- tural atonement, while there is no form of
practical repentance that can positively and directly replace a hundredweight of wasted coal.
Here is an instance of a sin without
atonement. Man can not reproduce
the coal that he has once wasted. Grace
has a kindlier word for our moral
waters. The "years that the locust
eaten" may be restored. (Text.)
(2959)
SINNERS AND GOD
The following is taken from Jonathan Edwards' sermon entitled, "Sinners in the hands of an angry God." The sinners are given a dreadful warning.
The wrath of God burns against them;
their damnation don't slumber; the pit is
prepared; the fire is made ready; the furnace
is now hot, ready to receive them; the
flames do now rage and glow. The devils
watch them; they are ever by them, at their
right hand; they stand waiting for them,
like greedy, hungry lions that see their prey,
and expect to have it, but are for the present
kept back. If God should withdraw His
hand, by which they are restrained, they
would in one moment fly upon their poor
souls. The old serpent is gaping for them;
hell opens its mouth wide to receive them;
and if God should permit it, they would be
hastily swallowed up and lost. The God that
holds you over the pit of hell, much as one
holds a spider or some loathsome insect over
the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked;
His wrath toward you burns like
fire; He looks upon you as worthy of nothing
else, but to be cast into the fire; He is of
purer eyes than to bear to have you in His
sight; you are ten times so abominable in
His eyes as the most hateful and venomous
serpent is in ours.
Jonathan Edwards was born October
5, 1703. What a difference time makes
in religious thinking.
(2960)
SINS, ACCUMULATED
A great mogul engine goes dashing along
at a high speed, plowing its way against
wind, and defying every obstruction. But
little snowflakes, steadily falling on the track,
grow into a heap that brings the monster to a
standstill.
Not one great crime, but many small
sins block the soul's progress heavenward.
(2961)
Sin's Causes—See Disease, Causes of.
SINS, PET
An officer in India, who one day fell asleep
with his left hand hanging over the couch,
was awakened by his young pet lion licking
him. The rough tongue brought blood, and
the officer tried to withdraw his hand. At
the first movement the lion gave a short
growl and grasped the hand more firmly,
upon which the officer, seeing that his lion
cub had become suddenly changed from a
domestic pet to a wild beast, took a loaded
pistol from under his pillow with his right
hand and shot the animal dead.
There are pet sins that men caress,
parade, and boast of. They appear
harmless enough to the casual observer,
but at some unexpected moment they
becoming a "roaring lion seeking whom
he may devour." (Text.)
(2962)
SINS OF YOUTH
In some strata there are to be seen the
marks of showers of rain which fell centuries
ago, and they are so plain and perfect that
they clearly indicate the way the wind was
drifting and in what direction the tempest
slanted from the sky. So may the tracks
of youthful sins be traced upon the tablet of
life when it has merged into old-age tracks
on which it is bitter and sad to look, and
which call forth many a worthless longing
for the days and months which are past.
(Text.)—Mursell.
(2963)
Sins That Are Regarded as Little—See Little Sins.
SINGING CONDUCIVE TO HEALTH
The time will soon come when singing will
be regarded as one of the great helps to
physicians in lung diseases, more especially
in their incipient state. Almost every branch
of gymnastics is employed in one way or
another by the doctors, but the simple and
natural function of singing has not yet received
its full meed of attention. In Italy,
some years ago statistics were taken which
proved that the vocal artists were especially
