The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1909-05-13

<H<&>1l 90 llttie BOOu. III
a citizen has no
faith in the gov
eminent he is apt to resist its author
ity and cut himself of from its bless
ings. II the child has no faith in the
parent there is little chance of the
parents molding the ehilds character
for good. Everything that Is worth
saving is saved by faith. Take awsy
faith In the government. In the fam
lily, in the bank. in the railroad cor.
poration, in the church and these iu-
situations will fall TO pieces of their
own weight. Faith is the cement that
binds their parts together.
Now, God applies this universal prin-
ciple to the realm of salvation. We
are saved by faith. Without faith God
can be neither physician, father nor
king. Unbelief destroys the channel
of blessing. Let us study the faith OF
Bartimeus in Mark 0:46-52 and we
will see the kind OF faith that saves
Faith That Realizes.
1t is a faith that realizes fits true
condition. Bartimeus was a beggar
and blind. He had doubtless known
better days. The fact that his ia
Their. Timeus, is mentioned suggests
that his family may have been one
of note. He might have come to Christ
and commended himself on the ground
of his former wealth and position In
society. He might have said; 1t Is
true that l am a beggar, but l am not
one of the common beggars; there is
good blood in my veins. I am proud
of my ancestors" There was no mas
querading in false finery. He came in
the rags of a beggar; he made a beg.
CARS plea. He was willing to confess
what he was.
And until the sinner has that sort
OF faith in himself he is not apt TO
have saving faith In Christ.
Faith That Inquiries.
II is a faith that inquiries. Bartim.
Gus heard the stir that Christ was
making among the people. There was
crowd surging along the highway
after him. Hearing the multitudes
pass by. he asked what ii meant The
multitude then, as now, are interested
in Jesus. The common people heard
him gladly"
He has made a stir In the world.
II we will listen we can hear in his
tory the tramp of the multitude that
follow him. In the literary world his
name inspires the best prose and POI
etry. In the world OF fine art the
name of Jesus has inspired the finest
paintings, the sweetest music and the
grandest architecture. When Haydn
was old he attended a concert at which
his own masterpiece, THE Creation"
was sung. II begins, you know. with
q representation Of chaos and dark
ness. by grating sounds and some dis
cordant notes; then Let there be
light" bursts upon the audience in a
very cyclone of melody. When this
point was reached the old musician,
unable to contain his feelings, arose
and pointed upward. as IL to say:
THAT came from God" So the mas
tiers of music. painting and architec-
ture might point to Christ as the au-
thor OF their highest inspirations.
Faith That Prsys.
1t is a faith that prays: Jesus,
thou Son of David, have mercy on
me- He pleads no merit: he recog.
nizes guilt somewhere. Whether his
blindness was a result OF sin we know
not; but he knew that he was a sin.
ner at heart. The spirit that makes
light OF sin fosters blindness OF soul.
The spirit that confesses sin shows
true nobility.
Faith That Is Dependent.
1t is faith that expresses its great
need. Jesus said; What wilt thou
that l should do unto thee?" He
might have replied: Give me some
money, Lord. that l may be relieved
for several days. at least, from beg
ging; give me home and friends to
take care of me-" Bartimeus was
wiser than that. He knew that his
deepest need was not money, or cloth
ing. or shelter. but sight. His poverty
was the result of his blindness, and IL
the blindness can be cured everything
else might be remedied Prayer is
deepest needs should be satisfied first.
Let us put first what God has put
first. Soul sight is our deepest need.
May we be satisfied with nothing less
than the best that Christ can give US.
Victory for Georgia Prohibition.
Judge Newman OF the United States
circuit court in Atlanta recently re-
fused to consider petition attacking
the constitutionality of the Georgia
r,rnhfhfffon laW Tho emit xuoo hro,,uht