The Penn's Grove record., 1915-05-07
The THRONE ROOM
Abiding Place of Human viii,
Which Must Be Surren-
dered to God.

In exploring Jnat paldce,
"the inner man." we come first to the
throne room of our being. From that
mystic chamber issue all the activities
that constitute the daily round of life
Trace the stream of all our doings
to it's secret source, and the springs
thereof will be found proceeding ont
of the throne that reigns in our life.
There dwe1ls the sovereign of our
soul.
There, in the first place of power,
vested with kingly authority, ruling
with absolute right, is the imperial
faculty known to us as the human
will. It's regency determines our. con-
duct for time and molds u destiny
for eternity. 1t in~termingles with
the exercises of all other faculties.
There can be no voluntary action on
the part of the soul that does not re-
quire the active cooperation of the
will. No thought can <tarry in the
mind without its consent, nor can it
crystalline in the forms of speech save
by its special command. No emotion
a abide in the heart unless voluu-
tarily entertained, nor can the strong
est feelings focalize into action apart
from willis specific sanction. 1t is
true there is a subtle something that
we have named disposition" which
exercises a crafty influence in every
department of the souls activity.
Conversion of VIII by God.
Sometimes we are tempted to make
our general bent the scapegoat of u
misconduct. But disposition is not a
distinctive faculty. It is that tendency
which grows out of the convergeut
activities of all the faculties. 1t is the
moral atmosphere of the soul which
may be beneficial or deleterious. The
cooperation Of all the faculties con-
stitute the mind, and the tendency
thereof the spirit of the mind. We
are commanded to be renewed in the
spirit of u mind, but this assumes
that the faculties themselves have
been subject to the power of regen-
erative grace. In the last analysis
we find the authority of responsible
life resident in the will.
From the human side the first duty
of man is to surrender the will to
God. From the divine side the first
thing is the conversion of the will.
What do we mea by the conversion
of the will? Though sovereign, the
will. must act in the interests of right
eousness or sin. Sin makes its APP
peal through fleshly appetites and
carnal craving. If the will yields to
the temptation of unlawfully INDUCING
the bodily desires, it soon loses the
power to control them and then, in
stead of being a sovereign, it falls
to the place of being a servant.
In the sinful man the will is a Sam
son shorn of his strength, blinded in
vision, harnessed to passion, and made
to grind out feshly qualification in
the mill of sinful habit. Desires,
made to be servants, leap into the
throne, and rule the soul and spirit.
Opening the Way to God.
But even in its dishonored condi.
ton the will has ever a place OF
refuge. With all it's weakness, shame
and sinfulness it may fee into the
presence of God and yield itself to his
sovereign might. Renouncing the
service of the hidden works of dark.
ness. it is accepted by God in the serv-
ice of righteousness and truth. In it's
surrender the will yields all its mem.
bers to be instruments of righteous.
ness. The will represents and acts
for the whole In the reconcilia-
ton the Lord covenants the re-estab.
lishment of the will as sovereign OF
the soul. And, though its supremacy
may be questioned and opposed by ap.
petites made strong in sinful habit,
yet it henceforth occupies the throne
as the vice regent of God, and exer-
cises lordship in the interests of his
kingdom and glory.
The surrender and submission OF
the will to God opens the gateway for
his entrance into our lives. And while
he has light for the conscience, wis.
dom for the understanding, love for
the emotions, and renewal for the dis.
position, yet his power manifests it,
self in the throne room where he de.
lights to exalt and support the soy.
ereignty of the will. If, then, this
faculty is under his control, it is God
who works behind all who builds al
the base line of character, who molds
in the image of his Son and works
by US the labor that shall ultimately
be our crown of glory.