The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-09-16
9aturday Digit
@oIkc By Rev. F. E. DAWSON
/uhtAS Rutland, VI
Observation-Disclosures
THE KING SITTING IN JUDGMENT.
international Bible Lesson for Oct
is, '1o-(Matt. 25:31-4e).


to its mother the first rude attempt
to make something, to the time when
the old man folds his weary hands
upon his breast and lies down for his
last sleep, everybody works for the
test of Judgment.
The parent, the teacher, the en-
ployer. the auditor, are but so many
Judges sitting upon the throne of au-
thority to pass Judgment upon our
work and to condemn and punish, or
approve and reward thu worker.
Every day is a day of Judgment. Every
act is being canvassed, weighed, In
vestigated, scrutinized, condemned or
approved, and there is no person to
whom this does not apply. 1t is as
universal as the race, as far-reaching
as the human family.
Not Incredible,
Why should II be thought thing
incredible therefore that God should
appoint day In which He shall judge
the world as TO spiritual values and
moral Qualities7 In view of all the
facts of life every one feels instinc-
lively that the conditions of the uni
verse demand a time when wrongs
shall all be righted, when injustice
shall be overthrown and iniquity
punished, when vice shall be unmask-
ed and virtue crowned, when the
sheep and the goats shall be sepa-
rated, finally and irrevocably. If it
were not to be so. the suffering hui
man heart would break, and the race
would sink down into the belief that
a cast iron God was seated on the
throne OF the universe, whom to wor-
ship would be a mockery and TO in
woke a blasphemy.
Fighting of Wrongs.
In the teaching of this lesson, ut
tered by our Lord two days before He
stood a prisoner at the bar of Plate,
the fact Is unequivocally stated that
the hour is coming when every wrong
thing will be Strengthened out, when
every right thing will be enthroned,
when every iniquity will feel the lash
of justice and every righteous deed
will be proclaimed and applauded
that men, angels and devils may fully
understand. In that day the nations
will be judged, the individuals will be
Judged, the thoughts and intents of
all hearts will be Judged and all men
from the least to the greatest will re-
cording to what they have done,
whether It be good or bad.
In other words, the record of every
individual Is to be scrutinized and
passed upon. And the judgment is to
be based upon Just one essential thing
conduct 1t is not said that he will
put the rich on his right hand, and
the poor on his left; the noble on his
right hand and the despised ON his
left; the learned on his right hand
and the illiterate on his left; but the
godly on his right hand and the un-
godly on his left All other divisions
and subdivisions will then be abol,
ished; but the great distinction Of
men into those who have done good
and those who have done evil will re-
main forever.
Judgment Satisfactory.
But mark you, this investigation
and scrutiny will be made by the King
Himself And therefore ii will be
universally satisfactory. The infer.
ence is that many will be surprised
TO discover that He is aware of every
good deed they have done, and others
will be overwhelmed to discover that
He knows the occasions when they
failed to do good deed through
stubborness of heart. The inference
is emphatic that no faith but that
which proves itself by works can Sc
cure a title to the Kingdom of Heav
en-. II a man has real faith his works
will demonstrate it; if he has no good
works his claim to have faith will
avail him nothing in that day.
A person might claim to be able tC
paint a picture, carve a statue, write
a poem, but II he never did 1t. his
claim would amount to nothing. 81
q man may claim all the graces of {
Christian life, but IL he cannot point
10 the exhibition of those graces Il
Christian living his claim is a sham
In the judgment no man will hav'
the audacity TO claim Christian char
acter II in the record of his life ther'
is no account OF good deeds accom-
plished.
Thus II will happen that many PEG
pie who have been considered hereto
on earth will be crowned in heaven
and many who have hypocriticall.
held high places will go down L
shame and everlasting contempt. Tn
lesson is plain, he who truly loves an
helps man. out OF unselfish sympath
proves that he loves God also, for h
does over again the work that Chris
Himself did when He was here o
earth and He says. '1nasmuch as y
did It unto one Of the least OF thes
any brethren, ye have done It unto me.
Good Works the Test.
Evidently We shah have TO revis
our Ideas OF the sheep and the goat
for according TO these words of Chris
only He who knows the heart is abl
to distinguish them. Men have eve
been swift To judge their fellows an
70 put their ecclesiastical tags o
those whom they approve. It is tn
most natural thing in the world I