The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1909-04-09


Blessed is the man who has been rec
onciled to his heavenly Father, who
has returned like the prodigal to his
Fathers love.
turn now to the dark side of the
picture. How few of us have kept
this early joy, and have continued in
| know the story of the lost chord? A
light, when her heart was sad, gently
touched the keys of a glorious organ.
She did not know or care What she
was playing; her fingers fingered idly
but caressingly upon the keys. Sud-
denly she struck chord, and its won
drous melody as it filled the room
was uplifting and transforming aud
heavenly.
1t flooded the crimson twilight,
Like the close of an angels psalm,
And it lay on her fevered spirit
With the touch of infinite calm.
1t quieted pain and sorrow,
Like love overcoming strife;
1t seemed the harmonious echo
From our discordant life.
It linked all perplexed meanings
Into one perfect peace.
And trembled away in silence,
As if it were 10th to cease.
Something disturbed this woman
and called her from the organ. AS
soon as possible she hurried back and
began to play, but this divine chord
was gone, and though she kept on
playing she could not bring it back
again.
How similar to our experience as
the children of God and yet how op-
posite! Many of us have lost our
peace, our joy, our rapture, but bless
God, we can all have this heavenly
music in our souls again, if we are
willing, for God is willing to heal our
backsliding. Backsliding is so COM
mon among Christians as to be almost
universal. OF course, there are diff
ferent degrees of backsliding. Some
have gone only little way, while
others have gone so far that the re-
turn will be difficult, but thank God,
not impossible.
First of all, let us consider how
men become backsliders. The word
itself is significant. To go forward
requires effort, to go backward re-
quires no effort at all. In the Chris
tian life, if you cease to go forward
you will inevitably go backward.
This backsliding always begins in the
heart. We may go on for time in
the outward performance of duty, in
the ceaseless round of Christian &C.
Invites, while in our hearts these
things are growing more and more
distasteful. The heart may therefore
be in wrong relation to a given thing,
while our actions may be perfectly ex-
emplary. But God knows that that
man is backslider, and he knows it
himself. Whether others know it
matters very little. But after a time
all men will know it, for the back
slider in heart generally becomes the
hackslider in life. 1t is very hard for
men to continue long in hypocrisy.
Ordinarily mans outward life is the
expression of his inner life A mans
character may be better than his rep
utation, or mans reputation may be
better than his character, but ordi-
narily reputation and character agree.
We call the uncouth and uncivil "dia-
monds in the rough"
We constantly say of the man who
sins with his tongue, "Well, you
know, he is very hasty and impetuous,
and often says things which he does
not mean" But God says these
things have their origin in the heart,
and from the heart flow outward.
When our conduct becomes bad. it is
because we have already been back
sliders in our hearts. Then bad leads
to worse. Like Peter, we begin "to
follow the Lord afar off," and this in
evitably leads to the denial of our
Master. You remember that when
the Master was taken captive He was
Immediately forsaken by His apostles.
Then began the procession from Gath-
semane to the judgment hall The
Master walked alone His weary way.
He trod the wine-press alone. The
shadow OF the cross had already
fallen athwart His pathway. But
after q little while two of the apostles
summon up courage and follow the
company. One of these was John,
and he walked as close to Jesus as he
possibly could. But Peter did not
have the courage to do that, so he
Jagged behind, or, as the record says,
"he followed afar Off When the
company reached the judgment hall,
John went in with Jesus, but Peter,
struggling in late, dared not go there,
but with shamefacedness sat out in
the court and warmed himself by the
fire. Step by step he had led to his
own undoing. The servants jeered
him and tainted him, until he grew
profane and blasphemous, and de-
clared that he never knew Jesus of
Nazareth. Had he followed close to
the Master, the presence of Jesus
would have sustained and strength
ened him, in the companionship of
John he would have found courage,
and he would have been saved from
the influence of the evil company
which proved his ruin. Is not this
the proper diagnosis of many sin-sick
souls among US? Is not this the
exact history of your backsliding?
You began by sheer neglect. You did
not commit outward positive sins,
but you neglected the means of grace,
You were startled when you recog-
lized the growing Indifference in your
heart. Bible reading became irk-
some, and you no longer delighted in
private prayer. In the meantime
your devotion to business or pleasure
caused you to give up the prayer
meeting. Then you became irregular
on Sunday evenings, and gradually
you dropped out of all church attend
ance, In the meantime you were