The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-12-10

upon the liquor Gueston?" says one
"YOu know the saloons have come t.
stay. Ii you put the thumbscrcws Up
| on your church members on this qneS
| ton you are going to drive some o.
| the wealthiest members out of youl
| church What is the good of preach
| ing against tainted money? You can
| not mix business aud religion. What
| Is the good of talking against progress
| i've euchre parties as gambling? The
age of puritanic laws is past. Most
| people of our churches are growing
| liberal. If you cannot agree with the
maiority, ut least do not drive the ma
jority." Nay. nay. my friend. That Is
not Gods way. Man should stand
with God. though he has to defy his
church and all his friends. There must
have been some people In that land of
Shinar who did not believe the people
were doing right when they started to
build the tower of Babel If there had
been but one man, that man should
have protested. though he stood again5i
the whole human race. And that is the
duty, my friends, that sometimes you
have to perform.
But there is still another fact to bear
in mind about this tower of Babel
Comparatively speaking. the confusion
of tongues took place just few years
after the earth had been ceansed of
its leprous sin and the protecting pow
err of divine love had been manifested
In the voyage of the ark which safely
landed its passengers on Ararat. If
God ever demonstrated his power to
save, it was at that time. And yet
strange to say, just after this mani
festation of Gods power the men of
Shinar started in to build their tower
Of Babel and prove themselves indie
pendent of Gods care. SO our greatest
sins are often committed after God
has given to us our greatest spiritual
blessings
They Had fesootten.
Oh, how often our spiritual lives are
like that of King David. One moment
we seem to be standing as a target for
the javelin of King Saul and God res
cues us; the next we are playing the
fool down in King Achish's court
How much our spiritual lives seem to
be like that of Peter! We seem to be
In holy ecstasy. We are bowling at
Christ's feet and crying. my Lord
and my God, | will do everything for
thee" The next minute we are de.
nying that we ever knew him, while
his enemies are leading him away to
execution, and we are denying him
with an oath. When the pendulum
swings very far In one direction 1t is
apt to swing back jG1t as far in the
other direction. The prayers and the
conservation of Puritan England we're
followed by the debauchery and the
dissoluteness of the reign of Charles
II. The days of fasting and prayer
which directly succeeded the flood were
followed by the building of the tower
of Babel by the people of the land of
Shinar. Beware, 0 man, what thou
doest after thou hast knelt at the tn
BILE of the holy communion! Beware.
0 woman, now Satan is allowed t.
touch you just after you have seen
Christ's face revealed upon the Mount
Of TRANSPORTATION 1t is when we
feel the safest that we are in the
greatest danger Of slipping. GGsreat
sins often tread upon the heels of
great manifestations of Gods glory.
Lastly l remark that the punishment,
Of mans sins may be the indirect
means of driving him to do G3oh's
work in a greater way than he eve
conceived he could do. These men o
Shinar had no idea of obeying God b!
spreading over the earth. They pro
posed to stay together where the!
were. "And they said, 60 to. let Il,
build city and tower whose to,
may reach unto heaven and let Il:
make a name lest we be scattered |
abroad upon the face of the earth
These men Of Shinar were afrai
their people would become so scattere
that they could not protect them
selves from the assaults of an enein;
Thus they wanted to build great cit. |
and tower which would be a centra
magnet to hold them together But |
God intended them not to stay to |
gether. Therefore in furnishing them
for the defiance they displayed in |
building the tower he provided fo'
their dispersion. 1t is always futile te
resist Gods plans The disciples were
hidden at the ascension to preach the
gospel through the world and to tarry |
In Jerusalem only till they had re
ceived power, but they tarried until |
means were taken to disDerse them. A
great persecution arose. and they, too |
were scattered abroad. So with us-if |
we delay to 60 forth to preach whe1 |
we are hidden we are liable to be made |
SO uncomfortable that we shall be glad |
to go.
Lastly. what lesson this teaches t. |
those of us who are trusting In our |
selves and rejecting the gospel! When |
we are striving to establish our owl |
righteousness we are upbuilding a tow |
er for our safety. That is not Cod. |