A LARGE quantity of very valuable gems were to be sold by auction in a certain London sale room. During a week preceding the day of sale they were exposed on show tables to the public, and crowds examined them.
On the morning of the day of sale, when the premises were opened, it was discovered that the place had been entered during the night, and the whole of the gems carried off.
The Authorities of Scotland Yard were communicated with, and they sent over some sharp-eyed detectives, who made careful search, but failed for the moment to find any clue. However, on a broken windowpane one solitary fingerprint was noticed. Very carefully the piece of glass bearing the tell-tale print was removed, carried to Scotland Yard, and there the fingerprint was compared with the prints of the fingers of notorious criminals in the possession of the authorities.
The chances were about one hundred thousand millions to one that they would not be able to match the print; yet, nevertheless, there was its exact duplicate on a certain page.
They knew the owner was fit to do work like the gem burglary, that he was in London at the time, and that he associated with certain men who were likely to be his aiders and abettors in the crime.
One Sunday morning a detective dressed himself in milkman’s garb-glazed hat, smock, yoke, and milk-pails—and went down a street crying, “Milk, ho! milk, ho!” He rang a bell, and a housewife opened. He dropped his pails, rushed upstairs, kicked open a door, and in an instant had the handcuffs on the gem thief as he lay in bed. The very man whose fingerprint had betrayed him! Throwing up a window the detective whistled loudly, and his fellow-officers, hearing the signal, pinned their men in the adjoining streets.
Now, if man’s law officers can do that, what can God not do? And if a simple fingerprint can find a thief and his fellows out, when there were one hundred thousand million chances against it, what “chance” is there of your ultimately eluding the grip of the Divine Law? “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” (Heb. 4:1313Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. (Hebrews 4:13).) Moreover, God will render to every man according to his deeds, and there is no respect of persons with Him.
How true it is that if you confess and forsake your sin you will be forgiven, and received into God’s eternal favor through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. That is infallibly true. You therefore have your choice. Either wait till your sin is found out, and you will be put to shame, or find it out yourself—bring it before God, admit it, turn your back on it, believe on the Lord Jesus as your personal Saviour, and be forever gladdened.
W. T.