there no vision of
 the understanding. no vision of the
 spirit? There is. and the keenest and
 highest order of vision. It is based
 upon. 1t grows outof likeness and iden-
 tity of nature between the seer and makes this likeness. this identity be-
 rure in heart we shall see Him. In His promise, then, you observe. Christ is but setting forth an effect which na- that purity makes us like God tells
 Ci abled to see Him. And seeing Him teauty and glory. consists in clinging | to His love, adOring His holiness, and | so becoming partakers of His Divine | for they shall see God Yes, If we are In hn