Evening Republican, Volume 59, Number 101, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 May 1917 — The Charge, the Confession, and the Coming [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The Charge, the Confession, and the Coming

By REV. J. H. RALSTON, D. D.

Socrtt* r y of Correspondence Department, Moody Bible Institute. Chicago

TEXT—But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you. that he will not hear. . . . For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities. we know them; . . . And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob* salth the Lord.—lsa. 69:2, 12, 20. In the days of the old prophets, trouble between- God and sinning men

was as evident as it is today. Tfi the reading of the chapter thatprecedes the one from which the texts are taken, we read that the people attempted to do certain things that pleased God; being very religious, in a formal way, they were devoting themselves to their sacrifices and feastlngs, but the trouble be-

tween them and God was not removed. It-was... fortunate for them that .Alleyhad some religious leaders that knew things spiritual, and who were faithful in telling the people that they werenot doing what was pleasing to God at alt—

Charge of Worldliness. If the application of these word* were made to the church today, which would be very proper, the charge would not be wise if it were made in the form of details or the naming of peccadillos of improper conduct, but if the church were charged with worldliness, with betrayal of pure doctrine,, with robbery as far as withholding offerings to God .are concerned, then the charge would attract attention. The church of God today in its sinful condition stands as a buffer between God and the unsaved world. A great load of guilt is on it today on this particular account. It is a misrepresentation of what Christ and his religion, are. The world does not today read Christ properly because it reads the perverted message of Christ that the church presents in its life. But the shortcomings of the church will not redeem any unsaved man, nor be an excuse for not getting right with God. Here every tub must stand on its. own bottom. What, is wrong with the unsaved man? Simply that he is out of right relationship with God; there IS a lack of adjustment; A man can fence all he pleases, and try to throw the blame on God, but ultlmate-

ly the trouble is with himself. His sins have separated between him and God, and these must be got out of the way. God must be faithful to man, and to show his love he says through his ministers, “Your sins have hid his face from you that her will not hear.”. God's Part and Man’s. The charging of sin is God’s part; the confessing of sin is man’s part. Fortunately, the people to whom the prophet spoke heeded his word, and we read that they made detailed confession. Confession is in a way the same thing as repentance, and some men have shown themselves to be strong in repentance, indeed, there is no explanation of their standing before God. except conceding that they knew’ how to repent. We have David and Peter as examples. Such confession is coming out candidly and accepting the righteousness of the charge of God. God has passed judgment, his charge is made and man must, like one of ancient times, acknowledge the charge in order that God may. beejustified when he speaks and clear when he judges. We might note in this part of the confesslODL that_the individual says "his sins are multiplied before him” —that is, they are in an exaggerated form, really what they are, as compared with what he has heretofore considered them to be. He concedes, also, that his sins belong to himself. The need of the day in which we find ourselvels is confession, national COniPSSiOil, CnurCil vOnifrSSlttli,—TUUivm ual - confession. Some nations today are on their knees. They are on their way to true blessing because they are going to get right with God. The organized church is hardly on itsfeet yet and ls Is slipplng further and further away from the truth of God, and not until it gets to its knees and con-fesses-Its attachment to the world, its departure from tin th. itsfailure to understand its true mission, will it have God’s favor. The Blessing. The inevitable follows confession of sin, namely, blessing. In the text we are told that the Redeemer shall come to Zion. The .trouble with the world and with the church and the indlvidtiaris, that the Redeemer lg nor ent. This coming of the Redeemer may fairly be considered in the first place as a spiritual coming. The ideal situation is expressed by the term Immanuel, which means “God with us.” but God cannot be with us if we hold to our sins and do not confess and forsake them. G&d remains away from nations and churches' and individuals as far as his blessings are concerned, who do not confess their sins and return to him.

CHAPTER XIX. Success—And a Recognition. There is a kaleidoscopic character about the events of the ten days or so preceding the opening performance of most musical comedies which would make a sober chronicle of them seem fantastically Incredible. This law of nature made no exception in the case "of “The Girl Up-Stairs.’’ There were rehearsals which ran so smoothly and swiftly that they’d have done for performances ; there were others so abomlnaMy bad that the bare idea of presenting the mess resulting from six weeks’ toll, before the people who had paid monpy to see it, was a nightmare. Of all the persons directly, or even remotely, affected by this nerve-shat-tering confusion. Rose-was perhaps the least perturbed. The only thing that really mattered to her w*as the successful execution of those twelve costumes. The phantasmagoria at North End hall was a regrettable, but necessary, interruption of her more important activit 1 es/ She wakened automatically at halfpast seven and was down-town by half-past eight, to do whatever shopping the work of the previous day revealed the need of. At nine-thirty—an unheard-of hour In the theater —the watchman at the Globe let her in at the Stage door, and RosA had half an hour, before the arrival of the wardrobe mistress and her assistant, for looking over the work done since she had left for rehearsal the day before. She liked this quiet, cavernous old barn of a place down under the Globe stage; liked it when she had it to herself before the two sewing women came and later, when, with a couple of sheets spread out on the floor, she cut and basted according to her cambric patterns, keeping ahead of the flylug needles of the other two. Afterher own little room; the mere spa- , ciousness of it seemed almost noble. I In keeping with the good luck which had attended everything that happened in connection with this first venture of hers, she was able to tell Galbraith that both sets of costumes were finished and ready to try on on the very day he announced that The next rehearsal would be held at ten tomorrow at the Globe. She persuaded the girls to wait until All six were dressed in the afternoon frocks and until she herself had hnd n chance to give each of them a final Inspection and to make a few last touches and readjustments. Then they all trooped out on the stage and stood in a row, turned about, walked here and there, in obedience to Galbraith’s instructions shouted from the back of the theater.

It was dark out there and disconcertingly silent. The glow of two cigars Indicated the presence of Goldsmith and Block In the middle of a little knot of other spectators. The only response Rose got —the only index to the effect her labors had produced was the tone of Galbraith’s voice. ‘‘All right.” he shouted. “Go and put on the others.” There whs another silence after they had filed out on the stage again, clad this time in the evehing gowns—a hollow, heart-constricting silence, almost literally sickening. But it lasted only a moment. Then: •’Will you eome dOWU here. Miss Dane?” called Galbraith. There was a slight, momentary, but perfectly palpable shock accompanyiug these words a shock felt by everybody Whin the sound of his voice. Because the director had not said, “Dane, come down here;" he had said: “Will you come down hpre,. Miss Dane?” And the thing amounted, so rigid is the etiquette of musical comedy, to ati accolade. The people on the Stage and in the yfaaudidn't know what she had done, nor in what character she was about to appear, but they did know she was. from now on. something besides a chorus girl. Rose obediently crossed the runway and walked rip the aisle to where Galbraith stood, with, Goldsmith nnd Block, waiting for her. She was feeling n litfle nmr.b and empty. Galbraith, as she came, held out a hand to her. “I congratulate you, Miss Dane.” he said,- “They’re admirable. With all t.ie money In the world,