Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1913-01-22
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G(IJEEH @ y I E I
- HOUR
tUPROOT EVIL TO
! PURIFY the HEART

in nature, and see the use Of the word
in some remote relationships, it may
help us to clarity our conception OF
what life is like that is pure in the
sight Of God. Here then is 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
stroy. They were a perpetual menace
60 quiet living. A crusade was ap-
pointed for the destruction Of the de-
stroyer, and the land was cleared OF
ats foes. Now such an area. rid OF
ths masterful beast, was a purified
realm. And surely in the fields Of the
soul there are beasts Of prey. There
as the lion Of passion, the serpent OF
enyy,sthe bear of boorishness, the fox
1f 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
+1et the ape and tiger die" would be to
create 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
hs clear and transparent rejecting
4e7ery pebble on the river bed, could
De described as pure. Everything Is
aucid and lucent Nothing Is shady.
Nothing Is hiding in muddy cloud.
1T Is pure. And here, too, may find
suggestion Of the purified life. The
soul that Is clean and clear in the
ssight of God has nothing dubious
about its character, nothing shady and
nothing muddy; there Is nothing hid
Ding in the folds of duplicity. The char
iacter 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 field. when dead roots
and "fbers have been removed. when
nll Injurious growths that absorb the
gracious nutriment have, been extir-
5aSed, the .faIA desgfIbes the
4rleansed area as "clean." The US
nge is still prevalent in every farm
;geead Of our country.
Like unto pure gold" Here Is an
other usage Of the word. 1t is de-
scriptive OF gold in which there is no
ni2oy. no adulteration. The thing Is
what it appears to be. 1t is true gold
In its untampered simplicity. So is 1t
with a pure heart. No baser stuff is
allowed to mingle with its truth. No
cheapening compromise gains an en-
try. No bits Of worldliness are per-
1nftted to intrude into piety and devo-
ton. There is no attempt to mix
God and man. Life is simple and
sIngle, like unto pure gold"
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 1t like the
crystal river? How can we cleanse
IL like a farmstead that is ready for
the best seed? How can we transform
It into a home Of truth that is hike
unto unadulterated gold? Most GER
tainly no man can effect this change
In the power Of his own will. 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 / cannot do.
] cannot turn the monster out and let
the Stranger in. And indeed that is
not the order of things which find
IN the gospel. The gospel is this:
let the Stranger IN and he will turn
the monster out! Our concern ia to
be with opening the door to the
mighty Presence in whose power we
shall hnd the secret Of pure and sane
tifed life. THAT Christ may dwell
in your hearts by faith" That is
what we need-to get the Cnrlst IN,
for him to make his dwelling place
there, and for him to do his own ex-
pulsive cleansing and purifying work
1.-The blood of Jesus Christ. his Son,
cleanseth US from all SIM There is
aothing In the whole realm of the
soul. from a beast Of passion to an IL
Hcit compromise. that he cannot deal
with and expel.
But more than that. The Lord Jesus
mot only rids US Of tyrant. He also
repairs the damage. He not only
emancipates, he beauties. Whatever
ts the need of the human spirit, wheth-
er it be in the tyranny of actual sin
or in the grip Of guilt. bound to it's
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
means 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