The weekly chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Craig County, Okla.) 1905-1913, 1912-03-22

himself to trifie with temptation, am
the consequence was he went down t.
/ the deepest depths of vileness, base
I ness and dishonor.
But the query may be further press
ed: How can one account for suci
enormous iniquity in such a man a!
we have seen that David was? The
, answer needs to be emphasized. Il
may be explained by the absence, foI
: the time being, Of that restraining IL
fluence which his better nature was
: wont to exercise over his life
: PASSION had dethroned CON
SCIENCE; and then owing to the III.
tensity Of his character. and the gen
eral greatness of the man, his sins be.
came as much blacker than those OF
others as his coed qualities were
greater than theirs.
In every good ma nthere are still
two natures striving for the mastery.
The Scripture method of expressing it
lis in these words: THE flesh lusteth
against the spirit, and the spirit
against the flesh" The new nature is
generally in the ascendant, but some
times the old evil nature, which still
exists IN every child of God, will re.
assert its supremacy, and the effect Of
this temporary revolution will be de-
termined by the temperament and
character OF the individual Davids
nature was OF the intense type There
are some men in whom everything is
on q large scale. When the good in
their nature is uppermost, they over
top al lothers in goodness and right
eousness; but if. unhappily, they
should be thrown off their guard, and
the evil nature in them gain the as
tendency, then some dreadful wicked
ness may be expected. Such men do
not do things by half And so it was
with David. In every respect he was
above ordinary men; and so when, for
the time, the fleshly nature was the
stronger in him, the sins which he
committed were as much greater than
those of common men, as in other cir
cumstances his excellencies were
nobler than theirs.
Is it not true that we often make
great mistakes in judging characters
of Others, because we ignore these
considerations? And do not many
well-conducted persons among us get
great credit for their good moral char
acters, while the truth is that they
are blameless not so much because
they have higher-toned principles than
others, as because they have feeble.
timid natures, that are too cautious or
too weak to let them go very far either
in holiness or sin9'
David was not one of these. AS DR..
Taylor would say: Everything about
him was intense; and when he sinned,
he did it in such way as to make
well.nigh the most hardened sinner to
shudder."
do not for moment extenuate
Dayid's guilt but am simply seeking
to show the difference in tempera-
ments in men, and the different logical
results that flow forth from such ma
lures. The worst feature connected
with David's character was his lack
of conscience ON account of his sin. |
But guilty conscience will seek to
hide or to cover up, and will try in |
various ways to hush its voice, as for
Instance by various activities, pre-
occupations. etc. But that is what a |
man under the burden of guilt will |
do He will seek to escape from him
sell. as did David when he essayed !
the siege of Rabbah, as related in , |
Samued 18th chapter Yet he found
he could not outrun guilty con-
science. His attitude-so yindietiye-
against the captives taken, shows how
his spirit had become hardened and
made cruel. This seems to be a law
Of violated conscience. The individ-
ual becomes soured. If a husband, and
he falls into the sin of infidelity to his
wife, he will become notably coured
in his nature, and very frequently he
will take to drink to drown or throttle
the pangs of a guilty conscience. Such
4 man viii feel toward his children
from that he did before his
sin, and treat them accordingly; and
his sin may not be known to
either wife or children yet there is an
innate feeling in the whole household
hat there is something wrong. And
that is another feature in this irrevo-
cable law have been speaking about
Sin is1lates. separates, and brings
element into the very bosom
of the whole family It may be in
tangible, yet it is nevertheless intense
Y real.
Continued in another issue of the
Af- I1aitor fNhfoftoy. - ...t