Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1921-03-02
death Of every sparrows
Docs God Carc7

death Of every sparrow
Docs God Carc7
With the thought Of an absentee God
in mind, Mark Twain once said he
wished the Almighty would put on a
hat and coat and take walk through
East London; he thought If God would
inform Himself as to the conditions ex-
istent there He might do something
towards remedyihg them.
Others share this view Of God and
are confident that He does not inter-
vene In the affairs of men because He
cares nothing about them. For all
such there is a message In the petition
Christ taught His disciples, "Deliver
US from evil"
First of nll, Christ recognized the
reality Of evil. He looked upon sick
ness and sorrow and sin as truly ex-
istent, and not only so, He regarded
them rs evil. He does not mock US by
telling us these things are delusions
but grapples with them as monsters
which must be overcome.
Again, God is not the author Of evil
AS we look over the fields Of the
worlds suffering and wickedpess we
cannot charge the Lord with having
sown these fields. IAN enemy hath
done this"
This Is proven by the fact brought
out in the text. namely, 1t is Gods will
that the world shall be delivered from
evil. When His name is hallowed. His
kingdom come, and His will done on
earth as in heaven, earth will be as
blissful place as heaven. True, God
uses suffering and sorrow in His prov
idence; we should be glad that, SO long
as sin is in the world, He allows suf-
fering and sorrow to be here, else
men would ran 10 Gp excess Of riot.
However, when the ca rth reflects Gods
mind, 1t viii he more glorious even
than Eden, fos the holy city, the New
JeruHalnln, adorned as Il bride for her
bustaDd, viii be the center Of its gov
ernment.
Why DeIIverance is Delayed.
The question still remains. however,
prayer at once and deliver us from
evil. How can He look down from
heaven and see the sins and SORROWS
Of men and remain idle2 Doubtless
some will be amazed If we answer Be.
cause He is good! But we give this
answer and stand ready to defend 1t.
If God IS to deliver the righteous He
must also punish the wicked. On the
other hand, If God continues to be
gracious to the wicked, He must allow
the righteous to suffer for little sea-
Co fbNt ~ Go IJ{c to-
ward the ungOdly which makes Him
seem Indifferent toward the righteous.
After all, it Is Judgment which the
world needs as preliminary to Its re-
lease from evil, and this will come
when Gods patience gives place to
His wrath.
The matter Is summed up in II Pc
ter so, 12: 1.-THE Lord Is not slack
concerning His promise, as some men
count slackness; but Is long-suffering
to usward, not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to re-
pentance. But the day Of the Lord
will come as thief In the night; In
the which the heavens shall pass away
with great noise and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat, the earth
also and the works that nre therein
shall be burned up. Nevertheless we,
according to His promises, look for
new heavens and new earth, wherein
dwelleth Righteousness"
Me;.nwhilc, the individual who turns
to God =. repentance and trust Is de-
livered from the greatest Of all evils.
the bondage Of sin. Alas, that so many
are more concerned about deliverance
from pain and grief than from the evil
that dwells within them!
We heard recently the testimon;; of
one who had rendered effective service
as Christian for quarter Of a CEN
tury or more. When he was seeking
salvation he dlned one day with com.
pany Of Christians. During the course
Of the meal he remarked that he sup
posed the way to find salvation is to
pray. Instantly his host raised a plate
Of bread and said: "My friend, sup
pose you were hungry and I should
offer you this bread. How foolish It
would he to get down on your knees
and pray me to give you some bread
Why, there would be nothing to do but
to take and eat" SO, TO all seeking
deliverance from the evil Of sin we
say: "As many as received Him, to
them gave He power to become the
sons Of God, even to them that believe
on His name" (John :12).
Daily Thought.
Ana |hat greater calamity can fall