Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1918-08-02

al says, deceitful
E B 80 above all things,
i--sss=sss=--=s = ======l hopelessly wicked.
Now the Bible does not set out to
prove that God is 1t assumes that
every intelligent man will believe this,
and so it's pages open with the sublime
and stupendous statement: In the be-
ginning God" The Bible, however,
does tell US that "the heavens declare
the glory of Cod" and that 'the invisi-
BILE things of him from the creation of
the world are clearly seen" SO while
the Bible does not try to prove that
God is, it does tell US that God, whose
existence it assumes, may be known.
1t tells US that nature is one of
the books which God has given US,
in which he tells US about himself. 1t
tells US that another book in which
Gcd is revealed is the Bible itself, the
written word of God, and that third
one is the living or incarnate Word,
the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it is
said: 'No man hath seen God at any
time; the only begotten Son, which is
in the bosom of thu Father, he hath
declared him; that is, 'led him
FORTH" as Doctor Scofield says, into
full revelation"
No man. then, need be in ignorance
of God with three books making him
known, and with such threefold rev.
elation of God, how can anyone deny
that God is, or be ignorant of him?
Surely only that one whose heart is
filled with sin will say in the light of
these revelations: 'There is no God"
II. The One Who Plays the Fool.
He is the person who fails to take
God into account; that is, he acts as If
there were no God. Saul did this when
he sought David's life He left God
out of his reckoning in his determina-
ton to slay David, and one night when
he was encamped, surrounded by his
soldiers and bodyguard, David stealth
lily made his way through the guard
with one of his trusU followers, and
removed the bolster from under Saul's
head, and the cruise of water and the
spear that were by his side, without
awakening him or any of the soldiers.
Withdrawing in safety to the hillside.
David shouted back to the captain of
Sauls army, "Abner! Abner!" and
when this sleepy captain, with Saul
and the encamped soldiers awakened,
! they saw David on the hillside,
stretching forth his trophies that they
might see that he could have taken
Saul's life if he had chosen. Then it
was that Saul, realizing that he had
left God out of his reckoning in his at
tempt to slay David, exclaimed: 81
have played the fool"
And so does every one who does not
take God into account. The man OF
the woman who schemes or plans and
lives as if there were no God in the
world is as big a fool as the person
who says in his heart: "There is nc
God" Both are fools because they
deny the existence of God; one by his
words processes his atheism, while
the other lives his.
Ill. The Rich Fool.
He is the man whose ambition ii
life is to accumulate wealth.
Christ portrays him in the parable
of the man who, having a great har
vest pulled down his barns and bull
greater and when they were filled saiC
to himself, "SOul, thou hast much good!
laid up for many years; take thin,
ease eat, drink and be merry" Blu
God said unto him, "Thou fool thi
night thy soul shall be required o
thee; then whose shall these things b,
which thou has provided" Ant
Christ adds this comment: $50 is h
that layeth up treasure for himsel
and is not rich toward God.' By tha
he says that the person who does thi
is q fool.
How many folks there are in tn
world with whom the supreme thin
in life is the getting of material things
their one ambition to accumulat
Wealth. They strain and scheme ant
work and worry to get gain, forgettin
that day is coming when their soul
shall be required of them, and theI
if they have succeeded, like the ricl
man In the parable, it will be pert
nent to ask them, Whose shall thes
things be?" And if they die, havin
laid up treasures for themselves, an
are not rich toward God, they hav
gone into the other world as pauper:
One night in New York city
wealthy man lay dying. He had ever
material thing the heart could desire
but one thing he felt his need of, an
that was prayer Sending for hi
gardener, godly soul, he asked hi1
to pray for him, and when the gardeI
er had finished his simple, ferven
prayer. the dying millionaire said
John, now sing for me-" what sha
I sing?" asked the gardener. And tn
man who was rich in houses and land
and bonds and mortgages replied
"Sing, John, the song, Come ye siI
ners, poor and needy, weak and wa.
ward, sick and sore,'" and the gardene
sang this blessed song of invitation
the millionaire who knew that wit
God his money did not count and thf
if he was to be saved it must be as
poor and needy sinner.