RELIGIOUS WORLD.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIV, Issue 230, 26 September 1903, Page 2 (Supplement)

RELIGIOUS WORLD.

THE "VICTORY OF FAITH

JBy tie Late Rev. Joseph Parker, D.D.)

And the Lord said: "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to Uave you, thnt be mny sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thep that thy faith fall not"— Luke xxli. 31 and 32.

PART 11.

The idea of the text is that two opposing forces are evermore acting in relation to the human soul. Do you know aught of the agonies of moral conflict? Have you felt, as it were, the breath of Satan breathing over you, even when bent at the throne of Grace? Have you, •when perusing the Holy Scriptures, seen, as it were, the finger of Satan drawing a margin of bfcjckneae around the sacred

page? % " Some of Jrou have been in the wilderness, and ire aware of Satan's tremendous power; you have encountered him in the dark valley, end have had to fight your way into the realms of light and reel. By whose power did you attain the gloriou3 conquest? Who shed the brightness of morning on your gloom- girt souls? Who smote the trammels by which you were enthralled, and led you to freedom and peace? Ti7 benefactor** name is Christ. In the tenderness of His sympathy, and the potency of Hi 3 mediation, He saved thee. His prayer gave power to the faint, and now the faint one may cry, "I can do all thinge through Christ which strengthened eel" CHRIST'S PRAYER FOR PETER SUGGESTS TWO INFERENCES: First, Christ has formed an estimate of our individual powers. - He knows •what each can bear;, and we are assured that He will not suffer U3 to be "tempted above that we are able to ■bear." He knows the strength of every Spirit, and proportions the trials accordingly. He will permit us to be tempted vrp to the extent of our capacity, but not beyond! Satan cries: "A little more"—"another attack"—"one more etroke;" but Christ is faithful. He forbids the foe, co that when he would come in "a» a flood," the Spirit i 3 lifted as a "standard against him." Second, it ia proper to pray for individuals. "I have prayed for thee." We have been too general in prayer. The parent should not be content to pray for the family in its corporate capacity, but child by child should be taken into the parental closet, and each commended to the grace ftmj_jjower of God; that self-willed boy, with flte fire of defiant courage glaring , in his eyes; that delicate and timid child, almost too fragile for a world so bleak and. storm-tossed; that inquisitive and studious one, that may be shivered on tfee hidden rocks or perilous seasT each should be presented according to the peculiarity of temperament, to the and sanctifying benedietioa of God, I hasten tcenforce A FEW GREAT PRACTICAL LESSONS. ■ First: Expect temptation—"To be forewarned Is to be forearmed." Am I now addressing a young spirit that has just entered anto the glorious liberty of the children of God? Say not that thou shall enter thy final rest without encountering Satnnic onslaughtTime of storm will jboj;all thee. Determined attpmpts will be made to alienate thee from the love of the truth— evil suggestion* will be poured into the heart, and nothin? Wt undone to baffle and defeat they holiest designs. Take warning, brother! Abide on thy wntch tower; night ana day be vigilant: the moment of neglect may be the moment of ruin; watel? and pray that ye enter not into temptation!

Second: Flee to Christ immediatelyPeter's defence must be yours. A*; the BftTTie of Chmt every power snail newTrust not to your own reason; flVn not to the armoury of your own experience! What Is j our intellect to the mind of !hrm who planned revolt in Heaven, and led rebel hosts from Paradise to ho!l? He can break the wear>on« of your logic and philosophy, and quench the flickerIng ray of human reason. FLEE TO CHRIST IMTVfIBDTATELY. "The conies ere a feeble folk, but tney make their houses in the rock." Learn a lesson from the cony; make your habitation on a roek —the Rock of Standing npon that rock you are Bafe—no billow can shake it. no hurriCan twrail against its strength! Tempted tone! Christ is thy strong tower—innutnfNible myriads have found Him a sure Kefuge, and He is the same yesterday, to-dfcy and for ever. Third: Be not discouraged because ytfii are hi the same class as Peter. Was Christ harsh In admonition? Are these thunder tones which fall from the lips of th* Divine Sp&aker? ■ Nay! gentle •words were employed In this pathetic ieommunksation. While T would not connive at sin, I would pity infirmity! In .Christ* large family there is diversity ipf constitution—but He is gentle and patient to till I JSee this father. He is about to dis-» tribute gifts to his children—to one lafter another does he dispense the tokjMls <rf his love—they surround his perBow, and their hearts bow with joy; but in that inner chamber there lies a poor faripple child, who would be in the merry company if she could —tell me, oh, ye father*, does the parent forget the feeble jnjenrb.er of the flook? Does he confine the aiteniioa to the robust?

I need not answer —you have anticipated the reply. If the father has one gift more precious thnn another—one caress more tender and loving, such he reserves for the frasrile lamb! What itlwn? "Like as a father pitieth hh children so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him!" BROTHER! WE ARE IN - THE ENEMY'S LAND. Our rest is not here. This ia the\ gifting time. The day of deliverance J3 approaching. Christ's intercession is drawing to a close in relation to us as individuals. Toil on. then, with a martyr's patience and a victor's courage! The iGreat King knows your frame —He remembereth that you are dust, and by and by He will crush Safari beneath your foot, end proelnim the triumph in the audience of a thankful Heaven! /

Weep not for srtdneas —hnlt not in thy bold course—rise, shake thysplf from t.lie dust —:how thp world thy frith—honour the Son of Oorl- in all the vicnMhidoa of life, and thus prove that thy trust i=s not a yhgue and hfinless sentiment, but a distinct and all-con-quering FACT!