The Washington herald., 1907-10-13
A SUNDAY TALK.

| If We say that We have no sin. deceived our
selves. and the truth is not in u.s. bat II we confess
our sins. God is faithful and jst to forgive rs our
sins and TO cleanse rs from all unrislteousness -
John. is, g.
This Is one Of the verses made familiar
TO most churchmen through its prominent
place in the Book of Common Prayer II
IS Ike 50 many of the selections In the
prayer book. a verse of beautifully poetic
and sonorous English. easy to commit to
memory and, therefore, very often, said
over rather carelessly, with more thought
for the beauty Of its sound than for It's
sense.
But its. sense is what counts. and tho
fathers Of the church. who compiled the
liturgy In the reign Of Edward VI, sur
1aamed the Confessor, We're careful TO fol-
low it up with that general confession
for the people, which requires them
lsQuarely TO face the fact that
We have erred and strayed from Thy ways Ike
lost sheep We have followed too much the devices
and desires Of own hearts. We have offended
against Thy holy laws. We have left undonc things
which We ought 20 have done, and have We done
| those things which We ought not 20 have done; and
there is no health in Us.
The teachers were quick to see the i'm
portance of impressing upon all those
who stTove for high ideals in lie the alb
solute necessity that there should be no
seif-deception, and the warning conveyed
In the text is a warning that il were well
If all Of US could heed to-day. II mat
ters not whether we are rich or poor. there
are few OF Us. indeed who. in our souls
do not find some cause for self-gratula
ton; attribute to ourselves whatever
there is in our lives that has been good;
glory. IN our strength. and. If We remem-
Der our sins and our mistakes II IS only
10 try to deceive ourselves into the be-
lief that, after all, We are not any worse
than other men
And right there is where another mis-
take comes in. What ST. John says IL
the verse quoted above is not mere
clever phrasing and conjunction of words;
II is the very truth. and If we lie to our
selves, are dishonest 10 the better nature
that Is in US. there is but small hope
that we may ever achieve those better
things In life Of which the human spirit
Is capable Of attaining and in the strife
toward which all happiness lies.
And when in the prayer book. after the
public confession, the minister prOnOunces
absolution, he prefaces it with the state
ment:
Almighty God. the Father q our Lord Jesus
Christ, who d7srcth not the death Of sinner but
rather that ht should turn tron his gickedness and
live.
That thought follows logically the ones
that have gone before What the Cod
impulse IN every human heart desires is
that man should turn from his wicked
ness and live. For living In sin. bound
down to evil habits. the slave Of our de-
sires, at the mercy of every temptation.
can scarcely be called life. for life is a
noble thing, with noble duties and glori-
Gus opportunities. and its true trend Is
upward, not down; forward. not back.
And above all, let Us remember that life
viii not stand still. We must move In
one direction or another We may. IL We
choose. relax our spirits. lay down our
armor for awhile, but If we do we shall
inevitably find ourselves slipping down,
down 20 a point where ere long. If there
Is to be ant salvation for us. we must
cry for some strong hand to help US out
OF the Quagmire. II Is as inexorable as
the law Of gravitatiOB
For the true man. then. only one course
Is open: Let him frankly say 20 himself
he viii not deceive himself: that he
knows that he Is a sinner, but that he
by Gods grace, VIII sin no more. Let
him keep his face steadily toward the
light, upon the peaks. and though siren
voices lure him from every side. let him
stiil manfully struggle on. And he shall
find, from day 10 day. access Of strength:
his heart growing hrmer toward the
right; his soul uplifted and his life glori-
fed.
II is 10 such a cOpsummaton that the
teaching of St. John would have US move