River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1913-08-07

U.s. Judgment, for all
men in the sight
Of God are divided into but two great
classes, not the good and the bad,
Bubjectively considered, "for there is
none good, no, not one," blu. believers
and unbelievers-the saved and the
lost. Any other distinctions are only
Of a secondary kind and limited to
the things of earth. For example,
when we speak of an adulterer or
drunkard, we associate with him the
name OF sinner" but when we speak
of an outwardly moral man who new
ertheless acknowledges no allegiance
to the God of the Bible, we think OF
him as ''ungodly." The latter Ia un-
concerned about his personal saliva.
ton. Living an honesc life as the
world goes, he believes he will fare
well enough at the last. He would
not deny the existence of God and a
future life, but he has no particular
or Transforming ideas about either.
The "ungodly" is a character with
which most of us are more likely to
come in close contact than the open
sinner, and for that reason he Is ca
pable OF more harm. We would not
willingly associate with notorious
transgressors, the libartine, the liar
or the Sabbath breaker, but this other
class of persons are not SO we'll under
stood Like well dressed pickpock-
ct, they may walk or sit by our side
and rob us of that which is more val
liable than the gold which perish
eth" and yet we may remain for
while unconscious of our loss. In
deed, ''ungodly" persons may be de-
sirable to be acquainted with in a GER
tain sense. They may increase our
profits or enliven our domestic circle,
but all the time they will be as the
gilded bait covering the deadly hook!
The Mark Of the ungodly.
The Psalmist names one distin-
gushing mark of the "ungodly" as his
counsel" In other words, he thinks.
not wisely, or deep or well, but he
thinks. He also criticises, advises
and recommends. His voice is heard
in the popular magazine and work of
fiction. He is your companion, on a
railway train, or in hotel lobby. You
meet him in your store or shop, and 1t
will not be long before he exhibits his
missionary zeal. Look at me-" he
says, land thousands like me, who
reject all this nonsense about saliva
ton and the authority of the Bible
are we fools?" How can Christian
ity be the divine religion to the exclu-
sion of every other, when It's numbers
are comparatively SO small?" This
is the way he insidiously argues,
But what is meant by walking In
this counseI?' Are we to abandon So
ciety, retire from business, and put
an end to converse with our fellow
men? Being in the midst of the "un-
godly," how can we avoid walking
with them? The answer is that we
need not walk with them In the moral
sense and of free choice. If we go
among them in the path of duty we
shall be upheld by divine grace, and.
If the demands of our vocation bring
us there, the necessity of entering
that society in distinction from select
ing 1t, will put us on our guard and
be an antidote to the infection. But
we must not put ourselves willingly In
their society. We must resist induce
ments to make one of them, and sacri-
fee worldly convenience, if need be,
in order to honor God and maintain
the purity and development OF our
souls. Such society Is unnecessary to
us in any other sense than the one al
ready admitted, because God has 1000
left in Israel who have not yet bowed
the knee to Baal" We can say in the
language of the Canticles, Tell me,
o Thou Whom my soul lowest, where
Thou feedest, where Thou. makest
Thy flock to rest at noon; for why
should / be as one that turneth aside
by the hocks of Thy companions?"
Sin Progressive.
The verse from which our text is
taken is sentence in which the same
thought is repeated more than once
with slight addition to it each time.
That Is, three characters are repre-
scented, each exceeding the other in
wickedness-the "ungodly," the Sin
ner," the "scornful." The first walks,
the second stands, the third sits down.
completely gives Up himself to oppo-
sition to God. The teaching is that
sin is progressive, and as an old com
mentator says, "he who walks In
the counsel of the ungodly will soon
stand in the way OF SINNERS, and he
who stands in the way of sinners will
ultimately sit down in the seat of the
"scornful." One blessing therefore,
which accrues to him that "walketh
not in the counsel Of the ungodly'' Is
that from which he is prevented. He
is prevented from growing worse. But
ia a positive blessing also, for the man
who walks not in the counsel of the
ungodly is likely to walk in the coun-
sci of God. His delight will be IN the
law of God, and in his law will he
mediate day and night" AS a con-
sequence there shall be seen in him
growth and frubtfulness, land he shall
be like tree planted by the rivers of
water, that bringetE forth his fruit
in his season; his leaf also shall not
wither: and whatsoever he doeth shall
prosper"