The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-08-17


 even of one who could reveal its se- crets. would not at all help them do their duty.
 The text then (and remember. they are Christ's own wordsl teaches US one of the most important and farreaching truths of practical Ghyistian life. It Is this kand how directly 1t applies to us alb, the use we made of the light We have is an lpfeliibie test. proef of the use we would make of more light if we had it. To be sure the devil, delude us into believing otherwise. And so we ind ourselves often arguing: If we only had other opportunities," If only the conditions of our life were different if we did not have this diffi- culty or that difficulty to contend with. how easy it would be to serve the Mas ter faithfully, and to be good Chris tians. This Is but q scheme of the devil to make us more satisfied with ourselves. which simply means making us more and more his. No. remember the truth expressed in the text: If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead" This Is but another way of saying that if we do not heed the will of God and obey His laws now known to us, If we do not
 
 would not act differently even if God should reveal more of His will and His laws and vouehsafe HIS grace in greater abundance.
 But, with the perverseness of human nature, we seek to put this Divinely given truth aside, and, In order to jus- tify our indifference self-rlghteousness, sinfulness. as the case may be. we claim for ourselves if only some sign from heaven should appear, or if God would give us further proof of His pur- poses. or If we had some awful warn Ing from the grave. why, then, would we become better Christians. To be sure. this feeling may not always take the form just indicated. yet, that is it's real meaning. The result Is that there are everywhere many persons waiting for other conditions. other opportuni- ries, before they will turn to Christ in faith and penitence and amendment of life.
 Of course, should some startling event come into their lives, it would doubt- lesS have slight effect for a time. There might be a change even. for a little while. But would it last? Would 1t have any real depth and genuine ness7 Suppose there should come to us a great shock Gas one rising from the dead. for instance), 1t could have hO SA0AAtS6 GLLCChg OCNauGG ll WQulu be external only outside of us, and we passive recipients merely. And this means, although those forces which controls the will tand therefore con- ductl. might be startled. shocked. they would not be turned permanently into the right direction. In word, the Inner springs of our being would un- dergo no change. and hence, of course we ourselves would not be changed.
 We should beware lest we mako the fatal mistake of fancying that a start ling and exteriNr event (which is ad :. dressed to the imagination or the senses). could change the heart. out of which come the issues of life and death. If the heart be wilfuny un- holy or indifferent. 1t cannot be terri lied Into holiness or into earnestness For time. there may be no outward manifestations, but the real seat of evil, the unholy or indifferent heart within. remains tho same. The sur face of life may have been stirred, but the depths have been untouched, for. as our good sense tells us. the depths of our being. the secret soul, can be reached only through the faithful and habitual use of the means of grace we already have. How essential, then, to our eternal salvation, for us to real ize the principle contained in the text. and which bears vitally upon daily fife and conduct everywhere and always!
 Let us, therefore, men and brethren pray continually for grace and strength to ure the light We have, the means of salvation, and not allow the devil to delude us into waiting for more. or waiting for some strange and startling experience. with Ghe vain hope our duties as Christian men and women will lessen in number or bacome easier in the doing. Let us thoroughly