UNCOVER AND CONFESS SIN- C.H. SPURGEON

"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy" (Proverbs 28:13).

Here is the way of mercy for a guilty and repenting sinner. He must cease from the habit of covering sin. This is attempted by falsehood, which denies sin; by hypocrisy, which conceals it; by boasting, which justifies it; and by loud profession, which tries to make amends for it. The sinner's business is to confess and forsake. The two must go together. Confession must be honestly made to the LORD Himself, and it must include within itself acknowledgment of the wrong, sense of its evil, and abhorrence of it. We must not throw the fault upon others, nor blame circumstances, nor plead natural weakness. We must make a clean breast of it and plead guilty to the indictment. There can be no mercy till this is done. Furthermore, we must forsake the evil; having owned our fault, we must disown all present and future intent to abide in it. We cannot remain in rebellion and yet dwell with the King's majesty. The habit of evil must be quitted, together with all places, companions, pursuits, and books which might lead us astray. Not for confession, nor for reformation, but in connection with them we find pardon by faith in the blood of Jesus.
(from Faith's Checkbook for August 16th)

POLITICS AND POLITICIANS

BY W.F. BELL

QUESTION: Do we ever really learn anything from the past?

Providentially, I came across the following quotes about politics, nestled in the back of a book I have had for many years. In light of the current hoopla in America about politics and who are the best political candidates, may these "words of truth and soberness" from past politicians and writers speak powerfully to us as reminders that "All is not gold that glitters." Christ alone is "The Truth." I cannot verify the accuracy or the exact source of these quotes, but they are given as published by a large publishing company:

"Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed."
Mao Tse-tung

"Politics are almost as exciting as war, and quite as dangerous. In war, you can be killed once, but in politics many times."
Sir Winston Churchill

"Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary."
Robert Louis Stevenson

"Politics makes strange bedfellows."
Charles Dudley Warner

"The politician is an acrobat. He keeps his balance by saying the opposite of what he does."
Maurice Barres

"Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river."
Nikita Khrushchev

"Politics is such a torment that I would advise everyone I love not to mix with it."
Thomas Jefferson

"I learned one thing in politics. If you go into it, then sooner or later you have to compromise. You either compromise or get out."
Hugh Sloan

"Since a politician never believes what he says, he is surprised when others believe him."
Charles de Gaulle

"SHOULD NOT A PEOPLE SEEK UNTO THEIR GOD?" (Isaiah 8:19).

"BUT SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD" (Matthew 6:33).