The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1908-11-07

oLlu6 lucm UdCA ~ IuC &WOISulp VI luS
true God" he urged wistfully to him.
self n day as he pondered ever the
situation. After all, l am glad that
Johanan laid violent hands upon me
and dragged me thither, for l alone
remain faithful to God. Oh, that He
would give me his message to speak"
but Of what use is it to speak? .
came a voice from within.
Yea, l know it seems futile" he
admitted dejectedly, "but that is no
reason why l should not speak. 1t
is not for me to withhold because the
ground into which the seed falls is
hard and unproductive. Woe is me If
/ cry not out against the iniquities Of
my people. Oh, God, give me thy mes
sage"
The heart that feels the overburden-
Ing desire to know Gods word and to
speak it, never fails of receiving Di-
vine enlightenment, and the opportu-
nifty OF D~eLUItin& Ii,
God. So it was with Jeremiah. Gods
message came to him, and he went
forth to speak it.
The first one he encountered was
Johanan himself, who had come long
since to treat the prophet with a sort
Of gOod-natured Indifference. Had not
the comfort and apparent prosperity
with which the Jews now found them
selves surrounded more than justified
the wisdom Of his move in taking the
people into Egypt? He had nothing
further to fear from the influence Of
Jeremiah over the people. Had not
the prophets dire warnings been unful-
filled thus far? And was there any
likelihood that they would ever be full
filled? And feeling thus, it vas with
supreme satisfaction that he had seer
Jeremiah passing from place to place
where the Jews had their dwelling
place. He'll learn a thing or two"
Johanan had chuckled to himself.
And jeremiah had learned a thing
Or two, but not the thing OF two which
JOhanan had had in mind. jeremiah,
indeed, had observed the prosperity Of
the Jews, but it had only appeared
like Almost horrible thing, being roth
ing more nor less than the purchase
price of their souls. And as we have
already said, he had observed the
utter abandon of the people to the
idolatrous practices of the Egyptians,
had agOniZed over it in prayer to God,
and now was going forth with his
message from God. And the first per-
SOL whom he CHANGED to meet as he
set forth upon his new mission was
Johanan himself.
His first impulse was to turn from
him as from one accursed of God, but
instantly there came the thought:
set not the bounds upon Gods
grace, neither do thou become judge
in Gods place"
Humbly he turned and addressed
himself to JOhanan, pouring out such
a message of e%ntreaty and condemna-
ton upon sin as to fairly make the
man writhe in the turmoil Of conflict
ing emotions and an accusing con
science. But when Jeremiah came to
the evil which God would GER
tainly bring upon the people because
of their sins, a contemptuous sheer
curled the lips of Johanan, and, as he
away, he exclaimed:
Thou ever prophesieth evil, but
good cometh to us. Thou art indeed a
false prophet"
Nothing daunted, Jeremiah passed
from place to place, speaking to the
TnUo onI nO}ntfno RI tho 6nQnlqtinn IF
Jerusalem and Judea as the EVIL
dences of Gods certain punishment
upon sin and declaring that God had
saying, Il will punish them
that dwell In the land of Egypt, as l
lave punished Jerusalem, by the
thence; SO that none Of the remnant
Of Judah, which are gone into the
and Of Egypt to s~ojourn there, shall
escape or remain, that they should re-
urn into the land Of judah, to the
which they have a desire to return to
1well there; for none shall return but
such as shall escape"
But, however much JOhanan pro
'essed to be Indifferent to the prophet,
ne had a lurking fear of the influence
ne might exert yer the people, and
80, as the prophet went about deliver
ng his message, he followed him,
seeking to unity the people against the
prophet. How well he succeeded was
when the men all came to-
and made answer to Jeremiah
n these words:
LAS for the word that thou hast
spoken unto us in the name OF the
Lord, we will not hearken unto thee.
DIT VIC will corfainlv do W~hatSQRYAr |