The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1913-08-08

| lWk judgment, Tor all
men in the sight
OF God are divided into but two great
classes. not the good and the bad.
subJectively considered, for there is
none good. no. not one" but believers
and unbelievers-the saved and the
lost. Any other distinctions are only
| OF 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 is un.
concerned about his personal saliva
ton. Living an honest life as the
world goes. he believes he will fare
well enough at the last. He would
not deny the existence OF God and
future life, but he has no particular
or transforming ideas about either.
He Is uninfuenced by the encourage
ments and prohibitions, or the hopes
and the fears set before him In the
gospel. AZ the Bible says. God is not
in all his thoughts"
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 llbertine. the liar
or the Sabbath breaker, but this other
class Of persons are not so well under
stood.
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. lie is your companion on
railway train. or in n hotel lobby. You
meet him In your store or shop, and Il
will not be long before he exhibits his
missionary zeal. Look at me-" he
says, "and thousands like me, who
reject all this nonsense about saliva
tion 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 counsel?" Are we to abandon So
ciety, retire from business. and put
an end to converse with our fellow
men? Being in .he 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. II we 20
among them I'm the path of duty we
shall be upheld by divine grace, and
II the demands of our vocation bring
us there. the necessity OF entering
that society In distinction from select
ing Il, 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, IL need be.
in order to honor God and maintain
the purity and development OF our
souls
Sin Progressive.
The verse from which our text Is
taken is n sentence in which the same
thought is repeated more than once
with slight addition to 1t each time
That is, three characters are repre-
sented. 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 20 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
is 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 "IIis delight will be In the
law OF God, and in his law will he
mediate day and night" AS con.
sequence there shall be seen In him
growth and fruitfulness. and he shall
be like tree planted by the river OF
water. that bringeth forth his fruit
In his season; his leaf also shall not