The Penn's Grove record., 1912-11-29

WFNN purity which IS the condition
Wv OF the most radiant beatitudeF
Perhaps II we seek analogies
In nature, and see the use of the word
IN some remote relationships. it may
help US to clarity our conception Of
what a life is like that is pure in the
slght of God. Here then is a land
that has been purged of monsters. The
beast has been driven out. We have
a vivid description of the emancipation
OF one of the earlier "Idylls of the
King. The beasts would creep down
to the homesteads and steal and de-
stroy. They were a perpetual menace
TO quiet living. A crusade was ap-
pointed for the destruction of the de-
stroyer, and the land was cleared of
lts foes. Now such an area, rid Of
masterful beast, was a purified
realm. And surely in the fields Of the
soul there are beasts OF prey. There
Is the lion OF passion, the serpent OF
envy, the bear of boorishness. the fox
OF deceit, and many others which find
their home and their ~sustenance in the
holy place, writes DR.. ]. H. Jowett in
The Continent.
And to get rid of these beasts, to
let the ape and tiger die" would be to
create a condition in human life which
would reflect one characteristic Of the
purified state.
Purity's Crystal Transparency.
Let me take another analogy. Wa
ter that is free from all sediment, that
is clear and transparent, rejecting
every pebble OF the river bed, could
be described as pure. Everything is
lucid and lucent. Nothing is shady.
Nothing is hiding in a muddy cloud.
1t Is pure. And here, too, 1 may find
suggestion of the purified life. The
soul that Is clean and clear IN the
sight Of God has nothing dubious
about its character, nothing shady and
nothing muddy; there is nothing hid
ing in the folds of duplicity. Tie char
acter is transparent like the sea of
glass which the great seer gazed upon
before the throne of God and the
Lamb.
Take another usage Of the word.
When the farmer has gathered out the
stones from a field, when dead roots
and "fbers have been removed, when
all injurious growths that absorb the
gracious nutriment have been extir-
pated, the farmer describes the
cleansed area as clean" The u.s.
age is still prevalent in every farm
stead of our country.
Purity's Potent Champion.
And how is a heart like this to BE-
gained? How can we drive out the
beast? How can we make it like the
crystal river? How can we cleanse
It like a farmstead that is ready for
The best seed? How can we transform
It into a home of truth that is like
into unadulterated gold? Most GER
tainly no man can effect this change
in the power of his own will. l pity
any man who sets about to purify
his heart without the help of the eter-
nal Christ. There IS an old hymn, the
last verse of which runs as follows:
Rise, touched with gratitude divine,
Turn out his enemy and thine,
That soul-destroying monster, sin,
And let the heavenly Stranger in"
But that is just what i cannot do.
[ cannot turn the monster out and let
the Stranger in. And indeed that is
not the order of things which l find
In the gospel. The gospel is this:
let the Stranger in and he will turn
the monster out! Our concern is to
be with opening the door to the
mighty Presence in whose power we
shall find the secret of pure and anc
tilted life. THAT Christ may dwell
In your hearts by faith" That is
what we need-to get the Christ in.
for him to make his dwelling place
there, and for him to do his own ex-
pulsive cleansing and purifying work
THE blood Of Jesus Christ, his Son.
cleanseth US from all sin" There is
nothing In the whole realm of the
soul, from a beast Of passion to an Il
Iicit compromise, that he cannot deal
with and expel.
But more than that. The Lord Jesus
not only rids US Of a tyrant. He also
repairs the damage. He not only
e~mancipates, he beauties. Whatever
is the need of the human spirit. wheth-
er it be in the tyranny of actual sin
or in the grip Of guilt, bound to its
yesterdays or in servitude to today.
the Lord Jesus can give the glorious
liberty Of the children of God"
And thus it is that he provides the
by which we may realize the
fruits O. his own beatitude. In the
Lord Jesus is to be found all the
dynamic Of cleansing. Our hearts are
purified by faith. Faith enters into
vital fellowship with the Christ, and
the energies of his life and sacrifice
are impaired to our souls, and we
shall be like him, for we shall see him
as he is"