The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-10-24
By WnLIAM 4. ELLIS.

There Is a popular picture of the
crucifixion which does not show the
actual crosses OF their victims at all,
tut lying athwart the hill Of Calvary
beneath the feet of John and Mary and
the surrounding. crowd appear the
shadows of the three crosses. The
power of the picture lies in what it
suggest rather than what it tells. 1t
suggests rather than what it tells. 1t
not equal to depicting that supreme
tragedy itself In a somewhat similar
fashion, this Psalm of Penftenee which
is assigned for present STUDY, reVeais
the shadow of David's great SIM since
1t would not be well to concentrate
the gaze of Sunday school scholars up
on the henious offense itself.
There is no theme in the Holy Writ
upon which it is easier to gather Illus
trations from contemporaneouS hfe
than this one of great sinner surfer
ing from deep remorse- The reader
may turn to the other pages OF the
present issue of this paper, and he VIII
find some illustration OF the awfulneSS
of san. What shame and sorrow ana
crime follow in the trail OF this part1c-
ular SIN OF David's. Every day 1t hurls
victims into suicides graves 1t puts
the black demon of fear upon the
backs Of men 1t extinguishes the sun
of innocence. and blots out LIES beam
ty. IT crowds the divorce courts OF
the land 1t drives mothers and wives
into the slammed seclusion of broken
feartedness- Plainly, we do not have
to turn to dusty commentaries 10 md
lessons from the sin Of David.
The King Can Do No Wrong.
David at this time was in the hey
day of his success. He was eminent as
monarch and as servant OF Jeho-
yah. If he were to fail, it would be
like. some Of the crashing disaster of
recent American history, wherein men
have toppled from positions of highest
RELIGIOUS trust. 1t must not be forgot
desires wandered
before his feet. He had given free
course to evil imaginations, and they
led him to captivity. He, like many
another man since, thought that ne
had a right to indulge his evil medita-
tions and his wandering. desires What
a revelation it would be If we could
see the pictures painted on the cham-
bers of Imagery or the people with
whom we touch shoulders every day!
There is nothing more terrible in mod
ern life than the occasional glimpse
we sometimes catch of the charnel
houses that exist in some human
minds The essential fallacy of the
present popular teaching that life is
all sweetness and beauty, and that man
is as divine as God, is shown by the
actual facts of any neighborhood.
Teachers of this sort of philosophy
need to spend half an hour IN intimate
relation with the life IN any shop, or
mill or clubhouse, or place of free
and informal concourse.
If a person can persuade himself
that it Is right to give rein TO his i'm
agfuation. he finds little difficulty in
believing that II is safe to follow his
dream by his deed. Whether David
convinced himself by any such reason
ing as that 1.-THE king can do no wrong
we cannot know Certainly he proved
to be an eminent exponent of the mod
ern fad of the sovereignty of desire
by which route enter nowadays short
lived "affinities," while welded wives
.1~f.~ fNFt h. door OnT
modern kings, the rich men and their
sons. who think that they have a right
to all that their eyes desire, constitute
one Of the gravest problems OF our
more prophets would rise to point a
finger of personal condemnation at
these powerful sinners, who feel them
selves above the moral law.
''Be Sure Your Sim
BY a perversion of the word of wis
dom, IT is popularity taught that sin
will always be found out. Now this is
not so, even though it is true that sin
generally is found out. More impOr-
tant is the teaching of the Scripture,
which is BE sure your sin will find
you out" This is a different matter
altogether, and far more serious What
a neighbor thinks concerning your
conduct is of small weight as com
pared with what your own conscience
will think Remorse, like a grinnine
fiend, will confront you night and day;
It will haunt your feats and mock your
rnerriment, and you will be ready to
cry with smitten David; MY sin is
ever before me-" This profound truth
has been a popular theme with some
of the worlds greatest writers. II
runs through Shakespeare, Milton
Dante and Hawthorne. Most of all is
1t found in the daily newspaper. There
is scarcely a week passed without some
tragic incident creeping into print, OF
q victim of remorse being driven into
confession or the mad house.
The Escape from Torment.
have watched the sad-faced pill
grims at Benares making that 40 mile
round of shrfnes. I have seen then
descend the bathing CHATS and lave in
filthy pools; and perform rites with
offerings and oblations. All this does
not necessarily mean what we fire.
ouently read into it, but it does NEAR
that for these Hindus existence is hard
joyIess and intolerable, a burden tC
beeScaped. OF all the faiths of heath
endom the best offers nothing better
than a final merging into an imperso-
nal Nirvana- They present no such re-
demption as constitutes the supreme
glory of the Christian religion.
For Jehovah forgives sins. That 4
the unique characteristic of our faith
To David it came like a great and glo
rious discovery. He learned, as he LAY
roaring beneath the strokes of tn,
punishment of conscience and Provi
dence, that with Jehovah IS forgive
ness and mercy. God, he found, will
blot out sin, and remove it as far a
the East Is from the West; and he will
remember IL no more. This is tn
gospel OF peace: Let the wicked for
sake his way and the unrighteous mai
his thoughts; and let him return unit
Jehovah and he win have mercy upo1
him; and to our God. for he vii
abundantly pardon"