Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1910-01-05

vows OHtO Tie LOIO Sdllu CANl, w
q Peseech You, Brethren. by the Mercies
tf God, That Ye Present Your Bodies Living !:
Sacrifice, Holy and Acceptable Unto Cod and /:
Your Reasonable Service Romans XII, y. /
Once made and accepted by the Lord
through the importation of the holy
Spirit, it cannot be annulled But why
should we wish to annul the Vow?
Why should anyone who puts his hand
to the plow look back? To use the
Apostles Illustration, why should the
SOW that was washed return to wal
lowing in the mire? Why should we.
after having renounced the world and
received the begetting of the holy Spir-
it, and after having tasted of the good
Word of God and the powers of the
Age to come, lose the precious taste
and appreciation of these, and return
in craving to the beggarly elements of
the world? Surely there are no good
reasons for so doing. Surely the joys
of the present life, as we'll as the hopes
of the Kingdom to come, all should en-
courage US to fully set our affections
on things above and not on the things
beneath"
The world. the flesh and the Adver-
sary-aH exercise influences contrary
to our Vow or Resolution to the Lord
to be dead to the world and to self
that we may be alive with Christ and
| share his glory--suffer with him, that
we may reign with him. The poet has
expressed the proper thought here, say
ing,
MY soul. be on thy guard,
Ten Thousand foes arise:
The hosts Of sin are pressing hard
To draw thee from the prize
Much Of our success in keeping our
Vow of Conservation depends upon
two things:
a. The clearness of our grasp of the
! situation when we made our Vow and
the th0roughness of our intention; the
amount or weight thereof; the VIII
| power eXerted for righteousness.
! (2) An additional feature Of great
weight in the matter is the degree Of
our knowledge. 1t is in line with this
thought that the Scriptures declare,
My people perish for lack of knowI-
! edge" God has given us his Word
and Informed us that it is profitable
| for doctrine, for reproOf and for cor
rection in righteousness, that the man
Of God may be thoroughly furnished -
He has advised US to search the Scrip,
lures and to forget not the assem-
bling of ourselves together And
where his advice is followed and the
Scriptures are searched daily, not in
formal nannSr, but with desire to
know and to do the Lords will and to be
guided in his way. Strengthening OF
the will is effected. Correspondingly
there is a weakening of the evil in
fiuences which oppose US as New Crea
1 lures and our Vow. The Word of God
is so arranged as to provide meat in
due season" for all of his faithful PEG
pie, whether old or young, in every
time. AS ''babes in Christ" as young
men and as full-grown sons of God, il
is for each of us storehouse of Grace
and Truth, to make US strong In the
Lord and in the power Of his might
Only by appropriating this spiritua
Vow, to finish our course with joy an(
to attain the Kingdom. Item by item
as our minds are able to grasp it's un
folding prospects of glory, honor and
immortality. we are thereby strength
ened by the Lords might in the inne
man.
In proportion as we realize the fact
| Of ho 0iaf Nx-ho :
great bargain the Lord has offered us
We surrender in conservation on
earthly rights, privileges and pleasures
and receive In return more happifyin,
spiritual blessings in the present lif
and the inheritance of the unspeakabl
blessings and glories Of the future.
should, therefore, become much NOR
easy to pay our Vows with willing
heart, as we grow in grace and Il
knowledge of the Lord and his Word
Indeed, as the Apostle suggests. it i
possible for us to reach the place wher
we can rejoice In tribulation also"-
knowing that thereby our future bless
ing is increased.
"What Shall Render?
AS the consecrated believer consid
ers what God has already done. ant
what he proposes yet to do for hi
faithful, gratitude wells up in his hear
and his inquiry is, What shall rem
der unto the Lord for all his benefits 2
The more he considers the matter, the
more he realizes that his talents anC
opportunities are necessarily small. in
significant. 1t is from this standpoint,
that the poet wrote. 20 for thousand
tongues to sing my great Redeemer's
praise"
It is well indeed to show our appre
citation Of Gods grace by songs OF
.hankfulness and praise, but we are te
remember that not merely poetic ca
1ences are our acceptable songs, but
that from the proper standpoint life
itself is the proper hymn Of praise tc
ho ooUtiunollv roudarod 70 tho Z{po