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V»l. III. la •• BiMkii •■ tk« Better UU

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Mcrlcii.

HE Destiny
OF To-day

«TVDIBS IN CONSCIENCK
AND CHARACTKR ^ ^ ^

BY JOHN ncLEAN, Ph D ,

Author of "The Making of a Christan," •• Bet-
ter Lives for Commoo People."

ClOTH, 60 CENTS, POSTPAID.

Am-inar the chapton In thin helpfal little
volume are: The InvisibieThird-The Kvory
g»y of Juddnient— Remonw-Hrtribution-
The Demand for ConfesMloo— The (.'oercion of
Deeds- 1 he MaMterin the Sonl-The luflniio
uutcome.

iiliYA J*u*-*^?__'''*'"^*** *° excellen t \
titled "Ihe Destiny of To-day." (To

---^ •*"". *«»""y oi lo-aay." (To-
ronto , Briggs, I0(fe.) These etudies in
conscience and character deal with hu-
man life and conduct in the light of the
divine judgment now and. hereafter, and
^PMUdjpake an admi fable courti>,ftf | y>.

t ^y "' ■ ^L.^ttt -J"dCTent/dlatinf^
a ppie the level of alg^^;;^^ ggjS '

fS^f IN Y OFTO-DAYTstudS,
m couhu»eu«« una Onaracter. ny
uev. jouu McLeuu. Ph.D. ( loronto :
vviJilum iiriggH.> 60 tenta.

'ine lUUe uook deals wuu large and
solemn quetnous-yuubtiona m waicu
wfc are au ptuBoaaily auu deeply m-
ttreated. U m wrmeu witli a atrioua
purpohe-to make men tuink, and lo
IhmK intensely, upon the tremeuuous
liuiues wliicn the autuor raitjea. i>r.
iVici.ean has the happy art oi putting
tiie great tacts that pertain to hte anu
destiny m a striking llgnt, and drivea
home the lessons ue gathers witn
unerring preciaion and commanding
appeal. The authors style, wliUo
graceiul, and sometimes brilliant is
always clear, earnest, and practical.
Such liooka have a mission, not to a
lew, but to the multitudes thronging
the highways of life, crying, •• Who
will show us any good ?" in these
days of unrest and doubt, when so
many on the ocean of life are like
sailors bewildered in a fog, it is well
that men should be made to hear the
clear, positive notes that ring thiougk
this volume from beginning to end
Jf he Destiny of To-day "k^ ^^^^u^^^^

yw that the Hiirh?,v h«f .ir^i^m/g

^stUiy

an accurate one. Sin is the subieri- nf ViVt V ?.^ ^^"^ description is
tragic consequences We know T £1? r * ' ^'''"'^-it'' a^-fnl reality and

^nr^us; but thev areimm-esSrJiv^h

generation tlnf t^.l knvai-d "^^30 n.lS *^"'^: ^'"^ ""•^'-^^ t^ a ,

trans^ressoi-s He woulTl i«^n k , ^ "^'^ '^" ^^^J^-ration of transgression and

kind !ff pr^ching can bl d SeastdlSr w" """''* T>' "^^t^lns'™
thismtlebc^k.^^^ ^S ^.ff""^ ^' ' ^r' ' '

Canada amnTa worUvTs iepunf^n nf d\.l7l "">mp n r . It has been issued in
publishers, are capable ofS^l^^i^i^ttt'^^""' bookbinders anS

"The Destiny of To-Dav •• a* ^.
In Conscience and rhlroTT^* Studies
Maclean. Ph.D. AiUhSr nS^'Vpu ^^ •'°'"»
of a Christian," "The TnH.^'*^ ^V^'^-OK
•ada." "Detter Lives for r*'*'' "' ^«"-
Ple." etc. Toronto- w.m"""°" P^'^"
PP. 127. PrlcrsTcen^"""'" «'''««»•

serV;;tfehu?ch7o':[;rh ""^ ^^^"*
by his admirable bciks ^n ?^''''^^'
themes. Thev nnf n^ ° Christian

marrow and fa"SLs L^f ^tT^^^ ^^^ ^'^H'
present it in a mera^-l *Jf °?P«'' btit

•lluslon that make th ° *^""!^""" ^nd
well as a proflT to read V'^'''"''^ ^^
this work, as well «« k* .^Yf ^"mmend
Of a Chrl^tfan^ an5 .'iVr^^f/'^^^'^'ns
Common People "^n nF ^^7 ^^^^« for
tets as ainongihe vprv"f '^" ^^^t^°<J
}|2S§.to?eT]||#|fSr^^^

^Yjgam^

Oon«rt.Bo. and CharXSSr By
Man. WilUam Brlrta. Toronta
•'^« Destiny of Today" it a mfIm

MaSfan* ••^°";L'" »»>• ^^v" Dr"john
aiBcjeaa. of Carman, who«« beat
known, and porhap. moat valuSfl
'•^v* w*'* *''*>■• In whl«h he dealZ
w<^^ th. lad an tribe, of No^h ^

Juat What th!a "Deatlny" <■ i. «#.♦
clear after a reading of Dr w'aCean'i

^ ''q/jlm.!?,-!' ■""""«« somethln.
Of Strenuoua.ty." But the chantM
o« the book, wMle they ma» or *SS
not have any direct relation to "hJ
title, are anything but Indefinite

Dr. Maclean is evidently a 'in«a
whoae ent re conTlctlon. are baaedm
a ke=n .belle* in perwnal reapontlblJlty
not only for Individual character bat
to a rrf«t extent for the charLjiJ"*
Of aaaoclatea. "The Invisible TW"
The Every Day of Judgment,".

Work has°won "^hiewi!?.*'^ V^' ^^aclean's

Wlume comes "„. r^S^^^^F^'^' '
iv>v D '"«'"» iron our Oaaadlan I

morse,' "Retn^utlon." "The. DenuMi4
for Confeeslon," 'The Coerclon^f
Deeds," '-The Master 4n the Sou:"aiS
The Infln te Outcome." are tb« iieada
under Which the writer deala wii S!
p.oblem. ot character evolution, and

Is iv^Hed to'Vsar cut, pithy ezoree.
?^^ *""**■' •*^lgrami,atiS " hSK

Convlct:on is worthlc«« onUl con-
Verted Into conduct." '

"The difference between your con-
mi*t?f* "P^ "*'"• *" "«t eo much a
Tuindlng/' *^°"»«*««^« •• oe unlsr-

-.'If'*"' *." '^*" ' '• ^nto harmony
5?*?. your le«'tlmate poslUon, to bSvi

aMHtr* *° **%• •""« over^'ST!
w^th 1 «.«, ; ^7* *'^« to be a mim
wiVi? Jt "*°'"*e a'm. not a mollusc
with aimless reverie; yoxi are to be a

k^-«*"^ ''"^'^y- "»t dead matter!
Known only as avoirdupois "

M.,"^* **'!"' *^ ^''* *°«* *■• however, not
i^^.'fml'^iS.l^* *' attracuve readtng.
«^ /LJ^P*"^**'* *o «®«8« continuity
25 «^«^*° paragraph, after paragraph •
«t abort, six word ssn ences. which !
almost leave an impression of in-
c^erence. The Ideas are very good.-
howev..r. and frequenUy the exlra^lj
■Ion ie quits ori^ai. «P'?f- 1

THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY

studies in Conscience
an^ Cbaracter

JOHN MACLEAN, Ph.D.

Author of " The M.king of a Christian," " The Indian, of Canada,"
" Better Live* for Common People," etc.

TORONTO
>VILLIAM BRIGGS

Montk«al: C. W. COATES Halifax: S. F. HUESTIS

1902

Eiit««d •ecoidin, to Act of the Pwlkmenl of 0«ii«U, in the

TMf OB* tbouMDd nine hundred and two, by

William Briccs,

■4 the Dtpwtmeat of Agricultun.

CONTENTS.

The Invisible Third -^

The Every Day of Judgment j,^

Remorse .

33^

Retribution o

The Demand for Confession g,^

The Coercion of Deeds .^^

The Master in the Soul oo^

The Infinite Outcome ,j^^

THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

THE INVISIBLE THIRD.

" Heaven is above all yet ; there sits a Judge

That no king can corrupt." „, ,

— Shakespeare.

" God enters by a private door into eveiy individual."

— Emerson.

" Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind
exceeding small ;
Though with patience He stands waiting, with exact-
ness grinds He all." ^ • ^ . . „

—Frudnch Von Logan.

" Whither shall I flee from thy presence ?"—Psa. 139 : 7.

THEjwofold.,BroWernjvh^^
QfalLreHgions is. What is man ? and What j g
godi. Man is a revelation of God, a specimen
of the handicraft of the Almighty, the thinker
of the world, a son of God. Scientists have
explored the secrets of his nature and written
treatises upon his hand, foot, eye, circulation of
the blood, and unanimous has been the verdict
that he is fearfully and wonderfully made.
Galen, the famous anatomist, by his dissections

THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

The elements of fi^I'd 1L t":Z^Z

I'fc, and they ™ay be the means of deaT ^°

«« fhi. ■„d.hywh.chhfho,ds*:
P^t. looks mto the future, visits countries he

tZhe i "*" "f "" ^^'' "^^ ■•" "-"""nion

the* v': ;r„r '^ °' '•^«°- -""-ri-. touches

he^ of .M ! .^ generations, and becomes an
creatfon Vr : """'"^ ■"■■" the noblest of
iZT V, ' 'P'"' "'"■•='' «>«■''« in man, bear
"ng the likeness of the Infinite, by which he is a

"'e., Strength and beauty, through all fh^ ««
or cabbie of descending tot fowe' Ml T^

rcrutii^'t" ~"" ''-"•^ -"^ ht

S-a^ *e anget" ''°""""""' " '■"'' '-"
If man is so great, wJgtjsGgd? When n,»n

usefh.T • ?f """ portrait? Shall we
H,m? Th?' ^''' °f ™=«--"«ion and descrite

a 2Lh t™"'' "' ""'P'"'' <"™« language-
a speech unknown to man tr. u^ • .
the nature an^ u man—to harmonize with
nature and character of Hfm who rules over

THE INVISIBLE THIRD.

all. We cannot create Him as an artist creates
a landscape he has never seen. We cannot de-
pend upon chance, as a chemist may discover
the properties of a chemical combination ; so we
must listen to Himself as He reveals Himself in
the Scriptures, in Nature and in man. What is
God ? He is a spirit, infinite, eternal, unchan^ge-
able, evf ^here present, seeing all things at
the same noment, more powerful than the
combined armies of the living and dead of all
ages, in heaven, earth and hell ; so wise that He
has never made a mistake; so good that hell
acknowledges His justice and faithfulness ; so
free that He can never be limited in liberty ; so
true that an impure thought cannot enter His
mmd ; so holy that if sinful man were to gaze
upon Him he could not live ; and so full of love
that even hell is the expression of His emotions
toward the worst of sinners.

413ljGvisibleJi;hir^^
world. There is the presence of God's glory in
heaven, of His power on earth, of His justice in
hell, and of His grace in His people. God is
not an absentee ruler, who has not visited the
bounds of His empire, but a present friend,
fether and judge, who knows the meanest of
His subjects and the vilest of rebels. Over the
door of his library Linnaeus placed the inscrip-
tion, " Live innocently : God is present." Festus

TJ/E DEST/NY OF TO-DAY.

M^ Chrm ,s Head. Paul says He is alive, and the
difference between these statements means the

fi t r""..'*"" ''^*™" ""'I hell- Every sin-
fi^I thought word and deed ; eveo^ sinful Tra or

movenient m social or political life ; every im-
moral book error and superstition comes from
it .""''l*" Christ is dead ; and every nob^
hfe true thought, word and deed, and advance-

Tnd ,°^ 'if f*^ '""'■"^^ '" *^ "»«°"- Church
and individual, n science, art and literature

flows from the btlief that Christ is alive. God"
m ,, u- '^ '^""f '■" *« o-nipresence of
i^^l ^" *' "•"'"spring of civilization.

haunted by the presence of God. We are in
touch with the Invisible He is more real than
our dearest companion. The visible things are
shadowy-time things which must pass Lay
but the unseen is permanent and eternal. The
invisible forces in the world and in man are
pers|ste„t and will be dominant. We cannot see
the invisible forces of thought, passion, memory
and imagination in the person nearest to uT
God can touch human hearts so faintly that we

that a birds nest will not fall to the ground
God IS here. God is real. God is per^nal to
every man.

THE INVISIBLE THIRD.

the special ^fjvjj^e^ Hispe opla The soli-
tudeortKesouHstomshe^^ inti-

mate presence, a society and communion which
imparts life and joy, and may continue in perpe-
tuity. Intimate communion with God drives
away the solitude of the soul and invests us,
like Moses, with a celestial radiance. It is-the
special privilege of those who live in com-
munion with God to enjoy His presence. The
consciousness of the nearness of the Eternal
imparts strength for the greatest trials. We
cry out for visions and discover, when our eyes
are opened, that

•• Earth's crammed with heaven.
And every common bush afire with God."

^^^j^J^a^iJi^^^^^^J^^^ii^' The Unseen
walKSwidTmanli^^ holding us

by the hand lest we fall, and with the tenderness
of a mother He soothes our fears and gives us
comfort. There is strength in knowing that
God sees every sin. We are afraid to open our
hearts to men lest we might lose their love by
what they would see of impurity therein ; but
God sees every sin, and yet He loves us.
Amazing love! blessed condescension! He
does not forget us though He has many chil-
dren. His large family is not neglected, and
His love is not showered upon a few. Jgejs

THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

of tho eternal b/SV^ceJ^?'^ ""'^
our hearts are di^n^L • "»»'" "hen
apDlause an^ "'MPPOinted in expectation of

«es the fafthfoTL. f '"'*'* " P"^"' ^"d

n,- '"1.™"""' performance of duty unseen h„
men. The kind word-the real J^ft ■'^

-vorldly estimation, but c<»tlvTn ,f. ', ^' '"
• of the heart-the xmLTIa '^"PWBe

tears .h. ,. ■ '^ * endurance, the silent

Yoriimfte? Tnh "'""^ '■= "■' =P«'»""-

scope oT tir Sr, T^ ^^ '° S'™ "'««

the pla^o^ fij v'- *"" ^°'"' ""^ «" into

chiseC / ^ ; ^°" *" '■■''« » Stone-mason,
cnisellmg a smgle stone for a line edifice X

oi ^oa , but this confusion may arise Tr^J. ■
narrow vision ^r^A -n ^ ^'^"^ O"**

sipht of r!!.' "^''^ '^^"^ ^'fferent in the

J "' ^« "Sfc to their comprehension. It

THE INVISIBLE THIRD.

is like the glacier broken up by its passage over
a ledge. At first the ice presents an appearance
of utter confusion, but when you reach a posi-
tion where the mechanical conditions of the
glacier reveal themselves, you will learn that
the confusion is due to the unknown intermix-
ture of laws, and order and beauty are seen
when we fully comprehend them. So is it in
God's service. He sees all because he is present,
and He rewards all because He is just

TheJnvisiWe^T^hW^ present Jn_ the

world as a

"js ever heard arit falls^lroiTTmeS

lips when they are seeking to get away from
God. Daily the cry is heard, " Whither shall I
flee?"' and the hills and dales send the echo
through the world until it reaches the hearts
of men, and then it goes on echoing from one
heart to another until it has travelled round the
world, reverberated throughout the deepest re-
cesses of hell, and touched the very throne of
God. There is a secret place in every man
where Divinity alone is allowed to enter. This
secret apartment has its occupants. Conscience
sits enthroned watching the battle of man's
appetites and passions, the struggle between
right and wrong, the holy war of sin and holi-
ness, and the adversary of man is an interested
spectator, and God is there. This is one of the

-IT
I,

11 THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

greatest battles that has ever been fought and

TLTT'. '■" ,"■"■' '■'"" *• '"-"ts of- that
dreadfu^ struggle. The tragedies of sin ha"

neve, been written. There have been par<xl*«
o niquity and miniature pictures of sin, butt
picture or book which will fully descri'be h^
hfe^truggles of a single soul has never been
pam^ or composed. G«ek sculpture ha, en,.
b«lied the intense struggle of man with evil in

re^Thl-'st *f,.^°~«"' ""t if you would

the mfinite s-gnilicance of the sacrifice of the

hr:se° X "r '^ r '"'■■■"« '° «« ^^^

c^nH V Tk ?""* °' """ » '■" '"* a moral
eonditoon that, being at enmity with God, he
has a d.shke to God coming near him. When
a man commits sin he wants to get away from
h.s fellow men and God, but he cannot Z
away from his conscience. He cannot t^Lfa

ind°hi!s;rfT"°" "*'"«" •"' ~-'°"-

and h.mself We tO' to fo,^t God, and we
cannot Much in the visible world there "s
wh,ch we do not see-the infirm, sick and dying •
the thoughts and passions of other men; and
because God is out of sight He is in a 'sense
out of m,nd.ye. He comes into men's thoughts
and troubles them. God is here though we see
H.mnot. Without G<,d in the ^ih w^
a world man must live in I What would the

THE INVISIBLE THIRD.

world be without God ? The stars would fall,
the sun would cease to give forth light and heat,
intense darkness would envelop the globe, the
earth would fail to bear fruit and foliage for
man and beast, the reasons and tides would
cease, and rank diseases would stalk through
the land. It would be a world of disaster, unfit
for man and beast to live, for the seas would
leave their accustomed place, and without
natural laws there would be chaos and death.
Without God men would war against each other,
for social and political life would be impossible.
Men's passions would devour themselves, for
the laws of mind would be destroyed. Peace,
joy and immortal hope would be forever ban-
ished, for spiritual laws would not exist. What
a world this would be if sin were sitting on the
throne of God I What would it be if a Herod
or Nero were to dethrone God and to preside
over the destinies of eternity? The direful
consequences we cannot describe, and the
imagination of each must fill in the picture.

The^InyisiWeis_^resent^^ and

youcannorTn^ryoiu^sen^^fi^^ Hide

yourself in a cave, seek the recesses of the
loftiest mountain— God is there. Fleeing from
God, you run out of one place into another, yet
you always run toward Him. Whither shall I
flee? Whither? Whither? The echo of your

THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

drove him JSnd ^L ,^' "?k'!'*"'' "^ ^''»"'
«r u ^ L '«'"«iu uic irecs. The consciousness

It^^" *'1 '"""«' •""•• Sinner, evT^
to hide them«lve, f™„ God. but in vain. Jo„i^

"."»*»)' f"" God, but not to escape. A» we
w. hdraw from God we are brought Tre ^w^!
ful y into Mlitude with Aim ; and yet »m^ml
«tireinto„litudetodevi«and per^^^^a"™:™
Th^onelm^, of the prairie be^,. .hough"
01 t«>d. The Invisible is always present and
though you may descend into the lowerdVth,
of earth, or seek the lonely retreats in the foTt

T^e Z"^ 1"; ^--'f f«"» His watchful.
The criminal flees across the ocean to esca^

Z^ Z footpnnts are left on the air and
tne sea. and ith unerring sicill divine iustice
wiU drag you from your lonely haunt •"

- DaS^TE^^^2^^r:?«SaQ-3fl3to. The com-
^0 eS^ftfeejaaonoffipd is immeasuraWTT-o

somethmg we do not see. We leave one part
unexplored to think upon another par gS
fees every action on all its sides. WhilsTwe^^
judging partially with our limited y^Z ^
Unseen is judging fully. Things do nottp'pear

Z^'^T ""•' *""' '° "=• Could we bJ^r!«
them as they appear to Him. our lives would te

THE INVISIBLE THIRD.

diflferent A third person does not repeat the
story told by you as you related it. His im-
pressions are diflerent, and the story changes by
frequent repetitions until truth becomes false-
hood. God does not see and judge things as
you see them. T]^ntJs^asi^x^',u^^eJ^^J;^ f^j
IIfil20fLfig!S"t at the m4kigg.^tg<ery_ contract. ^
You may deceive your fellows, there may be «.
legal flaw, a loophole by which you can have
an advantage, but as you sign your name this
Invisible Third Person is looking over your
shoulder, and there is no escape from the conse-
quences of your sin. You may cheat man, but
God cannot be cheated. The writing has found
a negative on your heart and will be revealed
in eternity to your disgrace. TheJJnsecijJs / ^J

iPC^£5i*l5X£QLi£i5SSSi2i?- We cannot engage
in any transaction alone."^There is never a soli-
tary act, word or thought. Burn up the writing,
it will live in the air ; tear up the letter, con-
science and memory will weave it together.
The Master of men always appears uninvited,
because He is Master. There is no solitude on
earth. Man is never alone. Every transaction
is seen. Every man is writing his own biography.
It is interesting, eternal and terrible. Each page
is finished daily and God is reading it Such a
book was never printed except by the types of
eternity. The deed performed in darkness be-

THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

(«

t€)

comes visible and permanent. TheUnseen I.

thing .o ,0V.. .„ /n.i°^i.j^::rr^--

and commune with, while God oBe« HiHri^nH
^^ and communion and i, refund o"^;'^"
We «e muter, of the un«id word .nd^l«.
of the spoken one. A Silent Spectato? wa^l

^lon.^r^rHThe'Lrl-l^r-Ter.a-

The unchnstian wort goes speeding on to mh '
»»n of .njujy, while none but the Fathe^^h^

£H^-H:rart^---H£

sick and dying have neeH nf h.-o

.he .iving would fain":^el^rth'^-:„r;d

depart. Bars and bolts shut Him nofoura^d

THE INVISIBLE THIRD. 17

neglect will not banish Him. He abides to pro-
tect and comfort, to warn and reprove. There
is not a home, be it ever so humble, where He
-docs not dwell, and no palace so sinful that He
will not stay.

..^'C^^il^SSnJlJltgscntJii^^^
JUiL^very man is a cTeaturr^TGodTwh?
never gives up His claim upon the workman-
ship of His hands. His angels guard the foot-
stepi of His children lest they stumble over
the precipice. GodJ^^rescoti^th^evcQ^
Imagine the expression of HiT^^ii^^SiSi^e
when a man. made in His image, forgets his
dignity and relationship and commits a sin.
An earthly parent cries in ago .y while his
heart IS breaking, and »'is huir turns white be-
cause his son or daughter goe.- astray from his
teaching, and what shall be the anxiety of In-
finite Love when one of His children persists
in wrong-doing? Th£jnWsibleJs_£resentjit
ti^_connnittal_qf^jv5o^^ every act of
folly, every sinful pleasure. He is looking on
at every task. As a man is''^;;?^Si;;j^irhi^
daily task, absorbed with its importance and
unseen by men, there is a constant Spectator
giving him encouragement for his faithfulness,
or reproving him for his shortsightedness and
folly in belittling his work. Every man is en-

gaged in an eternal mission, and the material
2

THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

labor has permanent elements which can never
pass away. Man's work is eternal. The Em-
ployer of man is inspecting his work every
moment. Not a flaw escapes His notice. No
imperfection is passed by. This is encourage-
ment for the patient worker unknown to the
world ; but it means despair to him who is scant
in service and unfaithful to his task. When
Phidias, the famous sculptor, had finished his
reclining statue of Theseus, it was observed that,
though it was to occupy an elevated position in
the temple, the back of the statue was as highly
polished as the front ; and when asked why he
had expended so much time and energy upon
that part which would never be seen by men, he
calmly and reverently replied, "Men may not
see it, but the gods will." The eye of God sees
the inmost thoughts, motives and desires, as well
as their outward expression. Nothing escapes
the vigilance of the righteous Judge.

God is always keeping a record of every Ijfg
:o its minutest details. Darkness is light to
God. The darkest night is an unerring pho-
tographer of every action. There is scientific
probability that, however deep the darkness,
every act is imprinted on nature, and there may
be tests which shall draw it into daylight and
make it permanent. The prints of the feet of

THE IMISIBLE THIRD.

birds have been left on the rocks ; the ichthyo-
saurus has spoken, ages after it had ceased to
exist ; the fossil remains of animals and men
are revealings of past history. They left their
marks that future ages might read. The Re-
corder of the Universe is always taking nbtes.
There is a record of every act, word and thought.
These imprint themselves on the history of the
world, on the minds and memories of men, and
on our own natures. This record will be read.
It will not be hidden away to remain musty for
ages, but will retain its freshness till the judg-
ment day. Th e,Unseen is watching ever v_rnan
The eye of God is upon us. " Thou God seest
me." We shut our eyes and hang down our
heads, yet we feel the terrible pressure upon our
hearts that some One is looking at us. The
prisoner in the condemned cell shrinks from the
eye that is fixed upon him through the small
opening in the door, and there is oppression to
the sinner in the constant and fixed gaze of the
eye of the Eternal Judge.

Beware, th en, of sin, and flee from i^ . It will
slay you if you run not from it toward God.
Its allurements entice you that it may destroy.
There is no safety in a life of unrighteousness.
Flee from Sodom to Calvarv. Escape for thy
life and look not behind thee. Seek God and

THE DESTINY OF TODAY.

a makeJj im your frien d, and you shall find peace
J^ and joy. His voice will lose its harshness. De-
nunciation of your sins will be changed into the
accents of forgiveness; and when you fall at
His feet as an humble penitent, He will bless
you with peace beyon-" '' price.

THE EVERY DA V OF JUDGMENT.

•• Is there but one day of judgment ? Why, for us every day
IS a day of judgment -every day is a dies ira, and writes its
irrevocable verdict in the flame of its vtesi."—/ohn A'uskin.

Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to
udgment ; and some men they follow after."— i Tim. 5 : 24.

TjjE world isj?uilt oq^^er|TalJii«»irv> Judg-
ment is its foundation. The purple-clothed
sinner may drive the righteous poor from his
door, but the world expects he must settle the
account at no distant date. Th<: recognition of
judgment of thoughts, words and deeds lies
deep in the soul of man. There is no escap e"'
from the first juHprmPnf^ ac f here will not bp
fro m the last . Duplicity will be outwitted and
blasphemy will be crushed. Conscience says
right will prevail and wrong will be punished.
The fire of lust will burn itself. The vicious
man is always minus something; the virtuous
man is a. ways plus something. The balances
of justice are so finely adjusted in nature that
there is no good or evil so small that the scales
will not be turned. Men look for this in huma n
aff a irs and CXpprt i tu -JD -ilifimsglyes, though sin

THE DESTINY OF TODAY.

may dull their sense and cause them at times to
forget it. Justice is well represented as blind-
folded, that there may be no partiality and
every one may get his due. Human justice
js„,5a_often_thwarted through ignorance, self-
interest, deliberate and determined iniquity, that
the world often seems out of gear, and the best-
of men suffer. The good are persecuted and
vilified, the bad exalted and admired. Neros
sit on thrones ^nd Polycarps are destroyed.
Laud is an archbishop, and Richard Cameron,
the godly Covenanter, is beheaded. Iji^e
9j^ hearts of men there is a dema n d for a day o f
SfittlfiSlSfl^, when wrongs will be righted and the
virtuous and wicked alike receive their due.

The adjustment of the affairs of the world is
seen in t he doom of j iations exalted in privilege
and opportunity, and cast down and obliterated
through iniquity. The doom of Sodom and
Gomorrah, Tyre and Sidon, is repeated in the
history of nations till the present time. The
fire of sensuality consumes them, and the lava
of atheism will bury them from the memory of
future generations. Every man is subject to
similar conditions and consequences. Indi-
J. YJdu als will be judged, and fromjhejenjenrp
--^ there is no escape . There is a judgment of
wrath or of righteousness for every man. F uture
J*^i'^g"?gaLJs_recogr ' -db^jiiejri, and the'Scrip^

THE EVERY DAY OF JUDGMENT. 23

tures very fully describe the scene, the actors,

the sentences and their fulfilment. ^^^

Condemnation and acquittal are not limited
to the future, for t here is "present judgment a^ I'
wglL as, juture. To-morrow is the judgment
and so is to-day. What wo i Ud the world , be
without a judgment dav? Superstition might
flee before the advance of culture, but passion
would chase reason out of the world, anarchy
would stalk in ribald majesty through the
streets, compelling virtue to hide her face,
religion and religious institutions and influ-
ences would be banished, and God would be
dethroned. Sho uld there ever come a dav of
no judgment, the world would sit in darkness
as deep as the lowest hell, the flowers would
forget to bloom and send out their fragrance,
the birds would forget to sing, and nature
without laws would fall into infinite disorder.
What would a single ma n be without a. jildg-
ment day? It would produce in him such a
revolution that the beasts of the field would be
heroes and kings and usurp his authority, for
he would cease to be a man, and the lowest
creatures would be gods compared to him. We
speak of the last judgment, and stand entranced
before the masterpiece of the great painter who
reveals his idea of that impressive scene ; but if
there is a last judgment, there must be a first.

THE DESTINY OF TODA Y.

We are each living in the first judgment Unto
each of us there are many judgment days, for
f§£*»„J%J5 a^iudj;ment_day. The present
judgment is as true, real and permanent as the
future judgment.
When a deed is done it is ph otograjh^Hjn
^ . "^ture and in the memory of man, andjcanaot

• be changed. It is recorded and judged. The

thoughts become visible, the words find perma-
nence in ourselves and others, and the deeds
are transformed from things of time into eternal
things. Consequences follow them as fruit from
trees. The spoken word cannot be recalled,
forgotten, or destroyed. It has gone out into
the universe on its mission of good or evil, and
will return to us as a messenger with his story
or a warrior with his spoils. Every act Js re -
Ji ^^^<^ to other acts. Sin never travels alone.
It seeks company, and is fruitful. It is a weed
of the rankest kind, which usurps the soil and
destroys our choicest pleasures. There is so
much in sin that is never disclosed, as it pos-
sesses the power of attractiveness, and the dark
company go trooping through the world in their
work of despair. We cannot see the effects of
their destructive mission except here and there
the blackened trail, and we need the light of the
judgment day to reveal the mystery and settle
the account, ^j^ery word. thoughtMnotiygand

THE EVERY DAY OF JUDGMENT. 25

act is recognized bv God, and has pres<^ ^| ju dpr-
ment. He decides the question of merit or de-
merit, discriminating between the good and bad
in their relation to privil^e, opportunity and
circumstances. Seeing all things, He settles all
things in this present life, with a reservation of
power in the mystery of justice in the future.

Elvery da j^ is a d ay of judgmen t. Is, there
but one judgment day , or are we living in the
midst of judgment, and every day a day of
judgment ? We are standing to-day before the
throne of God, and the Judge of all the earth is
dividing the sheep and the goats, and Christ is
now se parating those who by patient cohtinu-
ance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and
immortality, from those who are contentious
and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteous-
ness. You are in your judgment day, and one
step may take you over the border to the final ^ .
judgment. The world is a court of justice. at^<^ f%j
our fellow men sit in judgment upon u s. With
a keener insight and truer judgment than was
possible through the aid of the ordeals of the
middle ages, by which men were tested by fire,
our follies, frailties and sins are discovered. In
the tribunal of the world every man is found
out, and worth receives a measure of its due.
Every action is gauged and stamped. We pre-
tend to be great to-day, and a word, movement,

(4)

THE liESTlNY OF TO-DAY.

pu^ uf in ^ T '"P"'"™ °f countenance,
puts us m our true place. There is a divine
quest,on,ng in the hearts of men regarding each

find their level. The heathen sit in judgment
upon us as they contrast our creed indTar-
acter. Satan is not an uninterested spectator

™at*onT-°r ""k f """' P'"" '"^^ -''■
mate on Chnstians by their hatred of the weak-

and the distance which lies between Christ and
our hlceness to Him. Our homes and our pl^.

and th^r' °" ^""''- '"^ '"'■'"'"' "« "buse
and the msects we crush become our judges

and before the light of eternity has dawned

upon us we are Condemned in the sight of G^

and .„3n. What if the dying and the dead^

they leave this world are able to pierce our ga^

ments of flesh and look into our souls an/,Sd

the history which no living man can see ! What

a tale i, there written I If they possess the

power of telling what they saw when th^reach

he outskirts of the kingdom, to those who wat

It will be enough to darken the atmosphere of
heaven and hide the face of God

us in our sins and deal mercifully with us He

THE EVERY DAY OF JUDGMENT. 27

finds no delight in smiting, yet in justice He
smites the sinner. Righteousness is the master-
word of the Old Testament. Judgment, in law,
is not the sentence of the judge, but of the law ;
judgment, in theology, is a divine sentence, the
expression of God, who is the Maker of the law.
There is no escape from eternal justice. The
stamp of justice is left upon the body and mind
of the drunkard and criminal. Our brother's
blood writes its message upon our hearts. The
burden of iniquity crushes our life. The Cross
is a judge of al!. The day of the Cross was a
mighty judgment day. There is a law of infinite
mercy on earth, and a law of infinite rigor. Jus-
tice, duty and love can only be grounded in the
Eternal. Wherever sin is punished, God is not
slow to assert His sovereign connection with the
process. We cannot disassociate God from the
terrible and enduring pains which alight upon
all forms of sin. The sunset chronicles the
events which have occurred during the day.
The waves that beat against Venice sing the
dirge of her downfall from the days of her glory. ^ ,
Every day is a day of wrath to the sinner , (hj
Sin is self-chastised . There is' an inwardness of
penalty from which we cannot flee when we
have committed sin. Sin leaves its tooth-mark
in the flesh. It punishes itself, sees its shadow
everywhere, a diseased and distressing self-con-

THE DESTINY OF TO-DAV.

when we si. in -....Z. u^n o ^^^ Tht

bring before us scenes of other days which seem
to us gratuitous falsehood until consdence^„

foSl^ hi! '• "T"^ '°y'">' «° 'he Cros^

MUce and '"."'• ■"""«■« «'«'» of hi,

palace and an aged monlt reminds him of the

auenchJ I ""' *'"' °'*e soul cannot be

Place '-l-^^r™" """"•«■ "Sho-me the
Place, cnes the monarch, and with his swoid

n hH nd T '' '■" *' ""'^ ">onk. holZt
«llif,K ^ ?" '""='' «""■ gleaming as the
roll of the judgment day, boldly says "Still it
IS written on thv soul " H„™ u
li^h« it«if ^^ °'"- Human character pub-
hshes tself; actions speak louder than words-

H uLTt/"^^ """ "" f-«^" no'
hell is d^u '",'""''" °f """-^ 'he existence of

trunk .h?h '"°*"'"^, °^ '"= "'"•''• *« blasted
trunk, the barren rock, and the dark solitudes

succZ"'""' r "^ """^ ^^- '«« " ' of «;
succeeding good and night the day. We ,^te

THE EVERY DAY OF JUDGMENT.

our history with our blood. As suddenly and
mysterious as the handwriting on the wall at
the feast of Belshazzar does sin leave its hiero-
glyphics on the soul, and there is no need of an
interpreter to disclose the full meaning of the
characters. It is the manuscript of God. The
most beautiful arts are the expression of people
who feel themselves wrong, ever striving after
a loveliness they have not yet attained. The
Book of Remembrance is ever in view ; a sense
of judgment is in the air ; self-judgment is
mysteriously forced upon us by an unseen hand ;
sensual passion begets madness ; man, made in
the image of God falling into sin and delight-
ing in it, becomes finally degraded, and a sense
of shame and baseness completes the human
tragedy. Instruments of judgment all lie ready
to hand; the inward processes of sin work
destructively on man's body, mind and soul ;
there are red beacons everywhere warning men
of inward and outward sin.

We are Jiving in eternity to- day. Today is
a new day, and we must live in the moment,
advancing as the shadow on the dial. You can-
not escape eternity by forgetting it ; you may
try to flee from present judgment and eternal
justice, but there is no escape— God can and
does strike now. He is not obliged to send a
sinner to the place of the damned in order to

THE DESTINY OF TODAY.

aTit o "'''•^"^«^^*^^»>'- Cain was

allowed to live as a warning to others of the

d.re«l effects of giving way to mahgnant pa^!
sions, and as a hving monument of the power of
a gu.li, conscience. His wild ferocity of aspect
made e- cry one shrink from him. Our hfVis
one. H ,s a continuous, irretraceable hfe. which
we cannot recall or live over again, and ,n a
sir-wT.^'r/"^^^ "^^"' must 'each of u!
How often we say, " Oh. if I could only live my
life over again ! » But the door of that " if" is
closed and the key is thrown away. Steadily
our life moves onward, and there is .. retreaf
Around the dial of a clock in a church tower

wound^l'h^'r '^' ''^""^' "^" '^« "^^'"^"ts
wound, the last one slays." The longest life

EtTrnitri" "'•^'' "^ ^" ^^'"S -«^^-y
Eternity ,s upon us, and we change not the

?utr '"''^ '^ '''' '' P^"-"^ °^ tt

aiid^finaLemghasis. T^iTfinal day will dl
cbse the hidden things of this life. InuZ
thomes narrative. "The Minister's Black Veil "
a godly and intelligent minister suddenly ap-
pears in his pulpit wearing a douWe fold of
crape over h.s face, to the horror and surprise

THE EVERY DAY OF JUDGMENT. 81

of his congregation. He has resolved to wear
it to the end of life as a sign of the reservations
with which men hide their faults from each
other, and their attempt to disguise and hide
the worst that is in them from God Himself.
This singular badge looks as a penance for some
scandalous sin, and no one dares to ask him its
meaning. The lady who was to be his bride
could not persuade him to remove it, and she
bids him farewell. On his deathbed a neighbor-
ing minister seeks to extort a confession for his
secret sin, and remove the badge ; but the dying
minister clutches at it, and he is buried with
the veil unlifted. It remains as a witness that
much which eternity will disclose to us cannot
be revealed in this life by those who are nearest
to us. We live a double life — one known to
ourselves and another for our fellow men— but
God sees both of them. God can wait to strike,
for He has a whole eternity before Him. The
present judgment is preliminary to the higher
and final judgment day. At a chemical lec-
ture in Paris, the effects of the gases upon the
faces of most of the women in the fashionable
audience who used cosmetics to improve the
complexion, transformed them into such i.di-
crouE colors that when they met in the open air
they greeted one another with exclamations of
dismay. Is not this suggestive of the transfor-

THE DESTINY OF TO DA V.

mation of the judgment, when every man will
stand convicted of his sin ? What shall there be
m the other world for us ?

Perform, then, such ngts^as wjlj^nflt bcLjcon-
temed. " Will my case be called to-day ? " is
the earnest inquiry of the prisoner of his legal
adviser. "Have you left nothing undone?" is
the appeal of his anxious mind. Such anxiety
in relation to a civil court on earth ought to
suggest greater anxiety in relation to the high
court of eternity. j^JUlimsaaibLU^ryou to
^ 'iania£2uittgiiaj<5iS^^

you are being judged, and yet you do not
tremble. The Judge is at the doors of your
houses, condemning you for your sins. The

He claims you for his client ; He has the wis-
dom and ability to set you at liberty. Will you
let Him ?

REMORSE.

" Conscience is harder than our enemies, "

Knows more, accuses with more nicety."

—George Eliot.

" 'Tis the first constant punishment of sin.
That no bad man absolves himself within."

—Juvenal,
" My punishment is greater than I can bear."— GV«. 4 : 13.

Cain and Judas are representatives of the

class of individuals afflicted with remorse of

conscience. They are striking illustrations of

the fact that therejgjnjiiar^ajrevelati^

fe>5e.wni^^all5d_conscienc Man is a fellow-

knower, in association with God, knowing right

and wrong The part of the divine likeness in

these typical sinners reproved them for their

sin. The voice of God, the eye that approves

and condemns, will not leave us alone. Man

walks not alone in the world, for conscience has

possession of each one and will no' 'et him go.

The self-registering thermometer in the soul

tells its own tale and reveals to each his native

condition, unseen by mortal eyes. God has

el5£eUn.each of us a judge ofjneral Jhoughts -
8 33

THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

Hi
lit
Ml

I- '

ill

r-)

and actions, to discriminate and decide, a power
which is above us, that, being mindful of eternal
justice, we may have a perpetual witness of God
and His will in the soul. This judge approves
of what is right and condemns that which is
wrong. Conscience doth make cowards of us
all. Joseph's brethren thought of the crime
they had committed against him years before in
selling him before he revealed himself to them
in Egypt. The voice within often awakens un-
pleasant remembrances of sins hidden from all
but ourselves. Yet this inward power may be
enlightened or depraved. Men live amongst us
with consciences refined and diseased, silenced
temporarily. This power can never be gener-
ated, eradicated, nor definitely perverted. It
will speak out for God and righteousness,
though we may strive to hush it to sleep.

There is need for such a divine _witne3s_Jn
man toJ<eep_the knowledge of God_^gure^d
strong in the soul, to develop righteousness and
form right habits" of conduct. The glorious
liberty of haters of God is to get rid of the
bugbear of righteousness and the rule of the
imaginary individual named God, having their
fruit unto the gratification of their passions. It
is^ needed to make the n iost of ourselves by a
Godlike aim, bearing in mindtKe'p^rpose for
which we were created. Michael Angelo pos-

REMORSE.

sessed the power to take the angel out of the
block of marble, but whether it should be a
satyr or a seraph lay in the direction which he
gave to that power ; and conscience is required
to give the direction to our thoughts and life.
IXJs. need^i to make Jife^vb^ The power of
the world to come must rest upon us to infuse
the feeling of eternity in our souls. We are apt
to live as if there were no judgment and man
was not responsible for his thoughts, words and
deeds. It makes all the difference in our lives
whether we are living and working in or out of
harmony with God. To chop a tree upward is
hard, but the downward swing has in it all the
force of the earth itself; and to work against
God is hard, while working with Him has the
long purpose of eternity behind and success
ahead. lU&-4ieededJo^£stablislLandjngjjit^^
2!2e£!Lrelal^gns_between_^^
lows. To gaze upon the follies of men is to
indulge in outside laughter while within our
hearts are sad. C onscienc e is needed ^to giveJife
^?-"g oytlook and brighten eternity. Temp-
tations, doubts and difficulties will beset us, yet
the true Christian heart can say, " Though He
slay me, yet will I trust in Him." The dark-
ened vision may come to the devoted spirit, and
then he will need the divine testimony assuring
his soul that all is well. The assurance of sal-

THE DESTINY OF TODAY.

fil

vation will lighten the gloom on the pathway of
life. The blatant blasphemy of the age receives
a check in the pathetic lines engraved on the
tombstone of Thomas Henry Huxley :

" And if there be no meeting past the grave,
If all is darkness, silence, yet 'tis rest.
Be not afraid, ye waiting hearts that weep,
For God still giveth His beloved sleep ;
And if an endless sleep He wills— so best."

A positive life ife the need of the individual.
Men cannot live on stones. Some of the most
pathetic utterances have been given by men
who lived on a negative creed, which is the
creed of death. Conscience^is. the need of the
^a) world. The conscience of the race is often true,
yet it requires training. Public opinion is often
confused and lacking in fixed moral principles.
The age is wanting in the recognition of the
fact that God rules in the world, that eternal
justice is the foundation of His government.
Anarchy cannot stand before a firm belief in
the Almighty and Supreme God, for this
makes a government firm. Weak, wavering
consciences need the common conscience to
sting and stimulate them. How often we have
seen men away from home living vicious lives,
who are respectable and virtuous among their
friends in their native city. Leave God and
conscience out of the world and there is no re-

REMORSE.

morse; let materialism have the supremacy and
a keen sense of sin will be absent.

Therejs^punishment^ inherent in evil. God
has_£laced^jmomtoHn_^^ /,

t^ecUiim^againstevil. The approval of conscience
is a religious appetite, and its stings religious
aversion. Sin and punishment were synony-
mous with Cain, the typical sinner. Perversity,
iniquity, sin and punishment are proper transla-
tions of the same Hebrew word. Punishment
inheres in the sin. The voice of God in the
soul protects it from injurious influences if we
will only listen and obey. There is always a
good angel standing by our side to warn us
against the temptations and dangers of sin.
The Father watches over his children with more
than the anxiety of a mother. Punishment in
the sense of discipline is the expression of love.
Drooping eyes, colored cheeks, and a sense of
shame are proofs of the existence of righteous-
ness in the soul. The man is not dead who
experiences these things ; he is not wholly lost.
The blatant criminal who sins and looks you in
the face is standing on the brink of hell. Man
is built up around a conscience, and the core of
every one's being is a moral substance.
^ ach emotion^jhought^^w^^
acejn^the mfempi^^jndjvinjtrike back. '
These are deeply imbedded in the memot^y

:r.

IH:

7'//E DESTINY OF TODAY.

and, as photographers' negatives, are preserved.
There is an eternal phonograph which will give
expression to the thoughts, words and acts of
every life; it will retain all we have spoken
into it, and when eternity dawns upon our
vision it will give utterance to our unspoken
thoughts. Turquoise may be stained an excep-
tionally fine blue color, so as to deceive the eye
of the expert ; but wash it in alcohol, wipe off
the grease, and la^ it in ammonia, and the true
nature of the stone will be revealed. Deception
will always be discovered. Evil will always
strike back. MegoiMy restores old forms. The
snatch of an old song, the tint of a flower, an
old glove, or a face in a crowd, will bring forms
and faces of other days, and a new experience
or chance acquaintance will restore the evil
words, thoughts and acts of former years.
Imagi nation be gets new forms. When the
imagination is pure and refined it produces
lovely pictures, and upon us, therefore, lies the
responsibility of seeking the culture of the
imagination by the study of great books, works
of art, and communion with godlike men and
women. Sin_aflfectsjhe imagination. It begets
fear. Spectres fill the a.r. Spiritual delirmm
tremens affect the victim of sin. The lawless,
vindictive Cain felt that there might be other
beings like himself who would deal with him

HEMORSE.

as he had done with his brother. His imag-
ination was powerfully wrought upon by his
crime. So is it always. In the *' Eumenides "
of Eschylus, Orestes sees the Furies always
pursuing him. Sin arouses the conscience to
cry out and the man feels an inward curse
gnawing his vitals. In one of Hawthorne's
stories a wretched man is represented as carry-
ing about in his bosom a serpent which gnaws
him continually, and he thinks every man he
meets is cursed with the same snaky guest.
He is a victim of remorse. Remorse is literally
an after-bite— a keen anruish caused by a sense
of guilt without any su^,^ ion of forgiveness.
Sin always bites back; you cannot get away
from the consequences of sin. It has a voice
and will speak out d/^spite our strongest pro-
testations. Shut your ears and it will thunder
as loud as Sinai in your hearts. Fill up all the
avenues of sense, and it will find a road to your
hearts ; night and day are alike to this voice.

Every immoral thing will consign man on 3,
earth to a Tivmg death . Sin is a deadly pnicnn — '
which slays man by inches. The sinner walks
through the world restless as the wandering Jew,
doomed to wander and never rest till Christ
shall come. Every impure act dooms man to
ceaseless activity, ever hasting and never resting.
A French writer has represented Herodias

THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

k
ill

doomed to wander for centuries for her crime
of seeking the head of John the Baptist. Ever
behind her as she wanders she hears the cry
Go on go on." In her weary wanderings.'
desinng death and anxious to grow old, whL
she still remains young, she comes to a ruined
abbey in a secluded glen in Europe, where
there stands in front a statue of John the
Baptist, headless, holding his head in a platter
She sees in the fa^e a look of sympathy and
pity, and as she looks into a spring at her
side she perceives her hair turning white and
she IS rapidly growing old. and her longed-for
rest of death has come at last. It is the old
story of remorse for sin. The hateful thing will
not leave you nor let you die. You long for
death, but there is no happy release. You try
to escape, but the way is barred. You cry in
agony, but the heavens mock you.

V ^ ^^^^P^^bsmghLwscU^
A> aL^sj^t^oj;^h£istj^^

conferred benefits upon eveiy member of the
human race. The germ of divine goodness in
the soul becomes diseased by sinful thoughts
and deeds ; the Christ image in the soul becomes
partially defaced by it. and man loses his dig-
nity and beauty through its presence. A
strange power presses the offending soul to
stern and awful acts of self-judgment. The

REMORSE.

ir.

impure thought casts a shadow over the mind,
the hasty word cuts deep into the memory, and
the sinful deed leaves a scar upon the soul.
The vision becomes distorted and the imagi-
nation diseased. Eugene Aram, the school-
master, murders a man, and he cannot look in
the faces of the innocent children. He buries
the body, but he has to take it up ; he hides it
in a stream, but it runs dry ; he covers it with
leaves, but the winds blow them away. Nature
and God are against him, and his conscience
always smites.

Neglect^f d uties and opportu nities cannot
beatonej^ij^jijan. Every day may be the '
last one, and lost time is lost eternity. Man
cannot get rid of his sin. The hours perish and
are put down to our account. The lost oppor-
tunity never returns. Evil done is done for-
ever. It leaves its mark upon us which we
carry forever. We cannot atone for past mis-
<leeds. Remorse of conscience is part of th^ i>
EH£/.5lyaenl.M._sin_^on^eaw^^ Remorse is the " — '
fitting word for the punishment of sin. Com-
mit a crime and its effects remain, it returns to
smite the sinner. Conceive a man living in hell
on earth, tracing for others a road to heaven
from which his crimes exclude him. Conceive
a soul preparing joys for others, and compelled
to witness the pleasure which he cannot enjoy

42 THE DESTINY OF TO- DAY.

The stain of blood cannot be rubbed out. Go
to Holyrood Palace and see the mark left by
the blood of Rizzio. Lady Macbeth may wash
her hands, but " all the perfumes of Arabia will
not sweeten this little hand." Poe's raven
pecks at your window, looks over your
shoulder, burns into your bosom's core with
his fiery eyes, and always you hear the grim
and ancient raven croaking. " Nevermore."
TJHS-is„§»ch. a,.ihing_as eternal remorse, the
worn that dieth not, the sin that will never let
us rest, but forever cries out against us.

Each feeling, thought, word and act is repro-
ductive. Like begets like. Character grows and
determines destiny ; it shows itself in all we do.
Habits are made easily, but we are flayed alive
when we seek to strip them off. Kindness
never dies, and there is something of evil that
ever remains. Physical forces cannot originate,
except by generation, from some antecedent
force or forces. Heat may produce electricity
and electricity heat, each merging itself as the
force it produces becomes developed, so there is
a correlation of spiritual forces. Love begets
peace and peace begets love; joy produces
faith and faith produces joy ; evil begets evil,
and the habit of vice begets vice. The
wistaria throws out its tendrils so tenderly that
it pleads for support, and you build a trellis

HEAfO/iSE.

that it may entwine itself; but by and by it
becomes so strong that the tendrils pull the
posts aside, and may even move the solid brick-
so is a vicious habit, easily begun, growing
stronger with the years, until it destroys the
reputation and undermines the character.
Some poisons may be taken little by little
with impunity, but they make a cumulative
deposit, which at last acts as a final dose, and
sin reaches a climax by repetition until it
destroys the sinner. Dant^ places the tyrants
who delighted in bloodshed and pillaging up to
the eyebrows in boiling blood wherein they
uttered loud laments to no purpose. Habitual
sii>s mark character. Tennyson forcefully says :

" The sin that practice burns into the blood,
And not the one dark hour that brings remorse,
'Twill brand us of whose fold we be."

Evil is expansive , increasing with age . Sin
grows. There is a silent progress of decadence.
An avalanche grows from the soft snow which
you press in your hand, till it gathers hardness
and force and plunges headlong, carrying de-
struction along its path. A sin in its infancy
is like a fire that a single bucket of water may
at first quench, but afterward fire engines
cannot put out. The miser's love of wealth
increases until it crushes him. Faust is greedy

THE DESTINY OF TO-DA V.

of knowledge, and while he gains it, is consc'ous
of its emptiness. His passion for knowledge
drives him on, ever greedier for its possession
and less satisfied the more he gets. The
tempter mocks the harmony of heaven and
mars the beauty of earth, plays upon the lower
nature of the man, corrupting his intellect by
the lowest of his senses, and as he weans him
from the high pursuit of truth to the lust of the
flesh, he does it at the expense of chastity and
beauty, glorj-ing ever in the waste which he
creates. There are steps in evil thinking and
doing. The descent to hell has steps /as well as
the ascent to heaven. There are stages in sin
as well as in holiness. There is a voluntary as
well as involuntary hardening of the heart.
You may tune a violin to keep step with the
vibrations of a suspension bridge in course of
erection so that it will sway to destruction, and
men may tune their passions to the vibrations
of iniquity till the structure made by God will
fall in ruins. We multiply ourselves in our sins.
"Foul whisperings are abroad; unnatural
deeds do breed unnatural troubles; infected
minds to their deaf pillows will discharge their
g^ secrets." PunishmenLgrows wjth the sin until
^ the moral nature is destroyed and all feeling is
gone. There is misery in the sense of sin. The
sharpest woe is to look on the ills we have

REMORSE.

brought upon ourselves. Vice begets loneliness.
Lost souls as they sink in vice become isolated,
estranged from their fellows and God. The
soul of Richard III. is so roused with the
thought of his wickedness that conscience has a
thousand tongues, every tongue tells a different
tale, and ewtry tale condemns him for a villain.
He thinks the souls of all he murdered come to
his tent with threats of vengeance on his head.
Shadows become stronger than soldiers. Pun-
ishment grows with the years, though conscience
may seem dead it will cry out. This is seen in
conscience money, con'"3ssions upon death-beds
of crimes committed, and men fleeing from the
faces of their fellows.

femorsejDJ[jjonsden3js^ce^^ It is sure
to come to the sinner. Be sure your sin will
find you out. The pleasures of sin are like the
fabled apples on the brink of the Dead Sea, fair
without, but ashes within. Vice will destroy the
sinner. It will return like the Australian boom-
erang, and may destroy the thrower. God
inflicts His penalties upon the unrighteous. The
way of transgressors is hard. It is hard to
indulge in sensual sin, for ycu cannot escape the
consequences. Remorse will come. If you
li- i in dissipation or forget God, though your
sin may be hidden from man, remorse is sure to
follow the sin. A terrible anguish will eat at

I,.

i'l

THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

the core of the heart and will not be satisfied.
Would you know what remorse is, visit the
deathbed of Randolph of Roanoke. Having
made preparations to die, he lay quiet for a
short time with his eyes closed, and then sud-
denly roused up and exclaimed, "Remorse!
Remorse!" Having repeated it three times,
the last time at the top of his voice, with great
agitation he cried out, " Let me see the word-
get a dictionary ! \ Let me see the word ! "
" There's none in the room, sir."
" Write it down, then. Let me see the word !"
The doctor picked up one of his cards, " Ran-
dolph, of Roanoke." " Shall I write on this ? "
" Yes ; nothing more proper."
The word remorse was then written in pencil.
Taking the card in a hurried manner, and fas-
tening his eyes on it with great intensity, he
exclaimed, " Write it on the back." When this
was done, it was handed to him. With great
agitation he exclaimed, " Remorse ! You have
no idea what it is ; you can form nc idea of it
whatever ; it has contributed to bring me to my
present situation. But I have looked to the
Lord Jesus Christ, and hope I have obtained
pardon. Now let John take your pencil and
draw a line under the word."

When this was done, the doctor asked, "What
am I to do with the card ? "

REMORSE.

Put it in your pocket, take care of it, and

when
Remorse

dead, look at it

of,

will

conscience will come
ner. Look into your heart and see there the
foul thoughts and impure desires. Have you
any thought of pleasing God? The infinite
searcher of hearts will send a flash more power-
ful than the electric light into the darkness of
your soul, revealing His foes and condemning
them for their iniquity. Well may you become
weepers, like the followers of Savonarola, be-
cause of your sins. Tamper not with evil, or it
will slay you. Fl ee from God by fleeing to^3
Him. Repent of your sins, and depart from the
City of Destruction, for the place is doomed.
Conscience bids you halt, for an angel of light
stands ready to save you. Beware of the hidden
currents of your life. Conviction is worthless
until converted into conduct. Weep for your
sins and flee from them. S ggk power {xom [%)
Christ to overcome sin, and the tear of infinite
pity will quench the flame of sinful desire, the
sunshine of hope will enter your soul, and love
— divine love — will transform, ennoble and save
you.

RETRIBUTION.

" To be left alone
And face to face with my own crimes, had been
Just retribution."

— Longfellow.

, " Unnatural deeds

Do breed unnatural troubles. Infected minds
To their deaf pillows will discharge their secrets.
More needs she the divine than the physician."

— Shakespeare.
" Be sure your sin will find you oat."— J\rum. 32 : 23.

Man is religious in spite of himself. The
faiths of the human heart are a stern witness
against sin in every form, and assert t he^etgrnaj

/. i2i!I£*i2!Lfe!:S^*S?^^ Among

/ alTtriBes and generations of men there exist the
same principles and distinctions of moral good
and evil. Vice may come armed with authority,
and dressed in the garb of innocence, yet she is
repelled by the moral instincts residing in the
human heart. The continence of Xenocrates
was admired by those who celebrated the de-
baucheries of Jupiter. The worst of men admire
goodness. Adam, before the fall, felt the same
passions as we do now, but he felt them as he

RETRIBUTION.

ought and when he ought. After the fall,
though the same passions remained, their use
and action were changed, so that self-love be-
came selfishness, disorder reigned in the heart,
and there was needed a new creation to make
him a true child of God.

Our lives often appear different to other
people than what they seem to us. As a vessel
at sea may be seen in sunsh.ne and shade by
the people who stand on the shore, and the
pilot is thinking of the dangers and breakers
ahet J, so we, battling with the waves, keep true
to our course without asking how we look from
the shore. What should we care how we appear
if only we are right ? The rule of right is not a
provincialism of this planet, but is eternal and
universal.

Let life be accurately represented, and there "
will always be found a theology in life. Iq all
great religions there is found one God, personal
immortality and retribution. There is a law of %
retrib ution which is restless, persistentTanH^ ""
parToTthe permanent order of the world. There
are processes which vindicate righteousness and
outlive the generations of men. God is in the
world asserting His existence and righteousness
by laws which men are compelled to recognize.
Obedience to these laws ensures peace, and dis-
obedience brings disorder and death. God is

THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

% ngarer jo us than our ownjtjhougjits^^
y^ The evil things in the universe cannot break the
ring which God has made about us. He comes
to make a home with us that no human being
can enter. The eternal Father comes closer to
us than the evil thought and temptation. There

>is a presen cj-etributign confinedjo^pjui^eliirm
t]ill31&l»fe- Sin will reveal itselftoSTn
making him feel the presence of a monster
seekmg to destroy him. There is an internal

^discoverv^o£si,n. Surwjn re^gH^jT^^

?\ ^^l—^-^^-J^i^^i^^''^- What adFs^^^!
(J) The pam of wrong-doing may be lessened by
repetition, as there will be less of the man to be
hurt. Man becomes less a man by placing
himself under the destructive power of sin
Remorse is a sign of life, for the man is not
wholly dead who feels the soul-pangs caused by
sin. . Sin will discover itself You can tell the
thief in a group by the way in which he looks
at the stolen thing. " Be sure your sin will find
you out." There may remain a hidden part
A\ ^unrighteousness which men fail to" see, yet
^ J there is inwrought in the life and character the
impure thought, word and deed which will
speak out in very undesirable times and places
The seed will grow, though the harvest be
late. Prehistoric sins become historic in their
effects. The story of extinct races, decaying

RETRIBUTION.

and dead civilizations, is often the tale of hidden
iniquity.

Sin will reve^ itself to jhe mjnutest jetail. "(l)
There are interior scenes and acts in every life
which disclose the frailties and follies of youth.
Character is analyzed by inward motives and
movements. Nathaniel Hawthorne's tale of
" Ethan Brand " describes the search aft* and
discovery of the unpardonable sin. In his de-
sire to find some sin beyond the reach of divine
mercy he employs the art of hypnotism, by
which he is enabled to look into the souls of
men. Eighteen »ars of weary wandering are
spent in his hel i quest, and at last he returns
to the lime-kiln which he had forsaken, to find
another man at his post as lime-burner. He
tells him that he has discovered the unpardon-
able sin in his own breasv During the night
he leaps into the hissing flames of the kiln, and
in the morning his burnt skeleton is seen enclos-
ing a calcined heart, the fire refusing to destroy
the organ hardened through sin. It is the story
of the quest of forbidden knowledge and the
end of moral degradation. The smallest sin
will reveal itself to the man who perpetrates it.
There is no escape from iniquity. Sin^ will Y/ j
revealitself to us. Punishment is inward, as
seen TnBfinHness of mind, a reprobate sense,
strong delusions, hardness of heart, horrors of

THE DESTINY OF TO-DA Y.

conscience, and vile affections. We carry within
ourselves the soil in which wrong-doing grows,
and the weeds will choke the growth of good-
ness. The sea of iniquity will give up its dead.
The remains of iron vessels may sometimes be
seen on the sea-shore being gradually imbedded
in the sand, and the day may come, centuries
hence, when these shall be discovered by pos-
terity and compared with the dug-out canoe,
and made to tell the story of the stage of civili-
zation of our owri century ; so sin may lie buried
in our memory to be found after many years
and to bring many heartaches. Sin will find
me out Right or wrong doing in relation to
physical and spiritual nature is sure in the end
to meet with its own appropriate reward or
punishment. T he disco very of sin is not con-
l^ fine d^ to ourselves, for though we may hide it
ever so cunningly, there are eyes around us,
twice ten thousand, which behold the scars
unknown to ourselves. Our fellow men are
explorers of character. The eye of society
possesses the combined powers of the telescope
and microscope, and its ear is a microphone.
The Omniscient Eye pierces the shadow of
sinful man and finds the secret place where sin
dwells. " Be not deceived ; God is not mocked,"
for He can see into the depth of the human
heart, scanning its caves and dens where iniquity

RETRIBUTION.

lurks.

Sin will reveal man to himself.

— — — — - ^^^

Men ii)
desire phot^raphToTthen^ is an

accurate photographer. It paints man with all
his blemishes. It takes the picture complete,
and the man becomes ashamed and throws a
screen over the picture. /

Sin will Jead a _man captive jtefore God. ^ Ij
There is a man trying to hide himself from his
Maker like Adam in the garden, seeking a re-
cess where the Almighty may not discover him ;
but sin drives him out of his retreat, and com-
pels him to stand in the presence of God while
he strives to flee. Swedenborg represents men
in the other world seeking to utter words con-
trary to their thought.*? and unable to do so, and
Dant6 describes men in hell trying to look for-
ward, and they are compelled to look over the
shoulder. Every man will be seen in his true
light. Sin leads man away from God into the
land of slavery, the territory where sinful pas-
sions reign and men try to escape; but habit
has built a wall which he cannot climb, and he
cries in feebleness for liberty, but his voice is
drowned in the strife of passion. Sin leads htm
away from God, and finally leads him captive
before God.

Sin leads man captive before his fellow me n,(^ j
and whilst he is trying to escape and keep his
mouth shut, he is unable to do so. He con-

THE DESTINY OF TO-DA Y.

(lOJ

fesscs his crime to others while he is striving to
remain quiet. He is angry at himself for his
weakness in making this confession ; yet confess
he must, for sin is his conqueror. Conscience
takes possession of the sinner and cries aloud.
^^ -contends with his conscience and tri^to
sMfleJiisyoice^ buX he is helpless. The con-
testants strive for mastei^^ the battle rages un-
seen by mortals, the angels and God look on in
pity, and the clouds of heaven fall when man
has won the day. O ppressed wj th vicious habits
/6 r^i? !.^'""^'' turns to flee, running loFhis-nfe' in
eager haste, shoutmg in despair for help, but sin
is on his track. Faster he runs, but the enemy
knows nothing of mountains or rivers, and keeps
close behind him. Doggedly he continues, but
the dark foe is encircled with clouds, and with
skillful throw he catches the sinner in the
meshes of his net. It is a race toward life
which ends in defeat and death. Paternal love
seeks to save the sinner, but eternal Justice
II) liSll^Jn-Jishand Jhe broken h^ys of g gge
^!.!*Z-55^ **'"th. and "dema^ndslHraeatlTof
the foe of Goaf. The lictors of the Divine
Ruler have their home within us. and fail not
to carry out the sentences of eternal justice,
and the stripes they inflict are seen through
our garments of flesh. Divine justice discovers
sin in us, and will not let us go. It is not

('0

\^-

RETRIBUTION.

without us as a fact, but within us as a great
yearning.

Conscienc e cries ^^^i^l_^^^^_^^^^J^^^J^YJ^
clamors for rejiribution. beginning here the
punishment, which points to a day of judgment.
The pain which conscience inflicts is like an old
wound, unfitting the man for battle by sapping
his vigor. There is a sense of gloom insepar-
able from the concealment of a fault. " Roger
Malvin's Burial," by Hawthorne, depicts a scene
in a forest where Roger Malvin and his com-
panion, Reuben Bourne, have been wounded in
a fight with Indians, and as they are returning
home, Roger, the elder of the two men, unable
to proceed further, beseeches Reuben to go to
the settlement and secure help ; and if this
arrives too late, to give him a decent burial.
The young man reluctantly leaves his com-
panion, and on reaching home is nursed back to
health by the daughter of Roger, to whom he is
betrothed. In his weakness he has failed to
make known the condition of his wounded
companion, who is left to perish. The young
woman believes that her father is dead. After
Reuben's marriage he is unfortunate in business
and moves farther west. Haunted by the fate
of his father-in-law he lives in continual gloom.
Camping one evening in the forest, he hears a
rustle among the foliage, and believing that it is

THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

(\^)

a deer, he raises his musket and fires, only to
find that he has killed his own son. and it is at
the foot of the rock where the unburied skeleton
of Roger Malvin lies. With a stricken heart the

from h,s hps the sin is expiated, and the cur.e
IS removed by the blood of his son. The ideal
man must have a conscience at the core of his
sympathies. The inward monitor finds the man
^ reveals h,s sin. and demands satisfaction. The
'y3\C^;u ^^5?^^*--^ and reveiK

the double life must at last be confessed, the
desire for domestic felicity must remain unsatis-
fied. and the foul blot on the innocent man must
be removed, so that out of decrepitude and
despair there must come beauty of character,
sweetness of disposition and a useful life
There are sins which may be discovered bv

\'^^M3^.J^^^3rc now hidd^: Lauii

Bndgmans sense of feeling suii^ts avenues
for the revelation of sin by means now unknown
to us. This lady, blind, deaf and dumb, recog-
mzed fifty persons by a touch of the ha^.
She insisted that the circulation of the blood
makes a noise, and putting the hand of a person

KBTRIBVTION.

on her neck to feel the pulsations, she would
say with her fingers. "Sit stiU and see if you do

not hear it" She detected noise uy „cr loucn
more quickly than some people can by the ear.
She said, "Sound comes through the floor to
my feet up to my head." She knew when any-
one was in the room by the motion of the air
made in talking and moving. When some one
spoke she said, " I feel them talk." When some
one played the organ in the hall above her, she
said, "Why does the house shake?" When
asked how she knew when to get up, she said,
" I put my hand to the door, near to the bed, to
feel it shake. I put my finger in the key-hole.
If the girls are up it shakes." She found delight
m placing a music-box in a chair and putting
her feet upon the rounds to feel it play. May
not sin thus be discovered in the future by
vibrations in the air.

Sin has a dea dening effect upon the min d, r/^)
conscience and affection s. Wherever th#.rr7; o ^ ^
sense^of sin there is evidence of life, but when
that is lost, spiritual waste is going on in the
soul. Seek after material things and you will
grow like them. Midas loves his gold until his
nature becomes as hard as the idol of his heart.
The soul may die a little every day, the prayers
becoming more feeble, the struggle in the dark-
ness growing less, the vision of a flower, or

THE DESTINY OF TO DA Y.

(

y(i)

human face, or sky, starting It back into life, to
flutter less wildly, until with an ever-lessening
effort for its survival it shrivels and dies. The
,/ |^!l£^^^ "»*"' j?_?L« a poisoned root which sends
^ \b] its pois on To all the brahcTierand lea^^esTHR is
t)ie semTnaTrool of milTrons more of alf manner
of sin which has never been acted. Punishment
lurks concealed in our pleasures. Crime and
punishment grow out ofthe same stem. Indul-
gences of sense and the satisfaction of our own
wills arc the seeds of all those miseries which
attain the full expansion of their deadly fruits
in hell.

There a re forces outside of man which dis-
>cover^n, wrong-doing is punrsHetPB^ther
forces besides those of a man's own conscience.
When a man has fallen so low as to be incap-
able of remorse, there are forces outside of our
own temperament enlisted to punish us. The
^ forsfis of nature avenge the wrongs of peogle.
As men attempt to quench the flames of a
mountain on fire by throwing water upon it,
an 1 discover that they are only adding to its'
fury, for the mountain is composed of lime,
so there resides in the human heart the mater-
ials for a great conflagration, and it needs only
external forces to start and continue the flames.
>^ Iheis_arejretributive providences which dis-
qover_sin. It is not mere accident that brings

(3)

RETRIBUTION.

to light the sins of former years, for there is an
ovcrwatching Providence of judgment in human
life. The sinful secrets of the soul are revealed
in letters of 6re by the sudden appearance of an
old enemy or stranger, the discovery of some
old letters, the passing word of a little child, or
a sentence in a book. The unhealed sore dis-
charges afresh through contact with a hard
substance, and the secret is found at last by a
retributive Providence. Huma n laws discover"-/^;
siin^ and in our social life there are great "pfm- ^
ciples and great forces which form the corporate
conscience by which man is punished. There ~
aje persons who seem to be providentially XTJ
*PPPi"'^*' *° stimulate the laggard "conscience,
tTTe moral sense of the community steps in with
its judgments and protests against forms of vice
as a reminder of the wrath of God, and in-
fluences linger as shadows in human custom to
keep men from wrong-doing. The Bible finds'^ / '
man out, and the Holy Spirit convbces of sin. f^j

There is a law of retribution in other worlds. <
Death is not the extreme limit of all punish- - '
ment, but in view of the judgment the begin- ''
ning of them. " There are yesterdays that can
never be revoked." Beyond the bounds of
time sin follows us in its effects. There may be
penitence and reformation .fter an evil course,
but the results of sin abide. The broken vase

THE DESTINY OF TO-D'A V.

may be mended, but it will never again be the
beautiful vessel without seam or flaw. And the
vicious life has sown seeds which die not ; seeds
which will germinate after the better life is
begun. Retribution_js_ inhgrent_jn sjn, the
X . "'Eu mshinent abide s with it.

" Never by lapse of time, the soul defaced by crime
Into its former self returns again ;
For every guilty deed, holds in itself the seed
Of retribution and undying pain."

Eternal justice yearns for punishment such a s
this life cannot bri ng. Consripnri> t>>lU nc tKof
we are being pursued by One who will over-
take us at last, and it craves for just retribution.
Native religions teach us that all men expect
(uture retr ibution, and this is the teaching of
the Bible. Every good and every evil deed
deserves its own reward and punishment, and
justice requires every man to receive his own.
God is just, and there will be in the future a
recognition of the good and evil, and a righteous
distribution to every man. God must and^wMl
^ /^ punish the si nner. Future retnbuTion must be
*— preached as the complement to the glory of
the Cross. Could you listen to the story of the
least sin as it is told in hell, what a revelation it
would be. Could you lay your ears to hell and
stand behind the screen to hear sin spoken of in

' «-(

RETRIBUTION.

the dialect of the sons of perdition— Cain tell-
ing the story of the murder of Abel, Judas
relating the narrative of his hypocrisy and
treason against the Christ— it would make the
ears tingle and the heart tremble to its lowest
depths :

" Through me you pass into the city of woe ;
Through me you pass into eternal pain ;
Through me among the people lost for aye,
Before me things create were none, save things
Eternal, and eternal I endure.
All hope abandon ye who enter here."

You jnay insist upon a perfection iayour'*^
5°™P*"*0"s» surroundings and society of which —
you form a part which is not in yourself,
and this is fatal to the welfare of your own soul
and injurious to your whole life. For^he worst ^

ofjmen there is hope of salvatjon.^WhnTyou

remain liere the invitations of mercy are for you.
You may have lived under the spell of sin,
delighting in its fatal scents, decking your
bosom with its scarlet blossoms, feeding upon
its deadly poisons, until all who come within
your reach were scarified by your touch, but
though you have been nourished with poison,
and craved evil as your daily food, you are a
creature of God, and there awaits you the
healing balm of the kind Physician to destroy

THE DESTINY OF TODAY.

the malign influences which seemed to deter-
mine your fate. And you need not die but
live, for His skill surpasses human understand-
ing or angelic knowledge, and he will give you
health, salvation and peace. In humble faith
lift up your eye to the Man on the Cross and
the spell will be broken, for you may be saved
and live to rejoice in God and bless the world.

THE DEMAND FOR CONFESSION.

" Confess yourself to heaven ;
Repent what's past ; avo'.d what is to come." ^

— Shakespeare.
" Our consciences are not of the same pattern, an inner de-
liverance of fixed laws-they are the voice of sensibilities as
various as are our memories."— George Eliot.

" I have sinned."— Zm^« 15 : 18, 21.

Every man carries within hijnself the mate-
£!^s for at least one b(»kofji«pa^^^^^ interest.
If any man could and would write a faithful
record of all he ever thought, felt and expe-
rienced, without concealing or extenuating any-
thing—a true history of his intellectual and
spiritual life— it would be a book of unique
interest and value. But such a book will never
be written. We have had Confessions and
Apologies from Augustine and Rousseau to
Newman and Amiel, but these are partial his-
tories and not complete lives. Every man has
an invisible spiritual history awaiting a George
Eliot or Nathaniel Hawthorne to discover, study
and write for the good of men. We need the
insight of a seer to think ourselves into the ex-

THE DESTINY OF TODAY.

periences of men. When you see a man walk-
ing toward you, it may be easy to ask how he
will behave ; but it will be a hard task to learn
why he behaves in a particular way. You
cannot judge human character from an outside
estimate, for the noblest natures sometimes

reveal blunders which make you stagger the

man of genius, unable to provide for his own
family ; the w<jman of brains and plans, whose
life is a series of mistakes; and the stalwart
man linked to a mean soul, clad in physical
beauty. Life is full of contrasts, and the key to
the blunders of many lives must be sought in
the motives, the hindrances which lie within,
and the spirit wrestling against universal pres-
sure. The outer life is sometimes a comedy
and the inner a tragedy. Heroism, tyranny and
crime may clothe themselves in common garb
and walk beside you on the pavement The
inner life of th? people you know best may be a
tragedy more intense and deep than any fiction
you have read with throbbing heart and stream-
ing eyes. Many a fault may come from a hard
sorrow which has maimed the nature when it
was expanding into beauty, just as you have
seen the young branches of beautiful trees
lopped off when they were pouring forth their
richest juices, only to leave a rough excrescence
to mark the wound. A fine-grained soul,

THE DEMAND FOR CONFESSION.

through some great trouble, has become snarled
and caustic, and is harshly treated by his fellows
because they have failed to read the story of his
inner life.

Men^re tempted to live^do^uye life. The
desire to appear noble and heroic before your
fellow men makes it difficult to speak the exact
truth about your feelings ; indeed, without any
motive to appear false, it is easy for you to say
fine things about your own experience. The
consciousness that you are being looked at by
the world makes you an actor of parts, acting a
character that does not belong to you, and yet
ther» may seem to be no true motive for this
attitude before the world. There are some
people whose celestial intimacies do not improve
their domestic manners, whose imitative piety
and native worldliness are equally sincere, and
who think the invisible powers will be soothed
by a parenthetical recognition of the Almighty.
The wild beasts of the passions which roar and
struggle in man's inner nature are let loose at
set times and places, and the menagerie is closed
from the pt?blic gaze when it is convenient. The
language of Heinrich Heine, " I am doomed to
love what.is most degraded and most foolish :
imagine how that must pain a man who is proud
and intellectual," with slight modifications, is
the pathetic cry of many souls.

THE DESTINY OF TO DA Y.

\\ !

C2nduetJsjiot.Alwaya^
Sl*5if IJlSStfir J indeed an act may sometimes
misrepresent the true spirit of a man, and you
are then liable to misjudge him. The incom-
pleteness of this life, with its failures, misery,
waste, tragedies and mystery, is an argument
for another life, when the burden, pain and sor-
row shall cease, and sin shall be lost in holiness,
and unending peace shall be the fulfilment of
the plan of God toward the creature made in
His own image.

There are soiAe men who live two distinct
lives, a religious and a wicked one, whose de-
sires are stronger than their theoretical beliefs.
These Bulstrodes of fiction explain gradually
the gratification of their desires into satisfactory
agreement with their religious beliefs.

You may hunger for the brilliant position,
expecting freedom in the higher place, and you
may snatch it with terror because the taint of
sacrilege is upon it, but you will endure purga-
tory upon earth, for there^re roots of conscience
within you. Conscience enfists memory as the
llistprian of ihg_sopT to kwp alive the times
y^ misspent, the lost opportunities, the hopes
blasted, and the spoken words which would have
been better unsaid, that the future may not be
altogether wasted, and the way to God may be
found at last. The^^athos_^jUie_vision^

THE DEMAND FOR CONFESSION. 67

n??'??-!^ 's ^^^'^ '" ^^ lines suggestive of Poe's
"Raven," written by an anonymous poet on the
fly-leaf of an early copy of Roger's " Pleasures
of Memory " :

." Alone at midnight's haunted hour,

When nature woos repose in vain.
Remembrance wakes her penal power, *"

The tyrant of the burning brain.
She tells of times misspent ; of comforts lost ;

Of fair occasions gone forever by ;
Of hopes too fondly nursed, too rudely crossed ;

Of many a cause to wish, yet fear to die !
For what, except the instinctive fear
Lest she survive, detains me here,
When all the life of life is fled ?
What but the deep, inherent dread,
Lestjhe beyond th e grav ejes mnej ^ reign,
And realize the hell that priests and beldames feign."

Therejsa^[eniandjc^^ MftnjTjijs.t /

cgnfess hjs^in. " I have sinned," must at some
time fall from ever>' human lip. There may be' 2^,
a conscious and voluntary confession, but there
will be a compulsory confession. Uncojiscioiisly 3,
men make confessions. Let a man enter your "^

rn | _ - — -I I I . I I '~»^g-^ ------ 'wa«»^«a w «^%4a

home, and recline in a chair so that he falls asleep,
and he pays a compliment to your abode, and to
your qualities as a host. This action is a con-
fession that he is not. in a prison, or among ene-
mies ; but in a place where he is safe among
friends. When a man decides upon a wrong

THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

course, although he may not have performed an
act, conscience begets anguish of mind, so that,
like Brutus, he is deprived of sleep and his behav-
lour gives his wife reason to suspect the cause
of his disquietude. "Since Cassius first did wljet
me against Casar. I have not slept." A guilty
conscience needs not an accuser. Tfae misery
°i^fJOi! a confesglon to the world that there are
evil motives prompting to wicked deeds. Nature
compels you to exhibit your soul to the worid.
The picture in the face of the dissipated man
ells the story of his disgraceful life. You cannot
look like an innocent flower and have a serpent
m your heart. The miser tells the worid in his
pile of gold the tale of his inner and bigoted
nature. The perfect flower derives its loveliness
and perfume, and the yellow lily sucks its obscene
life and noisome odor from the same black mud
where the slimy eel and speckled frog and mud-
turtle sleep ; and from the same moral circum-
stances m the worid men and women find what is
ugly and evil, while others enjoy the fragrance
of beautiful lives. The wrinkles and furrows on
the faces of people are the records of actual ex-
periences in life. Venice, the successor of Tyre
in perfection of beauty, sin and punishment, is
an illustration of the truth, " He shall return to
do judgment and justice." Ruskin says : " Never
had a city a more glorious Bible. Among the

THE DEMAND FOR CONFESSION

nations of the north, a rude and shadowy sculp,
ture filled their temples with confused and hardly
legible imagery; but. for her. the skill and the
treasures of the east had gilded every letter and
illummed every page, till the book-temple shone
from afar off like the star of the Magi. The sins
of Venice, whether in her palace or in her piazza
were done with the Bible at her right hand. And
when, in her last hours, she threw off all shame
and all restraint, and the last great square of the
city became filled with the madness of the whole
earth, be it remembered how much her sin was
greater because it was done in the face of the
house of God, burning with the letters of his law.
Mountebank and masquer laughed their laugh
and went their way ; and a silence has followed
them, not unforetold, for amidst them all, through
century after century of gathering vanity and
fostering guilt, the white dome of ST. Mark's had
uttered in the dead ear of Venice : « Know thou
that for all these things God will bring thee into
judgment.' "

The^guilt which sin bringsJnto_theJhuma^
souHs^aconfess^^ This makes a breach

in the soul which can never be repaired in this
mortal life, for though the citadel be guarded,
the foe waits outside to enter stealthily, and
even if kept at bay, the broken wall gives evi-
dence of the ruin. The fiend raging in the

THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

human breast is more hideous than when seen
in his own form. The blood stain on the con-
science tortures the soul beyond human expres-
sion. Thfi^duUosagjifjhe^spintual n^tui^jis a
consequence of sin, is an involuntary confessijog
of wrong -doing. Foul thoughts will lead you
through darkness and sorroKr amid the glare of
the noonday sun. When God displayed His
majesty in nature Job said, " Mine eye seeth
thee, wherefore I abhor myself" ; and Eliphaz the
Temanite found conviction ,otjjn in the solemn
grandeur of an > oriental night — the darkness
evolved a spirit and silence became articulate.
The guilt of conscience hears the grass grow and
the heart of the squirrel beat. Suspicion haunts
the guilty mind ; the sinful heart unnerves a man
and enfeebles his hand ; every noise appals him
and a thousand tongues tell the tale of his inner
nature. Every landscape and picture expresses
the state of soul. You gaze upon the same land-
scape as your friend, but it is not the same to
each of you, for the state of your souls are dif-
ferent, and it is seen in a changed condition
through the inner vision. Every heart has its
own romance, every blade of grass tells its own
story, and every life hides its own secret, which
is either a thorn or a spur.

Confession^ sigLQ3ayi>§ rn^de byjgensgs noy
^) unknown to us. Have we only five senses, or

THE DEMAND FOR CONFESSION. 71

are there within us undiscovered senses which
transmit the message of our sins to God ? Does
their dwell within us a spiritual electricity, a
method of telegraphing without wires, a means
of communicating with the invisible world which
is still secret ? Sir John Lubbock says that some
animals can hear higher notes than man, and see
light beyond the range of our eyes. They pos-
sess sense organs, the use of which we are as yet
entirely ignorant, and these may be the seats
of unknown senses. In some animals there are
complex oi^ans of sense richly supplied with
nerves, the functions of which organs we are as
yet powerless to explain. This suggests the
probability that there exist in us senses undis-
covered, and these may be the medium for the
revelations of eternity. There is an inward de- ^
mand for confessio n. Who is the master within
us that compels us to expose ourselves to the
world and God, that drives us to lay bare the
secrets of the heart, revealing the secret sins,
removing the garments to show our nakedness,
stripping off the shams and masks that others
may read what is there? Conscience c ompe ls £1.
you to expose your folly ; the inward f'emandji.,
for peace compels you to confess your sin ; the y,
expectation of pardon urges you to repent. ^^

There is an outward demand for confession. -tS
Sometimes a man must confess to men to ensure .-. '•

THE DESTINY OF TODAY.

peace of mind. Those who have been wronged
demand an apology from the transgressor.
Society demands it from him who has broken
its unwritten laws, civil government demands it
from the criminal, and the Church demands it
from its members who have disobeyed the rules.
■ A threatening providence sometimes compels
the sinner to make a public exposure of his sin
as a kind of propitiation. Self-prostration is
sonietimes net sufficient to stay the rod of
affliction, but there must be restitution. Haw-
thorne brings Roger Chillingworth, in the " Scar-
let Letter," to the kcaffold when the clergyman
is just mounting it to openly avow the sin of
the past, and the man who had dogged the
steps of the minister says : " Hadst thou sought
the whole earth over, there was not one place
so secret, no high place, no lowly place where
thou couldst have escaped me, save on this very
scaffold." '

Therejs a^dnnlne demand for confession
%JLmust. confess to^Gfid "I have sinned"
The vice-regent of God in the human soul de-
mands that you confess your sins to God ; the
Bible, with its warnings, invitations and pro-
mises makes this constant demand; the terms
of salvation include confession of sin ; the justice
of God and His love in the sacrifice of Christ
demand it. This confession is obligatory and

THE DEMAND FOR CONFESSION. 73

irresistible. Man must confess to God, and
there is no escape from it. This is demanded ^i
on earth ; and if you refuse to confess in time,
you must humble yourself in eternity and before^,
the presence of the \\-^%\. High make your abject H^,
confession. Obey yoir con^'-lcnce and confessiTi'
your sin to man .1 mc .ful, hut 1 > all means to »•)
God. Delay n^t. :.ui n al^e yo tr confession*,
now, that you umj be h rcrjvci. In humbler-
penitence an! faitit cr.if^e s /o-ji sins, and the
promise of ihe Ap'.siif. Jo^ti will be music in
your heart : " If we tou.ess our sins, he is faith- *
ful and just to forgive - , our i,i)is, and to cleanse '
us from all unrighteouMuess.'

THE COERCION OF DEEDS.

"Our deeds determine us as much as we determine our
deeds."— Ci-or^ Eliot.

"One vice is related to another, changes into another, and
he who begins with the transgression of one commandment finds
It easy, sometimes it is inevitable, to fall into manifold condem-
nation."— ff. Z. Watkinsm.

"All snakes fascinate their prey, and pure wickedness seems
to mhent the power of fascination granted to the serpent "—
Amiel. "^

Prw^- 36*' """*'*' '^'"*' *"* wrongetB his own soul."-

. THE-gardinal question for th^ l^„n.o^ rnrr
lIliil2^!JL!Ln- This lies at the root S^dllT-
acter. Is sin a physical disease, to be treated
medicinally as the germs of fever or consump-
tion ; is it a defect of the intellect, to be eradi-
cated by education ; is it the result of circum-
stances which may be controlled, or does it lie
deep in the heart and will, requiring divine skill
to remove it by a new birth ? This is the ques-
tion which touches all religions, affects all creeds
and dogmas, and is the central truth of philo-
sophy, science and religion. Is sin a disease or
a mere blunder? Is it to be treated in the

THE COERCION OF DEEDS.

abstract or in the concrete ? The real answer to
all our surmisings is to be found in the Cross of
Christ. We do not need a new brain, new
hands, feet, eyes, or tongue, or new conditions
in life, but a new heart and life— the renewal of
the inner man by the power which comes from
the Cross of Christ. It is not the reformation
of manners that we must seek, but the regener-
ation of the nature. Sin is not skin-deep— its
poison penetrates the deepest recesses of the
human heart. YfiiL cannot afford to have a d.
fliyolous j dea^f sin , as it touches theTdeepest "^
and largest interests of your life, and, like a foul
disease, carries serious personal consequences in
its train and separates you from all that is
noble, wise and good. Those who entertain a
frivolous idea of sin suppose that there is a gulf
between good people and themselves.

Never was the deep heinousness of sin un-
folded until Christ came, the native religions of
the world knowing little of the evil inwrought in
the nature of man; but withjhe_ady^t^f 3
Christianity the sense of sin was _deep engti, by ""^
teaching the capacity and iSignity^f human
nature, and showing the justice, holiness and
love of God, against whom the sin was commit-
ted. The story of the Cross reveals the gross
enormity of evil ; and when sin and its conse-
quences are studied in the dawn of the Light of

THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

the World, there is felt the deep antagonism to
all material, intellectual and spiritual progress
of the individual and the race. There are soul
laws which are as real and rigid as nature's laws,
by which the soul is hurried to hell or its flight
is hastened to heaven.

T!]!gJH?Jo''y of "^tions, movements^Joctr^
^SiUl]dividual__chai^^ Start

a certain wheel in the machine, and the whole is
set in motion ; and originate a thought, motive,
impulse, word or deed, and the whole character
of a man vibrates in unison. There are no soli-
tary deeds or silent acts. Actions love com-
pany, and have a voice that sounds through the
temples of time and echoes through the cham-
bers of eternity. Deeds^aregerrninativ^ and
perpetuate themselvesraTseeSspIant^in the
soil are nourished and produce their kind.
There is no arrest in nature or grace by which
growth is changed to something else, but har-
vest succeeds seed-sowing in body, intellect and
soul. The universal law of seed-sowing and
harvest exists in the natural, moral and spiritual
universe. You may not be able to see the pro-
cesses by which an act becomes a habit and
develops into character, but there are real things
which the eyes cannot see and the fingers are
unable to touch. Your character is growing
better or worse every day, by the trivial acts

THE COERCION OF DEEDS.

which unfold themselves gradu;illy yet surely
till the eternal years. Build a wall around the
soul to repress the growth of the evil hidden
there, yet the sap of the living tree will break
down the bricks and mortar, and the perversion
of the nature will be seen in the decay and final
destruction of the noblest creature of God. A
small coffee plant was sent from the Botanical
Gardens, in Edinburgh to Blantyre in Nyassa-
land, and in sixteen years there were derived
about five million coffee-plants, which have
become one of the main sources of the pros-
perity of the British settlements in that country ;
and from a single thought, word and act there
come descendants without number which will
affect posterity for good or evil. A bad thought
cannot be cherished without injury, a book
cannot be read or a picture looked at for a

moment without lasting impressions being pro-
duced.

Were vicious acts, to produce misery to your
fellow beings, and not to yourselves, there might
be some satisfaction in living in sin, but you are
so constituted that sjngle^eeds3QJiirfi_4a2iir-
selvesasjvell^as^others. The words and acts of
youiTivestoudimany lives, as /ou may observe
the moral effect of a noble example. A single
act of heroic virtue or illustrious self-denial, as
that of John Howard, gives a new impulse to

■t.

S8 THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

the moral character of the age, and reflection
upon such noble deeds produces a change in the
moral natures of men. Every man is accom-
panied by persons who are like plates, ready to
receive.impressions from the words and acts of
every-day life. Every man is a daily news-
paper read closely by his fellows, who gather up
the fragments of news which assimilate with his
character. Every man is a sage to some other
man whose thoughts of good and evil are
treasured in the memory and influence the life.
PgejgJ^:ow^af^erjhg3g^ the scenes

of^^. Theodore, Parker, dying in Italy, said :
" There are two Theodore Parkers : one of them
is dying in Italy, the other I have planted in
America, and it will continue to live." There
is an immortality on earth in spite of all we do.
Death intensifies our personality. Silent invis-
ible forces continue their battle for good or evil
after you are dead. Heredity works itself out
in character. This is seen in nations, tribes,
families and individuals. ' The sins of the
fathers are visited upon the children to the
third and fourth generation.

There is a coercion of deedg see n and felt in
& £!E^Ili!:i& -SC^^JTJS^''- Right mptives un-

4?il^_'^"^.l'^^ whole character is made strong
'iD^r-^MCgUiSattCf. Wlie'n the authority of

THE COERCION OF DEEDS.

conscience is supreme the appetites and pas-
sions will be so controlled that you will enjoy
all the happiness of which you are capable, and
the more frequently you do what is right, the
stronger will be the impulse to do right, and the
greater will be the pleasure derived from doing
it. The philanthropist finds increasing pleasure
in his gifts, and the man of religious instinct and
purpose enlarges his power for doing good and
deepens his happiness. Men^ an^ jvomen^are ^
^SiI?^*o_J!5?s„thrpugh_ stages _of transitiorTln "^
*ill^X!!.op?5"iof character. The're is a trans-
figuring influence in a great sorrow upon some
hearts, for there are sweet uses in adversity.
Tribulation and selfish gaiety works differently
upon the hearts of men. A bag of gold wizens
an old man's face, its loss brings anguish to his
soul ; but the presence of a little child in his home
brings sweetness into his nature and beauty
into his life. The ordeals of life beget thought-
ful piety, unselfishness and heroic strength;
a great anguish, a baptism of suffering, may do
the work of years, for weak and blemished
characters may leave their frailties behind them
in the fire. Men are not angels to begin with,
but frail mortals, and years of poverty and
nfisery may bring sweetness and self-restraint.
Thoreau tells us that the pond-lily opens its
virgin bosom to the first sunlight, and perfects

THE DESTINY OF TODAY.

Its being in the magic of the genial kiss ; and so
may you turn your face toward God and enjoy
beauty, strength and sweetness, from the love
that ever shiDes through the glory of His pre-
sence. Arsalame^ ^utiful Iji^ is ^rQjjgjjjt
through adhcrance to duty and fajthjn^d.
The best manners are acquired by recognizing
the presence of God. Your own example Is
dangerous, for when you have done a thing once
it is easier to do it again, human nature having
a tendency to run in grooves. Virtue is made
perfect by acts of virtue often repeated, the
custom of well-doing begets the habit of well-
doing, and effort is required in all well-doing ;
being wrong and doing wrong comes naturally
without much effort.

Therejs_aroercion^of_deeds^^
^iilLsbHacter. i^in^ntices vyith its nmnfcQi^Q
attra£tio ns, as hurtful passio ns^draw us tog^
an abyss, by a kind oLvertigp,^ d then egglavcs .
Every man may be master or slave ; he may
control his nerves or his temper, or they may
enslave him. Sinful passions may destroy his
physical powers, distort his imagination, weaken
his memory and reasoning faculties, injure his
sense of beauty, and debase his soul. Drink
relaxes the grip of conscience, invigorates tRe
passions, destroys the power of calculating con-
sequences, favors the plotting and commission

THE COERCION OF DEEDS.

Of Crimes, creates artificial wants, favors greed

sLa?''!!!!;**'J*^^''' ^^^^'^ *° ^"PPJy them.
ginfUUlgeda.dginaM_,^ interest W usury-

they grow like the infirSTciyclernSdrbr^a
stone thrown into water, one sinful deed follow-
ing another, as the higher Alpine glacier fol-
lows the lower melting glacier. Foul acts
transform themselves into the lore of fiends,
which mortals cannot translate or understand
Perseverance in wickedness makes a man bolder
in crime ; timidity in the earliest stages of guilt
gives place to recklessness, and. unchecked by
conscience the sinner exercises less precaution
until, as though bereft of reason, he rushes
onward to ultimate ruin. As a rival of the
nero in the Grecian games sought to destroy
the monument raised by the fellow citizens of
the victor, and by repeated efforts moved it
from Its pedestal, and as it fell was crushed to
death, so sin destroys the sinner even when he
IS attempting in his own strength to throw it

may slip away from unpleasant thingTSnd think
only of your own safety, and yet commit deeds
of infamy. Calamity may come to you when you
are seeking to escape from the disagreeable
things, and the calamity falling on a base mind
will bring a sorrow which knows no healing

THE DESTINY OF TODA Y.

Jr.

balm. Wrongjpjotivesjjrill^ cayse
toward tremendous decisions in sin . Your
povertymaytempt you to" forgery, your social
position may lead you to take a false step in
life, and finally you may accept the temptation
and perform the deed which your heart protests
against and says is wrong. The ^emory o£jt
moral c ollapse is a force tending to perp etuatp
wrongdoing. There is no remedy by which
the troubles which haunt the mind can be
obliterated, leaving the sinner in the possession
of an irreproachable past, with the memory of
all other events unimpaired ; but it is certain
that the consciousness of knowledge, now veiled
by our material organs, will return when these .
have been laid aside, and remorse in the present
life is memory and conscience quickened by
wrong-doing. Brooding upon evil scenes, foul
passions and abnormal feelings will pollute the
imagination beyond redemption, the images of
the past will haunt the mind for years to come.
The ladies of the dissolute court of Verona said
of Dant^, " See the man who has been In hell ! "
And the poet answered with a bitter smile, " In
hell now— In hell at Verona."

A juilty man is objec tively and^biective[y
aworseman, for everylinllil action done natur-
ally disposes a man to do another like action.
Sin may be present to annoy or destroy, the

THE COERCJON OF DEEDS.

.nward kmg of terrors rules as a despot, and
death IS going on graduall)- as a spiritual disease.
The logic of habit induces you to believe that
because the spiritual structure has not been de-
stroyed through lapse of time, there is no immi-
nent danger, just as a miner has no fear of the
roof of the mine falling, because he has worked
in It for forty years, and yet at that moment it
"""'''"^- TheJeprti^oLzourdoomw V

If. hke Chorazm, Betl^SdTIilrcJJr^
you have been exalted to heaven with privileges
and opportunities, and you have remained un-
changed, you will be cast down to hell ; the
darkness into which you are plunged will be in
proportion to the brightness of the light you
have spurned. ThereJs^rHnexoiable^
'-2Ifauences,_Si^^
deed begets a train, shamelessness is developed
by repeated acts of iniquity, and the conceal-
ment of sm is no assurance of security to the
smner. The highest life is given, not to animals,
but to angels and men, and it is possible for the
greatest genius of the age to be doomed for
sensuality. Your whole life may be tinged with
evil on account of a single false step; a small
matter may bring about great and fatal conse-
quences ; and whilst you are encouraging your
heart that the sin is small and you need not

8-,

THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

trouble yourself much in relation to it, the poison
is coursing through your veins, and the end will
be death. A little zinc patch of repairs on the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem was
the occasion of the Crimean war. The roof of
the dome leaked; the Latin Church pro-
posed to repair it, and the Greek Church ob-
jected. Then a further strife arose about the
use of some keys to the more sacred chapels.
Russia, as the patron of the Greek Church,
offered to repair the roof, and took up the ques-
tion of the keys ; France took the side of the
Latin Church. The Turks were ordered by
Russia to repair the building, and they refused.
France favored the Turks, and England sup-
ported the French, and Sebastopol was be-
sieged — a small matter in the beginning, but
terrible in its consequences. So, from a hasty
word, a wrong motive, an impure passion, a de-
based feeling, or a wicked act your own life and
the lives of your family, friends. Church and
nation may be deeply affected ; and eternal
consequences may flow from a single germ of
sin, which, at the beginning, might easily have
been rlestroyed. Conscious wickedness seeks
companionship, finding delight in the debase-
ment of others, and is unhappy in the soli-
tariness of sin. Human character vibrates in
unison with the souls of men, as two clocks

THE COERCION OF DEEDS.

with pendulums oscillating over similar arcs
will often start cich other. Men and nature
are so constructed that when the vibrations of
two substances correspond, the motion of one
will often set the other in motion ; a human
voice will sometimes cause a glass shade or
delicate vessel to crack or break because it
strikes the keynote of that vessel ; the bark of
a dog will sometimes set piano strings vibrat-
ing ; a deaf mute may hear the single note of a
musical instrument and the whistle of a loco-
motive when it strikes the same note; so in
human character, you may awaken a response
in the heart and life of your fellows by your
sinful thought, motive, word and act, and j^gy
cannot d odge the natural consequence s nf yyjr
sijL, There are pitfalls in the worid where you
think yourself safe, and if you persist in that
folly which seeks pleasure at any expense, you
will perish in the hidden depths of increasing
iniquity.

^iiSSiSAi^SJlcion^fdeedsjn^^
ofcharacter; growth in unconscious wickedness.
§HllS-UJ^iilfiSnce_wil^ /.

i0t2.?^4sceive«'— a wrong thing being done at —
first with timidity and pangs of conscience;
then there comes a change, when he is recon-'
ciled to the wrong course of action, and finally
he concludes that this course is practically right

*MCMOam RflSOUITION TiST CHAIT

(A^^SI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2)

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RochMtar. N«» York 14609 USA

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THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

I '

and he cannot follow any other. Take the case
of a strictly moral man engaged in the business
of a druggist where liquor is sold in small quan-
tities under the certificate of a medical man.
At first he keeps his business agreeable to the
law ; occasionally he sells without the doctor's
prescription, and his conscience reproves him ;
then he becomes bolder, urged on by the profits
of the trade and his need of money, and he is
reconciled to his wrongful position, and by and
by he engages in the business of selling liquor
to the destruction of his trade in drugs, seeking
only to evade detection ; and he believes this is
right, because he is in need of a certain sum of
money and he must pay his debts. The honest
man has become a deceiver and believes he is
doing right ; but this is the natural course of
indulgence in sin. He has fallen upon a paren-
thesis of famine and paralysis, and in a dismal
time of deadness, bent only on the satisfaction
of his p.issions, he can see only a narrow boun-
dary bei ween right and wrong. Sin is a paj^-
.g'te feeding upon the physical, intellectual,
moral and spiritual nature of man. You cannot
feed upon it, but it will feed upon you until not
only does it draw its life from your life, but, like
a serpent coiling around its victim or a tree
embracing another, it will entwine to crush and
destroy. Indulgencejn sin weakens t he char-

THE COERCION OF DEEDS.

JSi5L& rBEStliiSP. the false appetite grows as
in a drunkard or dyspeptic until it becomes
master. A life of wDrldliness saps and under-
mines the physical constitution, the nervous
system is impaired, real robustness and mus-
cular powers are blighted, the blood is poisoned,
and terrible vengeance is wreaked upon man's
physique. Sin destroy^_the ^ ower of the _wilJ
^ilLkshaJilofvrrtu^. You desire to live a life of
devotion, a life that will bless men, benefit your-
self, and glorify God ; but you are unable to do
so because your will has been impaired by sin.
) A^henj^ou break the Jaw _ofGoHjmii^r^^^k-
ing^jdown^our^wn^owers^
Every transgression is adding'a strokTto^e
chisellings which are shaping you for an inevit-
able hell ; and when you advance from the vio-
lation of law to insolent rejection of Christ,
resisting His repeated appeals, you are fitting
yourself for fellowship with devils. SiiiJ.lunts
thejeelings, first impressions being lively, but
frowmg less by repetition, until the power of
enjoyment is paralyzed. Frequent exercise be-
gets a habit, and the sinful character becomes
abiding. Good^impulses^re^destroj^d and the
memory ^ is im paired Iby deeds of unrighteous-
ness. T ime and sin , by aslow but^re jrocess ,
ii^.^?^^^?A''"ction in the temple of your memory,
and the mind and heart are changed, soThaTwe

THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

forget the best interests and truest instincts of
our nature. This is practically expressed by
Gourlay :

" She clung to his breast in grief and tears—

• We part for a while,' said she ;
• But neither time, nor force, nor fears,
Shall sever me from thee !'

"1-^

" Her daughter came with a tarnished book

(Long years had passed away),
• There's a name writ here— my mother— look !

I've ne'er seen till to-day.'

" She closed the book of forgotten lays,

With a quiet hand and slow ;
' 'Tis the name of a friend of my girlhood's days,

I fancied long ago.'"

TJicJacijlties of the mind gre mjiLredJby vice,
the brain tissue is laid waste, the power of think-
ing is weakened, impatience and incapacity for
everything true and noble is begotten, the con-
versation becomes vapid, and every mental
faculty is corroded and weakened. Theengf-
.g!es^O!odj^^jnInd.ar^^^ ate tnJsdirfiaecUjy
a life orworldlingsp ; the^cqn science is_ sgargji
bisinful indulgence ; tl\e_souns_ensl^ed until
.hackneyed in sin. You cannot see the face of
God, you misinterpret the Bible to suit your
fancy and spiritual state, and you crucify Christ

THE COERCION OF DEEDS.

afresh. Youju^e hurried onward toeternit^^bythe /^
'.S£!lWe pressure of your sinful^leeSr The real — '
evil of sin is disguised In many ways, but it
exists. It gathers by unseen degrees as the
brooks and rivers in their journey to the sea,
and It benumbs the soul with a drowsiness until
death ensues, as the noxious gases in a room
silently steal away the life of the sleeper. God
has flung abroad far and wide over the earth his
blessings for you to gather-the genial days of
autumn, the leisure of nature, the flowers and
the grass and the birds— as a promise of eternity
and an expression of His love toward you, and —
He calls upon you to be true JoJiig joteitioi, /.
of good toward you, tqjiave faith in the final IT
YiStSiX^DiHth, and to follow it atalf hllards "" '
toJbj^our_ work-in JHHs^ and in the per- ^

fected vigor of your life, and to let Him into I

5:our^joui. to fill it with iight,"ii^d;;;^r^ -^

peace, and then you cannot fail, for God is King
and He will save you.

^u^

THE MASTER IN THE SOUL.

O coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me •
My cons i^nce hath a thousand several tongues.
And every tongue brings in a several tale,
And every tale condemns me for a villain.'"'

— Shakespeare.

for .t IS neither safe nor hone,,l ,« <i., anything against con-

Ar;"-zrr ' ' '^ '--' '^ ^'--'- ^^ ^^'p - >

" There is no future pang
Can deal that justice on the self-condemned
He deals on his own soul."

— Byron.

"When the Gentiles, which have noc the law. do by nature
he thmgs conlamed in th. law. these., having not the law, are a

law unto themselves : which shew the work of the law written
n thetr hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their

thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another "

— horn. 2: 14. 15.

Had we the vision of a seer we could see in
the streets of our modern cities men and women
who had lQsUllfiir.souls in their eager quest after
the baubles of earth, scattered by the hand of
the tempter. They know not their poverty be-
cause the prince of this world hath blinded their
eyes ; but they have starved their souls, having

TffE MASTER IN THE SOUL. 91

forgotten their need of nourishment, and now
they are dead. Should one of these persons
discover his loss, and begin a^jearch for his soul,,
how eagerly would he pursue his quest, running
through the lanes, enquiring of every passer-by
if he had seen anything of his lost treasure. Not
a single country would be left unvisited, not a
tribe or individual would be passed by. and how
great would be his joy when, at last, he had
found his soul. This would be a discovery
greater than the finding of a gold mine, fjr there
IS nothing to be compared in value to the soul
of a single man. Let the subject of a great em-
pire be seized by a foreign power and thrust into
a dungeon, manacled and starved, and not alone
would the people of his nation demand his re-
lease, but the army would rise in his defence ;
and not less is the commotion among the armies
of the spiritual world when a soul is in captivity
and will not be released. A human soul is of
supreme importance, especially if it is y ur soul
The finding of a lost soul is of greater moment
than the discovery of a new world. When a lost
soul has been found, examine it. unfold its secrets
and there in that kingdom will be seen conscience
as a monarch, dethroned, it is true, but in the
remnants of former greatness will there be evi-
dences of a throne and a king and moral govern-
ment. It matters not for our purpose whether

THR DESTINY Oh TO-DAY.

conscence ,s a single or a compound faculty.
We may study man as an object of natural his-
tory, oolcmg into the inner nature of the indi-
v.Hual and noting what is there. No sane man
has been found in the world without a sense of
Ob igat.on. without moral instincts and a know-
ledge of right and wrong. No race or tribe and
no md.vidual has been found without a con-
science. A man without a conscience would be
a monster among his fellows-a soul without any
moral government, having a reign of terror among
his passions. Evfiryjnan has^^cgnscience.

How did man come to possess this faculty?
It IS not something acquired by education, nor
IS It begotten by spontaneous generation. It is
^ ^fdivme^ongin. The germs of conscience wS;
implanted in man by God. There is a divinity
within the soul. It is the voice of God within,
he little spark of celestial fire. The poet calls
It the whisper of God. the hell within man. the
divine oracle, the vice-regent of God in the human
heart whose still small voice loudest revelry can-
not drown. It is the moral reflection of "the
Light which lighteth every man that cometh into
the world." The heathen have not been left
without an evidence of the love, wisdom and
y authority of God. who. without the law. have
imprinted a divine law upon the tablet of the
heart, for they are His children, members of His

THE MASTER IN T//E SOUL.

great family, and though they may differ in their
views of what is righteous in their conduct, the
Master of the race has given them a human sense
of obhgation which is continuous and persistent.
The American Indians recognize the divinity in
man as well as the divinity in nature. The dis-
tinction between right and wrong, and the human
sense of responsibility to God, is keener among
Christians than among the heathen, owing to the
teachings of the Bible, the Public School and the
Church, the influences of the Holy Spirit and
the example of Christ. The Christian religion
intensifies and enlightens the conscience, and
hence there follows a higher morality. Contrast
the savage Fijian's ideas of theft f.s a virtue, the
Chinese and Indian practice of infanticide, and
the degradation of woman among heathen tribes
with the principles and conduct of Christian
nations.

Therejs a master w|thin j?ach Jiuman bi;east .
who issues his orders with no^ uncertJun spund. -
He demands implicit obedience, and though we
may disobey him, he still asserts his authority.
The holiest as well as the vilest men feel that he .
ought to be obeyed. A Nero and a Macbeth
acknowledge his authority, though they rebel.
This representative of the Divine Majesty is the
monarch in the soul, sitting on his throne above
the conflict and din of the passions, demanding

i. I

94 THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

order, progress and righteousness. He is su

^ being the victim of his passions in the hour of
temptation. Tear him down from his rightful
position and the internal revolution would de-
stroy the inner povernment. and the mnn would
be thrown into total darkness as deep as hell.
It IS your duty to follow your conscience rather
than your passions. Conscience is not a ready-
^made faculty, complete and incapable of growth
as may be seen by the difference between the
conscience of a heathen and a Christian, an
Illiterate and educated man. and an individual
in the several stages of his experience. It is a
1/germ which grows and may be educated?' An
orphan child in a godless home, placed a reli-
gious family becomes possessed of a new con-
science as the result of the new surroundings
and training. A man brought up under the
restraints of Christian society emigrating to a
new country becomes reconciled to the lawless-
ness of border ruffianism, and the voice within is
stifled until he cannot hear the protest of God.
1 ubhc opmion influences the individual mind
and conscience. The press, the school and the
doctrines of sects exert a power for good or evil
upon the conscience. There is need of leaders
to educate the conscience of society and of the
individual. We need men like Luther and Car

TffE MASTER IN THE SOUL. 0.->

lyle, in whon all that is true in the mind and
heart of the ; eople may be brought to a focus,
and d;iven uome to our hearts with a courage
and enthusiasm born of the Spirit of God. The
laws of the land educate men in morality. Christ
recognized this fact by giving to tne people great
moral ideas to be worked through their minds
and, by means of social and religious customs,
into national laws. The true conscience is su-
preme and must be obeyed.

The difference between ^our conscience^n^l tf--
mine is not so much a matter of conscience as ^
of understanding. Your heart and mine may
be true to God and ourselves, but we do not see
things in the same light. The landscape is not
the same to each of us, because we view it from
different points. Look through the kaleidoscope
and then hand it to me— the picture is different
because the glass has changed its position. It
is not necessary that our actions should be the
snme that they may be right, for this would
imply the destruction of our individuality, and
we should be human machines without ' any
responsibility. There is style in literature, busi-
ness and religion, there are modes of life which
distinguish men even in eating and drinking,
which are after all only modeo of expression.'
It is a great matter, however, that we be honest,
kind, faithful and true in the deepest instincts of

i '.,:

r//e DBSTMV OF rO-UAW

the heart. I, i, „«, ^f tapo„,„„ .^^ ^
u» bnng our heart, to God and the Bible to ^

ipint to direct u. that we may do no wrons
-Ven may differ on religious question, and pr2

^r'r .'■"--•"■ ""''• ''""' '"d ^"^eliu, were
not or the same mind on all things, b,.t They

at theSun-dance may be accepted of God while
' . "°™ "if yP-«eRed Christian m y '^'
rejected. There a»e modern Socrates and Ci-
ceros among heathen tribes, and a Neto and
Judas may still be found among Christians, the
one to persecute, the other to simulate. Selline
the Master for eighteen dollars, as Judas dW^f
not altogether a thing of the past l^^l
M d.?-er on their interpretation of ihs.^-^d
y KLfee toSk-n. The Bible isTlt^ltf

orinZl "r T'™"'' """"""'i '"e^^ein^™
principles for all ages and for all peoples and

no man can fathom all its meaning. S«te ori

f^ctiis^.r^rcr-f''"'''''^'^^^

an<. religious ^ Xi^'':;te^=:::

1 bLTn.""'V" '"' "-"""•-■ons. The"
a Wessmg ■„ change as an element of growth
The intelkct and soul hunger after Gil and
n>ay find Him through different avenues. There

THE MASTER IN THE SOUL. 97

are difference, in our mode, of thinking about
"tronomy, evolution, politic, and literature yet
there ,, a true and abiding element in them
wh,ch ,, seized by the student. Controversy ™
a blessing when truth i, the object, but a curse
when the passion, are dominant '* "™

in Le'SiblT " rt ''"."P'o""-'" ""d discovery
■n the Bible. There 1, a north pole in it allur-
mg men ,0 seek to find it Great is the myst„:
of godliness. There are some thing, *7don^

know i„ „„,,,„. The,. „,y ^ z::!:^\

dis? T ~"''-'"" ^l*'- Luther and CaWn

werenot'^'f r '° ""^'^''''^ """ """•'"'W
were not of the same mmd on religious doctrine
the Pur, ants in the MayflowJ^^r^ not the

w^nouheor""" ^'-'"^ J""" B-A"
w« not the only martyr when he lived. ^

nif'^lf "" ■' " J'"'«' di^ri-ninating between -^
t«ht and wrong for ,he individual. Xbsj™^ i

to Ggd. Men may have a bias toward"Ivrand

wfth ^^r " "^^' """^ '■' ^»>" *« ""'"■age
wth one woman ,, a divine institution, but it i,
wrong wuen it says that marriage with more
than one is ordained of God. There may ^° ^
ev.l conscience, a bad heart and an Lpur"

rttti^^^'duT^^rtr""^'^'^;"^

y ^»"uai rignt. Ine conscience of Saul

THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

might approve his acts of persecution, just as
the horrors of the Inquisition were done in the
name of the Christian rdigion, but these deeds
were not righteous. An evil conscience and a
perverted mind called evil good and approved
of evil as the work of God. The, divinity in
man approves of what is right and does not mH
!:isiLV-Wron^, if it has been allowed to occupy its
tme.£lace. You may have doubts as to what
you ought to do in difficult times, and for want
I ) of light may err, but if the inward monitor has
been given the si/preme position it will speak at
no distant date after the deed is done. There
(tj will follow the action a.s§QseLpf inogeence which
will uphold you despite what men may say.
This is the secret of the courage of martyrs, the
steadfastness of true men hounded by the popu-
lace, the patient endurance of heroes, and the
silence of Christ and the saints when accused by
false witnesses. Great and good men have re-
mained as solid as granite, and as enduring as
Eddystone rock, when traduced and defamed,
because the true conscience has sustained them'
in the hour of trial. Follow the leading of the
' - iSaH.yoice and the motives "will be pure. Con-
science is not always a true and safe guide, as
already shown by the fact that there may be an
evil conscience, perverted by false training, but
if you keep your heart true to the teachings of

THE MASTER IN THE HOUL.

Chr St you need not go astray. The practice of U)
godlmess begets joyous feelings. There is plea- ^
sure in the service of righteousness. The Chris-
tian .s a true optimist, a hopeful man, who
beheves m the final victory of truth, the settle-
ment of all wrongs, the creed of the Beatitudes
and the establishment of Christ's empire on
earth as an era of peace and blessing to all

Tthe ^"^rf^ '"^^ t« be happy, and this
;s the foundation of the search for happiness.
T^e way of virtue is the path of happiness. TJ
There .s always delight in doing good. No
true nrian .s ever sorry that he has been
good himself, and has performed a kind act
toward his fellows. There is pleasure in the
emancipation of slaves, in the suppression of
vice, m the overthrow of intemperance, in the
education of the young, in missions to the
heathen, and in all movements for the welfare

LT ^^'^ "^^^ ^°''°^^ a^ the result of

obedience.to godly principles poverty and per-
secution, yet there will lie.peace,of mind. The L )
Covenanters suffered for their devmi;;; to reli- ' ^
gious liberty, and the leaders and members of
the Disruption of the Church of Scotland were
ejected from their churches and manses, yet they '

enjoyed peace of conscience by adhering to the
pnnciples of right. It is better to ha vf peace
than prosperity, better to do right than wrong

100

THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

better to be Daniel in the den of lions than
Belshazzar, better to be Mordecai than Haman,
better to be Anne Boleyn than Henry the
Eighth, better to be Bunyan than the judge who
condemned him, better to be Christ than Pilate.
Obedience to the true dictates of the heart is
like the obedience of the builder to the plans of
the architect, who makes the house grow daily
in beauty and strength until finished. The plan
of your life lies hidden from your view, but every
good desire, thought and act is a part of the
plan, and as the heart is always prompting to
righteousness and pointing toward God, if the
^^ inner voice is obeyed, there willjQlLqw §t£fingib
{ ij oLdlHBfiter and goodness.

There are times in every man s life when he
does not know what to do, he cannot force
himself to action by argument, and when he
decides upon a course to follow, his heart will
not let him, he decides to engage in a certain
business or profession but his past training
forbids him. A terrible calamity befalls a man
and he would fain commit suicide to rid him-
self of the agony and shame, but th_e instincts
(§j <lGusJieart prevent him. A cloud is resting
upon him and he cannot understand why he
should suffer innocently, but his heart tells him
that some day the darkness will be changed to
light and he will be free. Let a man desire

THE MASTER IN THE SOUL. IQI

what is good, even though he does not under-
stand whither it will lead him, he will widen the
skirts of light and narrow the darkness, and a
power divine will help him against the evil.
The inner light which comes from the throne of
the Most High may not reveal the mysteries of
heaven, yet it will shed its radiance upon the
duties of earth. The utterance of men's in-
stincts are . er than their thoughts, and when
men follow the true messages of the conscience
they are not far fron the invisible light.

When sin is committed in thought or deed o
the unsleeping monitor steps in with rod in ^
hand and smites the offending soul with keener ^-'
stripes than the flesh ever felt The wiorking of
the conscience in even the most abandoned is
Illustrated by one of the murderers about to
assassinate the Duke of Clarence, who says, in
relation to conscience. " I'll not meddle with it •
It IS a dangerous thing; it makes a man a
coward ; a man cannot steal, but it accuseth
iiim; a man cannot swear, but it checks him
Tis a blushing, shame-faced spirit that mutinies
in a man's bosom ; it fills one full of obstacles
It made me once restore a purse of gold that by
chance I found.* It beggars any man that keeps
It Macbeth, meditating the murder of Duncan
recalls the relations in which he stood to him
and in his deciding not to commit the deed, the

102

THE DESTINY OF TO-DA K

■ 1

(^^

temporary victory of conscience is illustrated
The eye of this 'nward monitor was the only
one that coula quell Lord Marmion, and he felt
rebuked by this power. This judge condemns
and then executes the sentence, thrusting the
culprit mto a dark cell, and peers through the
darkness upon the uncovered heart. He awakens
HLtheJiearts of men the exp^rf ^fj^^n^GJl^
pit_ibiL_wrqng. A sense of guilt paints the
heavens w.th pictures of condemned souls in
colors of fire, and peoples the earth with living
leaves and airy spirits, whose tongues utter the
judgments of God. The stricken heart seeks to
flee from the inferno of its own making as deep
as the creation of Dantd The condemned soul
may strive to flee from the impending doom
ptpffive^the^unislynenU^ It acquiesces
in the sentence, and though it would fain escape
the punishment, concludes that not only has
no wrong been done, but that justice has been
rendered.

One of the truest instincts of our nature is
tJieJium^^jn3e_ofjieedin4he_£r^^
for s^me_person^tojict as m_e4iajtQrJoims The
pam of heart through sin is sought to be lessened
or removed by the companionship of a true
man or woman upon whom you can depend
unto whom you can make your confession and
receive sympathy. Human mediators are pro-

THE MASTER IN THE SOUL.

103

vided by the heart as substitutes for the Divine
Mediator, which is a confession of need The
human heart cries for a rdigion, a Saviour and
forgiveness, and without an answer the soul is
crushed The_sens_e^ of g^Liilt makes ajii^n />)
Sili^ilonusjellows lest they may "readlhe
secrets of his heart. The only failure a man
ought to fear is the failure of cleaving to a true
purpose. Let him prefer the good to the evil
and though the way may be dark the end will
be light. If there is no path leading out of the
ravine and delay means death, plunge into the
mountain stream and hope for life and light
Disgbgdience to the d ivine lau^in the heart (^^
ajvakens_t he sense of jhanie which is at^H^ the
sign of our degradation through sin, and a
barrier to greater transgression. The first oath
of the youth almost palsies his tongue and
paints his cheeks with a crimson hue. This is
the compassion of God on the sinner to keep
him from rushing headlong to destruction, a
danger signal by the way to warn him of the
fallen bridge. Conscience prints the inward
sin and pain on the human countenance, a lesser
brand of Cain to preserve man. In all hearts
there is an instinctive fear of sin. God has Ai
glacgdJeaiv^ j^^uardian over the souL tglkSp ^ ^
lUiUhe_patlL5ljt|3ith. Repentance is one of
the most divine acts, for the greatest human

104 THE DESTINY OF TO-DA V.

fault is to be conscious of none. The wisest
men are afraid of sin. for punishment as terrible
as fire is sure to come. There is nothing can
hmder the consuming power of sin. so long as it
remains in the human heart. There is an un-
quenchable fire in the soul on account of sin,
which can only cease with the cessation or
transformation of the sin. There is a peculiar
fascmation in fear for the human soul. Preach
about hell-fire with intense reality and men will
gather and listen while they tremble.
Th^sourstricken wit_h_guilt is in_coristant
8'j oread Pf Jhe_cojwequencesj«^ichJollowLt^
pssisp, for the birth of sin is in the human
heart, and it must bring forth a progeny of
wickedness which will infuse the character and
life. There is a recording angel in every heart
daily taking notes to be transcribed indelibly
upon the tablets of eternity. It is the message
of a he to be extinguished as if it were unable
to commii suicide and yet felt it had no right to
live. TJiejnasterJnjhe.soulJash^^
J5*en Jiis^governmenl Js -iiiterfered_ jsrith, and
will not give place to the usurpers who seek his
throne. The ^eart cries out in agony because
of the pain glowing as a worm, never resting
sleepless, consuming and persistent. Remorse
n^\ smitesjhesinn^ as a Brutus sitting at the dead
V ^ of night in his tent, seeing, as he thought a

(5)

THE MASTER IN THE SOUL.

105

shadowy form whom he asked, "What and
whence art thou?" which seemed to answer.
" I am thine evil gen.us, Brutus ; we shall meet
again at Philippi." Despite the remonstrances
of the monitor within, you may go on in sin,
descending the path to Avernus, stilling the
voice of God. growingJn^^adUth^ughts ^njj [(f)
desires until no longer the judge sits upon the
throne, but the passions rule with despotic
power, and you are enslaved, shackled and cast
into prison, from which there is no escape.
Then you will present to the world, the angels
and God the terrible spectacle of a man with-
out a conscience. Beware, lest in your heart
and life you heed not the voice within, and you
are left without God and without hope. /T .

^9:!^^^!^S^y^,3iJstc&jQ^^^sa^^ impelling
men to do right. It is a master as well as a :^
judge. When you are tempted to do wrong
the master in the soul not only says that you
should not yield to the temptation, but you
must not, at the peril of your life. The master
pushes you forward, begetting courage, and
making you heroic in the defence of truth.
Follow this commander and he will lead you to
victory, changing your weakness into strength,
transforming your cowardice into heroism,
and lengthening your vision of life. This ^
Jaasterj^strainsji^^ keeping the spiritual -^

106

THE DESTINY OF TO-DA V.

nature from obeying the impulse of the pas-
sions, and becoming a slave to sinful habits and
appetites. Obedience to this master begets
self-control and gives victory over the lower
nature. When the world beckons you with its
allurements to destroy, he calls upon you to
retreat ; when the music of sin charms you to
stop and listen, he raises a storm to deafen you
to the song of the siren ; when ungodly com-
panions entreat you to frequent the haunts of
vice, he speaks in* warning tones and pleads
with you not to make your life a failure. He
ujg§§_i:oOodo.ihat_wlucl^^
/ of^onseauences. His appeal is always in de-
fence of God and man, and on the side of
progress and truth. His voice is heard in the
emphatic declaration of Luther when asked to
recant, " Here I st^nd ; I cannot do otherwise
God help me ! Amen I " It is heard again in
the words of Carlyle, " Do what is right, even if
you have to go to the devil." Thisdivlne
iij. 'aSsteiLgiycs.satislactijMjo^oi^^ Follow
the teachings of Christ, keep the truth of God
as a holy treasure in your heart, seek the good
of men, and he will always speak kindly and
encourage you. Itjs^the design ofjhe Chris-

arLenljghJened_conscience. Christ is the ideal
of the Christian conscience. His blood cleanses

THE MASTER IN THE SOUL. 107

and purifies, his teachings ennoble, his hfe in-
spires, and his power saves.

Place, ^ur conscience under the educatin<T y
influ_ences_qf the_Bible. In contact with O^ "
you will be transformed into newness of life
Drink in His spirit, and you will be exalted :
1-ve with Him in the secret of His presence, and
you will grow like Him in beauty and strength,
ybep^our^conscience ; seek its enlightenment

n .1 '^ u"^^ °^ "^'"""^ ^'""^^ ^"^ P'-^yer ; test
all things by the conscience of Christ and Paul •
and then obey the Master in the soul with a
faith that falters not at any danger, and the
light of God will illumine your heart and life
and give you peace and joy. Surreritej^ur
gl-'.JP_God. ajid_serye_Hlfnlfaithfully. Listen
always to the inward master saying to you,
Man. remember thou art mortal." Say to
your heart, not only " I ought to do right " and
I must do right," but also, "I will do right"
and then you will enter the land of freedom
and through Christ you will become a free man.'
SeiTe_Chris^regardles^^ and

i:2H_?innoUail, for the right shall Ndnln t^x-
nity. where all accounts are settled and every
man receives his due.

THE INFINITE OUTCOME.

"Man stands as in the centre of Nature; his fraction ot
Time encircled by Eternity ; his handbreadth of Space encircled
by Infinitude."— Car^)'^.

" A nuui is the whole encyclopa.>dia of facts. The creation
of a thousand forests is in one acorn, and Egypt, Greece, Rome,
Gaul, Britain, America, lie folded already in the first man."—

" I have thought some of Nature's journeymen had made
men, and not made them well, they imitated humanity so
abominably. "Shakespeare.

" Man is of soul and body, formed for deeds
Of high resolve, on fancy's boldest wing."

— Shelley.

" Men may .ise on stepping-stones
Of their dead selves to higher things."

— Tennyson.

" And God said. Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness : and let them have dominion."— (7m. i : 26.

T he worth of ji man depends upon his esti-
mate of life, and the attitude he bears toward
his Maker. You cannot value a man in pounds
and shillings, in dollars and cents. Some men
have a low contempt of life, and accordingly
live as if they were children of earth and time,

108

THE INFINtTB OUTCOME

100

spending their years in trifles, pursuing Health
or happiness, which arc not the true objects of
existence; immortals building castles on the
sand, heaven-born beings raking mud in the
streets of earth in quest of gold, children of God
keeping company with the devil. A royal few
hold life at a high estimate, and count them-
selves happier in living as immortals with Laz-
arus in his rags, than as mortals with Dives in
his purple and fine linen. We magnify the
present by thinking upon it continu .lly, and
extinguish eternity by never reflecting upon it.
Man is made for God, and is only happy in
Him, and yet he is opposed to Him. ligiy ^
muchjsa man worth? Let a human soul be^
Hutji£ for auction, and the angels of heaven
and hell assembled as the bidders. One angel
offers for this immortal the British Empire, but
that is too low a price ; another oiTers Europe
and the Western continent, but that is not
enough ; a third bids the world— the land and
seas, and stars— but still that will not purchase
this human soul. How much are you worth?
Let God answer.

Whaijsjrian ? He is a word of God— the
expression of the Infinite. He is the miracle of
the universe, the mystery of the ages, and a son
of the Highest. Look_at his body, with its
wonderful mechanism, so intricate in its consti-

110 THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

tution and so thoroughly adapted to all climes
and circumstances, that Galen was converted
from atheism by examining a human skeleton.
/ Hisjiand bears evidences of his divine origin,
his godlike attitude as seen in the erect body,
raises him above all creatures ; his garment of
flesh is the temple of the universe, a statue
moulded in His own image by the Master
Moulder, the most wonderful organization that
has come from the hand of God. The undevout
physiologist is mad. Look^ at_his_ brain— his
reasoning faculties, his memory and imagination
—which links the past and present, is indifferent
to time and space, travels faster than the light-
ning's flash, visiting China and Africa in a
nioment, and is capable of soaring with Milton
through untravelled realms and roaming with
Dant^ through regions of infernal woe. Enu-
V meratejhejfwentio^ the^rts

and sciences, the external evidences of civiliza-
tion, and the eternal impressions made upon
man's inner nature by the power of sympathy,
and the largeness and strength of ideas, and
note all these as the product of the human
intellect Examin^ the ^masterpiece s of the
^ world's greatest painte rs and scujptors, the
poe^G™? wjiich Mve^Hved for^cenUirje^^^ the insti-
tutions which have moulded the life of nations,
and the systems of philosophy and religion

THE fN FINITE OUTCOME, \x\

which have governed the minds and hearts of
people for ages, and mark these products of the
human mind. Look at his soul, with its strong/
passions of love and hate, its inarticulate moan-
'ngs after the Infinite, possessing earth, yet
destmed for heaven, its stately ruins as of a fair
temple wherein God Himself found a habitation
—and tell me, is not man the breath of the
Highest, the glory of the universe, the great
depository and guardian of truth, and does he
not carry in his capacious mind tlje geometry of
the city of God, and in his soul a kingdom for
which heaven and hell contend ?

iSiisiateihe value of one man by the^ptoyi- •
sjonsjjHhLcfcJiaye been made for his sustenance
injhe.abundam gifts oi nature anw providejjfc
the whole earth waiting upon him and pouring
forth her treasures at his feet. His life is not
dependent upon his own will, else a single fear
or doubt might disarrange the entire machinery "
and he would cease to exist. Count his worth
by the wisdom and care of God. who sleeps not
but guards him with the love of a mother'
^ckan_his greatness by the empire which^ has ^
5eer|,£lacedjn„his keeping, and his eternll
destiny, and then tell me how much he is
worth when you have gazed upon Calvary
as the expression of the love of God, and the
price of the redemption of man. The material

112

T^E DESTJNV OF TO-DAY,

J^ Man is the Ia«!f ar.^ li

«re possessed of life bu7'h„ l,^ !.' " '""• A"
him the breath of t i„b . ^'^ '"•=''">«' '"to
'«> fi.u„ in .he Lt; 'ofT ea "h' T' ^^-
""d all things borrow the' „„ h ^«".'"'"«'
«nce as they are related toWm H •'^"'■''■
finrat specimen of n,. u °. ""• He js_ihe

'"- .hta-ng;i^b„.";~ «: ""'^^

more than they. When 1^^*"'P"°" « «alted

«iste„ce the angels mu.th.T ""«" ■"'o

del'ghtful surprfec a^d ,h ! '*''"''' ■"■■" "■■"'

carried the neTof the / '"' '""^' '«'"<=

^ranger on earth L, he ^'"' °' '"e august

forebodings of defeat He """" °^ ''*" >"■*
purpose of satisfying th. , "*' """«' ""^ *=

companionship S^H/^ » "' ^"^^ ="«' '°^
for himself. „or fo, " s\,."^ ""^ "■« made

>ngels, but for God m1 ^'' "°' '°' *«
•^^n, the master of „eaL" "" """^^ ''^ ''°"""-
earth. The worldttht^ *'"f "' l."" "' *«
""rsed, and his workshoo 7 V" "''""'' ''^ «
of all his powers. It fa not ^' ^P'^yment
he may eat and drinW • P'^J-h""* "here
figures as toys and ' '^"."''="'' *« moving
ys, and creep „„h worms; but a

THE INFINITE OUTCOME. 113

temple, where he is to enjoy visions of God and
soar with the angels.

The Creator, in forming the earth, allowed it
to pass through successive changes, as geology
has shown us, and created various types of ani-
mals which passed away, and permitted the sun
to hide its heat in the vast beds of coal with
man as the end of all animal and vegetable
creation. MaiMvas^continualJiMn His thoughts
in3e_jnaking_of the world. 'Th^^~'DivhJJ
Thinker, according to our human conception
had an^jnfinite^lan onhe^uniyerse, as we see it ^
expressed in the order and development of the ^
world. His vast conceptions dazzle us with
their magnificence and minuteness. He works
in large designs and according to small patterns
begotten in eternity. With one hand he forms
a ring of one hundred thousand miles in diame-
ter to revolve around a planet, and with the
other the claw of a foot of an insect that can
only be seen by the aid of a microscope. The
plan of the world is seen in its regular move-
ments—the seasons never fail, the tides follow
His direction. The earth is perfectly adapted
to the wants of animals and man. Vegetable
productions are supplied necessary for their
subsistence, and the crust of the earth has the
exact degree of consistence for all purposes.
Were it harder than it now is it could not be

114

THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

cultivated, and were it softer it would be as
quagmire, insufficient to support us. The laws
of nature are not the servants of fate, but modes
of God's action. The leaf, the blade of grass,
the star, the fossil, are expressions of the thought
of the Eternal Maker.

Man hjis a ij[ace in ^V iiyine^jjlap. The
human race is the chief aiu-:tion for Hi.n who
made all things. All t.ature was prepared for
it, and remains its servant ; speech was formed
for it, and languages developed by it ; laws are
for its protection, and institutions for its im-
provement. The progress of the _race is the
result of the intelligent use of the gifts of the
Almighty. The_growth__aLnd_ movemen^^^
gopulation, the equalization of the birth of the
sexes, which is the Divine protest against poly-
gamy, the continual preservation of the race,
the revelation of the Divine will, and the gift of
Christ for the redemption of man are evidences
of the wisdom, care and love of God. He im-
planted in the hearts of men a desire for com-
panionship and co-operation, laying the foun-
dations of the family, the home and social order.
He gathered and set the solitary in families,
and society is seen as a part of the plan of God.
The first thought of your Heavenly Father
about you was: "Let us make man in our
image, after our likeness: and let them have

THE INFINITE OUTCOME, H5

dominion.'' The Infinite One created worlds
and packed them full of power, and then said
let us make_aJcin^to^shaiyiavP^min
Man. m the .mage of God, is the key-note^Hiis
bemg. No poetry, or philosophy, or the dream
of optimists ever struck this note-it is revelation.
Man ,s the child of God and should be like his
father. Enough remains in the admirable
frame and structure of the soul of man to show
that ,t was made in the Divine image, and
more than enough of vicious deformity to warn
us of the descent from his original condition.
Man^jjasmadsjor^donnnion. God is King of
the universe, and the child should be like his
Father. The great world, as an empire with
all Its powers and possibilities, ^s intended for
the empire of man, and God has invited him to
sit upon His throne and rule. He was the
kmg of the earth, the master of the world.
Every excellent quality exhibited among men
IS an imperfect exhibition of what belongs to
each perfect man. The greatness of the painter
and poet, of the artist and sculptor is the
heritage of each obedient son of God.

pfiIps_a_DivinejJan in your life. As a
father has a purpose in his mind for his son
without interfering with the will of the boy, and
the thought and plan may never be wrought out
in the life because of waywardness and the

116

THE DESTINY OF TO-DAY.

crossing of the will of the son with the will of
the father ; so God has a holy purpose and plan
for your life, which is for your advancement,
and yet you may cross that plan, and the inten-
tion of God may never be carried out because
of your sin. How often human plans fail and
hopes ire blighted by the higher plan of Divine
mercy and love. We complain on account of
this holy interference, the stroke has been
severe, the burdeh has been heavy, yet in the
future, when we have scanned the course of
events, we have been led to say : " He doeth
all things well." You grumble because you do
not understand the purpose of God, but if
finite reason could grasp it, then no longer
would it be infinite and of God. A child knows
not the meaning of the father's plans concern-
ing him, for if he did, the child would be a man,
or the father would be a child ; and so long as
God is infinite, the finite cannot understand
His ways. We can, however, trust in His jus-
tice and love, knowing that He cannot do
wrong, and will never cause unnecessary pain.
The discoverer of new worlds is working out
V"^ his own plan, which is a part of the great plan
of the Eternal One. Our work is but a seg-
/ment in the sphere of God's eternal work. Q^
*""-'' olan far vour life in this wor'-*

I The di vine law o f •^-ogr ess as see n^in nature,

TffE INFINITE OUTCOME. \yj

reyglation_andjiunian .experience is the unfolH-v-
»n£^lthe_£lan_of_God. The history oru^
world and of the human race is a story of de-
velopment. There have been stages of retro-
gression in the hfe of nations, but even these
have been used by God to minister to the pro-
gress of the race. Time is the great historian
which marks the upward footsteps of man. It
IS the greatest of innovators and the greatest of
•mprovers. Marl^Jhejiiarch^ of^ mind from a.^
savage condition, with its narrow ideas, along
the path of civih'zation until it culminates in
personal greatness and evolves a Shakespeare
and a Newton, and expresses itself in the cul-
ture of a class or a nation. But it rests not
there, for the pillars of Hercules mark not its
boundaries, plus ultra is its prophecy ; more
beyond is the thought of God in the development
ofthemmd. Ihe^nnals_of_ihe_nat^^
the progress of society, in the increase of wealth
and the development of the arts of life, despite
the corruption of courtiers and the avarice of
rulers. Pomis al history is a record of action ^
and reaction which end in one direction, the
progress of the world. Th^hjstory^ religious/
do^^e is a story of development, from the
childhood of the race until the present time.
Thgjpiritual history of the wgHd is a record of ^
progress, not without periods of retrogression

'm.

118 THE DESTINY OF TODAY.

which seem to be necessary for full manhood.
God is working out His plan, and were we able
to occupy for a moment an infinite height, so as
to grasp the whole, we should see unUy of
purpose, stone upon stone hewn and polished,
fitted and put in its own place, producing har-
mony, strength and beauty, as an eternal palace
in process of building by the Omnipotent
Architect and Builder.

When God mad'e Adam the work of creation
was completed, and the work of development
begun. Man is still in the process ^makiflg,
character building is still going on, and God
and man are working together in fitting the
human child for earth and heaven. The child
plays with toys, the man works with tools. Our
ancestors were satisfied with huts, we must have
mansions, and the men of the future will not be
satisfied with less than castles and palaces.
The mind is growing, our wants are increasing,
and we shall never be satisfied with less than
eternal habitations, for our aspirations are yearn-
ings after the Infinite. Every step higher in
climbing and cutting our names in the rock,
means another step, and still another, until we
reach the top. God has not finished His work
" in the making of man, and He will not cease
until the last man stands upon the shores of
time and waves his last farewell.

THE INFINITE OUTCOME.

119

QuMEternal^Father has made^^Tpvision for ^
the working ouLqL thg.^njDf j^ouHi^TVour T'
bod^is an engine which supph'es 7orce for the ^^
intellectual and spiritual machine, and fuel must
be supplied to generate the force and the engine
must be kept in continual repair. In His wisdom
God has made the soil capable of bringing forth
nourishment; the fields join hands with the roots
and grains ; the trees shed their leaves and drop
their fruits ; the sea yields its inhabitants for food
for man ; the forests become martyrs, sacrificing
their finest trees to warm and house him ; the
beds of coal are at his service ; the animals give
their wool and hides to clothe him and their
flesh to sustain him ; the winds purify the atmos-
phere obedient to the moon and tides ; the sun
and electricity make the coldest days pleasant
and the darkest nights suitable for labor. All
Nature waits upon him to maintain the body in
health and cure it when weak or disabled. The
wealth of the material universe is not solely for
the satisfying of hunger or the enrichment of
individuals, but for the making of men. But
man shall not liye^ bread afone; he JsmQfe
Sa".ammal ; he js a_sggrbiii57^;f^^
^-ei:ond_h|mself; he is made for domi^;]^ and ^J )
fellowship, and he only lives as he becomes ex-
tensive. I^^werjotjhejociat^ man is

his need, and it is this which God supplies. 'To

ISO

THE DESTINY OF TODAY.

bring forth all that lies in each man he must
keep company with the greatest souls that have
ever lived. But mHLj?a5,,anJlitelle-t which
cannot exist on material things. The mind
seeks after knowledge, and is capable of recog-
nizing and grasping it, so God^ h^sjTiade_E£p.
yisbnjbrhisjnten^

truth^which is_a^revelatioii^f Himself. Truth
IS the language which God usiTfor ejipressing
His thoughts, and by its possession men are
enriched and brought into harmony with the
mmd of God. But man Js a moral bemg, and
he requires for his moral nature the food which
will suit him, and this is found in the relation of
his will to the laws of God. Righteousness is
GodTsjjrovisionJor oi^ The laws

of God are just and they are" true, not only be-
cause God is their author and they are revealed
to us by Him, but also because they are in agree-
ment with the nature of man. The laws of God,
which are the expression of His will, is His pro-
vision for the moral nature of man. But maji
^) ha§_an_aesthetic_nature, and not only to satisfy
this human yearning fo. harmony in sound and
color, as seen in the flowers, in the dress of birds,
in painting, or in agreeable forms of sculpture
and architecture, and heard in music; but to en-
noble and stimulate him, making him conscious
of his high origin and dignity as a son of God,

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121

there has been^iycjfi him beauty as a provision
for his c-Esthetic nature, and be auty isjh^ f jpcc^-
sion of the holy life of God Hmiself But man
has^ spj/jtualjife, and the provisions already ^ )
mentioned relate to his human life, as it is turned" ^
toward the world and men. QfUie. spiritual life
*l'll?!^^?s l2i!^fe of God^ provision has been
rnad_eJor itAsustenjmceJby: jpye, asjecn j^nj^^
Christ_Love is life, and the true spiritual fo-tes
of life are found in Christ. Love, as embodied
in Christ, is provided for man's spiritual nature. .
But niAnJiajcWld of £teaiity,j5^^ y

nature. He is made in the likeness and imagi ^
of God, and is imperishable. The destruction
of a son of the Highest would register the death
of God. This life is too short for the unfolding
of man's nature. Man is blest with a noble dis-
content. The aspirations of the soul are prophe-
cies of an immortal destiny. Death is the isth-
mus between time and eternity. God has ma^e
P'^ovJsionJbr the eternal nature^f man ^^^
fcimjmmpxtality, which is perfectly revealed in
Jesus Christ.

Seeing that God has made so great provision M
for your life, how^great^ught^ou Xq^. As ^ .
parents have high ideals and large^xpectations
for their sons, so God has higher ideals for His
children than earthly parents or themselves. He
invites you to rise to the greatness of His

122 THE DESTINY OF TODAY.

thoughts concerning you. He has given you a
^ingdoinjnjjjichj^oi^ ^ His^ambition

for you is higher than you can ever have for
yourself. Think of the intention of your Father
to make you like Himself, to exalt you to be a
ruler, not of one city, hut of ten cities. He ma^?
/you for dqminioo and He wishes you to inherit
your possessions. The idea which God has con-
cerning you may be seen by that fondness for
empire which you sometimes feel, and which can
only be realized by working out the ideal life.
To the majority of mankind life is simply grati-
fication, each one seeking to gratify his ruling
propensity. i:heXdeaj>IJife42r£SfirjtedJii.§^
/ ture consists incomplptPnPQ«j^f K^jpg it is the
fulfilment of God's purpose in us and by us, and
when this thought predominates, life is felt to be
a definite mission, with its beginning in regen-
eration and its continuance in a renewed and
redeemed being consecrated to the service of
God. Ideal manhood js ^ seen in th e life pj
^ Christ. He is God's idea of what a man should
be on earth. Lest we might fail to keep before
us the picture of the true life, He sent Christ,
saying, " This is the picture of manhood." Christ
places Himself by our side and shows us the
perfect life on earth. He is the only man we
can love without disappointment and worship

THE INFINITE OUTCOME.

123

without idolatry. His teachings arc grander
than the revelations of nature or of human phil-
osophies. In all the history of humanity His life
i" without a parallel for purity, nobleness and
aspiration. Ijlihe jdeal^Book_there_are_variovjs»^ y
types of m anhood, thaV none njaxJedisrniiMjrpH _/
and each may find a model for the moulding of
character, and all may find it in Christ. This^
is the divine side in working out the plan of
your life.

But the re is a human sid e in working^jit^tbp
PJajLoCGfid. What are you doing with God's /
plan? Mighty ideals are necessary to great
achievements. Ideals are necessary to progress.
Aspiration is the natural condition of men. An
emergency draws out the powers of man The
highest ideals are born in the lofty sphere of
contemplation and communion with God. As
God is always dealing with nen on the basis of*'
their secret choices, the great question for you
to answer is, " W1iatjs^he_great^h^ce^^^ ^
HfeJ" AnastasiusTlhe^'RSman emperor, was —
greeted by the populace in a sentence which
revealed his character, "Reign as you have
lived ! " The supreme question for you to
answer is, "How shall I live?" It is your
duty to live in accordance with the plan of God.
Thejise^^Mifg is to plant thought and trans- • 3

Tjjr^

114

THE DKSTINY OF TO- DAY.

form it into an action. Your work is to raise
«/thejouIs.of^itiieng^ not^l^^^ Jwws^^, for

man is more than a house. fh(r^se of studies
is not to place you upon a tower to look down
upon men, nor in a fortress to resist them, nor
in a factory for gain, but to furnish your mind
and heart as a rich treasury of noble thoughts
for the unfolding and ennoblement of life. A
great life is not made by trying to do great
things, but by doing common things with a
lofty spirit for thq sake of God and men. The
eternal sky full of light and truth .soars over our
heads, and in God's world, under the arch of
heaven, we are called to do our simple duty.
Your dutx injhe_wqrl4..is t^Jo the vv.'! of God,
^iteliJl ^ll*?. Jj!<L.a!ldJiappjnes,{_o^^
Righteousnesj is the duty of all men. Love
God and obey him. Live while you live. You
can never come to Gods idea of what you
should be, except by being in His likeness ; and
you can never reach the great throne of empire
in this world without being what God meant
you to be.

Be^a mastej:j J)e a king. Seek not happi-

/ness, for that is not the chief end of life ; but

seek dominion. Glorify God by being good

and doing good. Character is the chief thing.

The root of a triumphant life lies in a holy pur-

THE INFINITE OUTCOME.

125

pose. " Man's chief end is to glorify God and
to enjoy Him forever." To^orijy life is to
glorif)rjGod, and to enjoy the presence ' and
work of God is to enjoy God here and here-
after. "My lord, I fear you are not fulfilhng
the end of your life," said the_Be3^Dr. McQosl)!^
t^oJjOrd^^Duffcrin as they were riding in Uie
Clandeboye estate. "What do you mean?"
said the nobleman, imperiously. " I mean that
you have talents and accomplishments. You
have great influence, both in your descent and
your property, and something good and great
is expected of you." " But what do you expect
me to do?" said his lordship. " I expect you
to devote yourself to statesmanship." " Do you
think that I have the talent for this work?"
said Dufferin, thoughtfully and earnestly. The
clergyman replied that he did. Not long after-
wards Lord Dufferin was deep in political mat-
ters, and his public career and brilliant service
may have been directed by this short conversa-
tion, as a word in season.

Wha t shall be the infinite outrnm<» jn^^r- ^
"'tyJ If God can find any one who has been
faithful over a few things, He will make him a
ruler over many things. Any one who has
rightly improved a pound will be given author /
over ten cities. When you have done your work

f«>

126

THE DESTINY OF TO DAY.

with a noble and faithful spirit, God will at last
say to you, " Take thou ten cities for a little
fidelity, and for being faithful over the least
have thou rulership over that which is most."
/ Begin life again at the starting "^yc^yiX-^J^'
turn^Jo.^2d, giving HinOTTs own, and being
supremely loyal to Christ. \Vork out in your

/ l ife the purpose of God , that you may be re-
stored to the divine image. Keep s tep jvi^
Hmn^ and when you realize that you are in
league with Him ^ou will find that you are not
so much fighting for Him as He is fighting for
you, and then you will be able to stand in any
path of life, and with a vision broader than

/ Leonidas, who not only saw the Pass of Ther-
mopylBB and the Persians in front, but the city
of Athens and the Acropolis, with the gods
looking on, you will see the eternal throne,
and peer into inanity, and become greater than
time itself. Briug-^ll your lif e into harmo r y

^ with your legitimate position , to have dominion,
to be a king over nature and life. The jewel
that God and the angels are looking for on
earth is character. God h ascalled you for
d ominion. You are to be a man with a resolute
aim, not a mollusk with aimless reverie; you
are to be a man with vitality, not dead matter
only known as avoirdupois. It is yo.ir preroga-

THE INFINITE OUTCOME. 127

tive ta be anohoed with the oil of God that
you n,- y wrestle on earth and reign in heaven
^SlILii^^'^«'-,Jn.eani£5t. standing on the prow
of your vessel, seeing God only, and sail onward
toward new lands of truth and beauty that you
may win them for God, and become a king, for
you were made for dominion, and nothing short
of mastery should satisfy a son of the Eternal