Bible Truths Illustrated by J. C. Ferdinand Pittman

BIBLE TRUTHS ILLUSTRATED
things to do at once." "Indeed, I am not joking," said the
old man, "but what I have told you is the sad and sober truth;
for the two falcons are my two eyes, which I must diligently
guard lest something should please them which may be hurtful
to my salvation ; the two hares are my feet, which I must
hold back lest they should run after evil objects, and walk in
the ways of sin ; the two hawks are my two hands, which
I must train and keep to work in order that I may be able
to provide for myself and for my brethren who are in need;
the serpent is my tongue, which I must always keep in with
a bridle lest it should speak anything unseemly; the lion is
my heart, with which I have to maintain a continual fight in
order that the grace of God may dwell and work there ; the
sick man is my whole body, which is needing my watch and
care."
801. A little newsboy, to sell his paper, told a lie. The matter
came up in the Sunday school. "Would you tell a lie for a
penny?" asked a teacher of one of the boys. "No, ma'am,"
replied Dick, very decidedly. "For a shilling?" "No, ma'am."
"For a sovereign?" Dick was staggered. A sovereign looked
big. "Oh, would it not buy lots of things?" While he was
thinking, another boy behind him roared out, "No, ma'am."
"Why not?" asked the teacher. "Because when the sovereign
was all gone, and the things got with it gone too, the lie is
there all the same," answered the boy.
802. One who sins only a very little may be much more dangerous
to others than one who sins a great deal. A little
tolerated sin in the apostle Paul would have been a greater
menace to the church and the world than was the gross sin of
Judas Iscariot. The more nearly right we are, the more dangerous
are our divergences from the right. A clock that is five
minutes out of the way is a much more misleading timepiece
than a clock that is five hours wrong. This fact does not
mean that gross sinners are better or safer citizens than
those who sin less ; but it does mean that one who has been
led out by God on to a high plane of life is peculiarly useful
to Satan if he is led into seemingly trifling sin. The more
steadfast we live in consecrated obedience, the more disastrous