The Penn's Grove record., 1910-03-04
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wrought by the little foxes. The man
who stole a nickel is as great a thief
as the man who stole a million? No,
not that. AS great a transgressor
against the State? No, not that. But
he is as great a transgressor against
conscience; as mean a transgres-
sor against the beauty of Christian
Mr.. Beecher says 1t is not
necessary to strike a mirror with a
hammer to smash it, nor is it nee
essary to be a highwayman to destroy
the moral sense. To ruin the mirror
1t is only necessary to go behind it
and scratch the quicksilver with a
pin again and again-a little Of it
and ONE tomorrow, till
it refuses to reflect. So of the thou
sand little wrongs We do. They take
the worth from the kingly conscience,
and rob it of use and value. 1t is
not necessary ven to scratch a mirror
to render it worthless; just let it
stand in an undusted room till the
dust lies deep, and nothing will be
seen in its face. So men al let the
maxims of the world sift through the
life and settle into the thoughts, and
they will be unable to discern be-
tween good and bad. Or n can
breathe upon a mirror till its worth
is dulled, and a man can breathe up
on his life with selfish thought till
he will fail to see the right. / tell
you that God has set in every life a
sacred monitor, and when that is de-
faced and broken, or even dulled,
then there is ruin.
So much for the lives of all. But
if the little foxes are ruinous to fields
at large, they are especially so to
some. And if the little sins are nox-
ious to the public, they are especially
so to those who are Christians. Thank
God that even a great sin cannot de-
stroy a Christian person, because he
is of God! AS Maclaren says, "Sin
is not incompatible with a Christian
man, but even a little sin is incon-
sistent." And a little sin can make
him miserable and spoil his joy in
tian people who do not see their Say
tours face from n months n to
another.
The Christians life should be rich,
and his joy should be full. His word
should be frank and his manner sin
cere. In everything he does there
should be a heavenly worth; and yet
there are Christians who have no JOY,
and their ways are not always sincere.
They do excellent things, but not al
way with an excellent spirit; and
their good is in evil repute. They
are kind to their friends, but are not
even the publicans so? They ought
also to be kind to those who despite
fully use them. They speak well OF
those who speak well of them, but
when they speak of others they mix
vitroil with their words. They are
hard and unforgiving and censorious,
and they think it is superior right
eousness; whereas it is religious van
ity. The truly Christian soul Is a
fountain of kindness, filed with gen.
tie ways and it will go out OF its way
to show its heart of love.
The Christian life is an e~xtraordin-
airy life, and the Christian part of liv-
ing is the part which is over and
above all that could be expected. And
virtue begins with excess OF duty.
There Is no virtue in compulsory
obedience. If a thing is done because
it cannot be helped, there is 10 re-
ward. And there is no credit in
obedience which has no choice. Here
are Christian people: If they only
worship when it is the easiest thing
to do: if they only go to the hurch
they like best; if they only speak to
those whom they like; if they only
say encouraging words when they are
forced to do so-then their lives will
become as barren as though they
pulled their virtues up by the roots.
To uppre the soul to narrow limits
and to cramp the spirit is a spiritual
sin. and this in a Christian soul Is as
evil as falsehood and blasphemy and
drunkenness in other people.
Not all wickedness is in worldly
peopIe. nor in those who stay outside
Of our churches. Religion trans
forms the life, and it's work is not
done when outward wrongs are aban-
doned, unless the inner habit OF the
life is as sincere as that OF Jesus.
And there are little foxes that ruin
Paradise Regained.
What, then, can be done with d
lives of all? How can the vineyard
be kept? There is only one answer.
There is no power to expel evil put
in the magic name of Christ. And l
tell you that He breaks the power OF
Cancelled sins and sets the prisoner
free. He coverts the heart tina has
been torn by beasts, for He will cast
out the evil and repair the ruin. Is
any mans life like a vineyard de-
stroyed? He will make that desert
to blossom as the garden of the Lord:
Find me the worst man, and point an
his ruin, and know that Jesus seeks
him because he is most unfit.
But what about the Christian lie
across which the little evils run? Can
that be beautified? 1t can be made
the most beautiful thing in all the
universe, without spot or wrinkle, OF
any such thing-a life without a
Flemish. as perfect as the life oil
Jesus. as holy as that of the Father
above. This is u high ideal, and
in a universe where God is holy moth
ing less can be the end of righteous
ness. We are to be perfect as God
is perfect. 1t would not be possible
for Him to expect less OF us; and
blessed be God, He has bestowed the
mower for this perfection. We live
below this level, and the missing ele-
ment in our goodness is Christ-llke-
ness. We bear His name, but keep
back half the price. There are null
titudes like that in every church
good people, pious and full of excel
lent works. but they lack the highest
beauty, Their vineyards are oyerrun
with little ills. Arm yourselves, take
up the foxes, the little foxes that
spoil the vines. Drive out the wrongs,
the little wrongs that ruin n
life: capture the thoughts and bring
them into captivity to the obedience
of Christ. And know that we are
possessed of the nature divine, and
we ought to live as b children I
God; and that without holiness no
man shall see Him"
Be Not Cast Down.