WH PEAKING of sin, Noah of all
dg men had the least to fear from a
B flood, for as yet there had never
been a rain, but he made the
greatest preparation,—result: salvation.
Lesson: preparedness. Joseph was the least
of the brethren, but in spite of their sin he
brought the greatest blessing to the world in
his day. Be a Joseph.
Samson was the strongest man, and he
had the weakest character, he was an easy
mark for sin. Prize fighters, take warning!
David sang his sweetest songs after his
most bitter experiences. Put away sin and
learn to sing. Solomon was the wisest man,
and he lived the most foolish life. He wrote
the most proverbs, though he had profited
the least by them. Where knowledge 1s sin,
1t 1s wise to be ignorant. The swiftest
runner was the slowest man to get the mes-
sage, and he sinned against his own soul;
for Ahimaaz outran Cushi, but he had
nothing to tell when he reached the king.
Let us get the message before we run, is
the message of Cushi. King David's son
was slain on a tree. Jesus will sit upon the
throne of His Father David because He
was slain upon a tree. Absalom lost the
throne of his father David because he was
slain on a tree. And all the difference was
in the motive; for Absalom lived that
others might die, and the tree was the end
thereof; while Jesus died that others might
live, and the tree was the beginning thereof.
Do not forget to point the world to the
old landmark in the great field of time, the
old rugged cross, for King David's Son was
slain on a tree. Moses was the meekest man
that ever lived, and he committed the most
presumptuous sin. Take heed lest you fall.
Abraham was raised in the most discourag-
ing circumstances amid the sins of idolatry,
but he developed the greatest faith in the
true God. So do not be discouraged by
your surroundings. King Saul, a sinner,
stood head and shoulders above his fellows
and lost his head. It was a dwarf who
K, PARTE J EQssy Yo
MAY. 1942
THE PARADUX UF SIN
(Concluded)
By J. Clyde Stokes
heard the welcome words, “Zaechius,
make haste, and come down; for today I
must abide at thy house.” Luke 19:5. Let
us appear little in our own eyes and not get
our heads and shoulders above our fellows,
unless it 1s only to see Jesus; for the most
powerful army that was ever mustered in
this world had the smallest soldiers, —they
were the hornets that went before Israel.
You do not have to be large to fight under
the Lord's banner, but you do have to be
swift to be in due season.
The coolest men in the Bible were found
in the hottest fires that man ever kindled,
the fiery furnace, and it froze Nebuchad-
nezzar with astonishment. ‘Be 1t known
unto thee, O king, that we will not serve
thy gods, nor worship the golden image
which thou hast set up” (Daniel 3:18),
were the courageous words which they
spoke. Keep cool, and you will not sin
when your fiery trials come. The greatest
division between the Lord and the children
of Israel was caused by the smallest wedge,
as witnessed by the sin of Achan, “a wedge
of gold.” Let us keep out of the wedge
business.
The smallest offering recorded in the
Bible had the greatest influence against the
sin of covetousness, because the Lord added
His might to the widow's mites to teach us
that no one is too poor to give. John the
Baptist wore the humblest apparel and he
was the best-clothed man of his day—in the
robe of Christ's righteousness. Let us seek
that inward adorning. Mary anointed the
Saviour's body unto His death, and He
anointed her heart with eternal Life. Let us
break alabaster boxes while our friends are
Living and get their blessing. Paul had the
oreatest freedom while he was in bondage,
and he saw the greatest light after he be-
came blind. If vou are blind, look to Jesus.
The most beautiful scenes were given on
rocky Patmos, where there was nothing to
see. If you would see visions, come away
from the world and its sin.
The most powerful Creator became the
most helpless creature and was born a babe.
God uses smallness to encompass greatness.
If you are a babe in Christ, you have all
power to overcome sin.
There was once a clean character in the
most putrid body, for he had the most
boils on his person and the least blemishes
on his soul-—that was Job. The lily grew
out of the mud, and it blossomed in the
flowerpot of mortality, and we called
it “patience,” we should have called it
“Job.”
The Lord Jesus created the heavens and
the earth and man, but when Jesus came
into contact with sin, He reminded us,
“My Father worketh hitherto, and I
work.” So together with all their com-
bined power they performed their greatest
work of all time, and they used the smallest
workshop they could find, the human
heart with its two divisions, the right oracle
and ventricle, and the left oracle and
ventricle. It does not require much room
to work where the heart 1s, for the heart 1s
in the work, and the work is in the heart,—
the climax of climaxes, the super paradox,
“the palindrome of the gospel.” The heart
1s in the work, and the work 1s in the
heart.
The ministration in the most holy place of
the sanctuary in heaven to put away sin 1s
performed by a Being both human and di-
vine. The Lamb of God can do that. The
ministration in the most holy place of the
sanctuary of the heart to put away sin is
performed by the Trinity, the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Ghost; for these three
(Continued on page 9)
NAN L2L
rr NN
¥ Twenty years ago «a Washinglon matron
bought some bulbs tn a Chinese curio shop which
proved to be waler chestnuts, Returning to
Adonerica, she planted then in her gold fish pond
in Washington. Spring floods the following year
overflowed the pond, and the chestnut plants
drifted onto the Potomac River. There are count-
[ess acres of the plants thal are now interfering
with traflic on the Potomac. What good or
practical use to make of them 1s engrossing the
attention of the Department of Agriculture.
Secretary of Agriculture Wick wd, cenler. is seen
examining them. With such rapidity did sin in-
crease. What lessons are to be learned from its
bhaneful growth? Let Mr. Stokes tell you,
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