Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-12-11

argue with the preacher, but we car
not get far away from the Lords
prayer.
Much language is wasted in prayer
There is much disposition Christian
| disposition, as we must admit--to EN-
ploy prayer as an exercise in oratory
and at the end of our own struggle tic
fall back on the copy left by Jesus
taught us TO say. The preceding words
IN the text are overlooked.
And when thou prayest, enter into
thy closet and when thou has shut the
secret; and thy Father which seeth in
secret shall reward thee openly.
/ But when We pray. use not vain
repetitions, as the heather do; for they
think they shall be heard for their much
| speaking.
BE not We therefore like unto them
for your Father knoweth what things
We have need of, before We ask him.
The great sermon on the Mount was
not preceded by prayer. Do you re-
member the first words? HE opened his
mouth and taught them, saying, Bless
ed are the poor in spirit; for their is
the kingdom of heaven" Not that they
shall enter into the kingdom of heaven
but that the kingdom of heaven is al
ready theirs. There is nearness in
that; and from that kingdom of heaven
they have. the riches of life, in what
ever circumstance they may be. RE
joice, and be exceeding glad: for great
! is your reward in heaven
For 1 say unto you. That except
your righteousness shall exceed the
Righteousness of the scribes and phar-
isees. We shall in no case enter into the
kingdom of heaven
Neither shall they say. 10 here. or
10 there. for behold, the kingdom OF
God is within you"
This brings everything. be it good or
evil, close home. Righteousness is
from within, and evil is from within
The Father which is in heaven can not
save us from ourselves. We may open
the door and bid the spirit of His peace
come in, or we may close it and shut
the spirit out. If we will, the king
dom of heaven may have home within
US; and we may see its fruits and have
nourishment from them; and we may
take our way among its flowers and re-
joice in the love of God
To be sure. we are weak: there are
strong currents against which we must
contend; but the love of God. adopted
into the life is equal TO all things But
God and the devil can not sit on the
throne of our life at the same time
We can not serve two masters. NO
man can serve two masters; for either
he will hate the one, and love the
other; or else he will hold to the one
and despise the other. Ye can not
serve God and mammon." If that be
a hardship, nevertheless it is the truth !;
and the truth alone can make US free.
I'VE are disposed to think if we have
periodical penitence in the company of
headache or some consequence of sin,
we can get forgiveness for our debts
for the asking, and thereupon proceed
to contract other debts which we may
bring as a heavy burden at another
time That is the foolishness of wick
edness. If the prayer Is answered it
must come from within. and the dis
charge must come from the monarch
Of the life within, or there can be no
discharge.
No one can wrong God or his fellow
man by appropriating to himself the
kingdom Of heaven. There is enough
and to spare; for the love of God is
| infinite.
If the kingdom Of God is within us
we may know it by it's fruits. We shall
have the spirit teaching US humbly
to pray that our debts be forgiven. "as
we forgive our debtors" We shall
pray that as we do by others we may
be done by; and we shall thus pray
because of hearts desire for a better
world, and not alone that we ourselves
may be safeguarded from the wicked
ness of it. We need to live within our
selves, and yet we need TO live for
others. 1t will add to the glory of the
kingdom within if its light shall be an
example, and if therefrom other lights
shall break forth, putting away dark
ness and making luminous the way in
which we greet our neighbors. Let
your light so shine before men, that
they may see your good works, and
glorify your Father which is in heav-
en-"
AS we hope to be forgiven, we must
forgive. If we accept forgiveness and
do not in turn forgive, we are cheats;
we are robbers of the worst type. We
are confidence men of the most de-
spicable character. We are hypocrites
of rhc u f,,lx .
for forgiveness and withhold from an
other that for which we pray for our
selves. The prayer that is answered
must be answered from within.
| Our debts are many. At the very
best not many of these debts can be
| liquidated. Our debts have come down
to us thru all the centuries of time.
Every righteous life that has 61nade
| struggle has placed US under obliga-
ton. Every good thing wrought out
! of the centuries Is a debt against US.
How can We pay anything? We can
only pay by giving something to our
time, and thus in leaving something
| OF good to those who shall battle on
when We are gone. And how can we
do most? We can do most for God
and man and for ourselves by setting
up within us the kingdom OF God, and
| by keeping trimmed and burning the
| lights thereof. is this sacrifice? It is
not sacrifice, unless it be it is sacrifice
to have home in heaven-even the
eternal home, where the wicked cease
from troubling, and the weary be at
rest.
l.
passes your heavenly Father will also
| fnrQiun Won.