The Portland daily press., 1873-12-29

Diack soul clean, II ne refuses to come to the
fountain opened for sin and uncleaners." Ma
ture says, ''you need not come to me-" Science
cries, you need not come to me-" The Bible of
Tod says, If we confess our sins, He is faith
full and just to forgive US our sins and to cleanse
US from all unrighteousness."
Third: The blood of Christ is prec Gus, be-
cause 1t IS the only poaoer that can reach mans
case. We want this sermon to have only one
idea in 1.-THE pOlcer Of Chrisfs bl00d.t0 sane.
Nature is magazine of power. What power
there is sleeping in its mountains, and booming
iu its oceans, and flashing in Its thnnderbolts,
and floating in its air, and slumbering in lis
dust, and cleaning in Its sunbeams, and re-
posing in its dew drops: but there is no power
in nature to help moral, immortal man. HUI
manity intellectually is full of power. 1t eau
stride the star-spacps, and whisper through the
lightning. aud galop down the ages in car of
song: but independent of Calvarys blood, it
can do nothing for the diseased moral soul. An
gels are migaty. They can wake music from
the great organs of eternity, and strike Oft the
wheels of time, but they can do Moth lg, in
themselves, t, render man guiltless. What the
power of nature, and man, and angels can not
do, the blood of Christ can do. Calvary
brings Jesus in direct contact with sin.
Godfrey stands connected with marital DOW
er, aud Virgil with poetic power and Washing
ton with patriotic power, and Puxton with
philantbropic power. and COpernicus with SCI
entific power: but Jesus Chris; alone stands
connected with salvation power. His blood is
Tue Ouly power tudI CAL MAKE man more IMAM
conquerer," and fill his soul with the poetry of
a now life, and give him to understand the Sc
crets of the science of salvation. He alone of
all the millions in earth or heaven can say, 81
have power on earth to forgive SINS" Conquer
ors have come to vanquish nations, and COM
mercialists to enrich people, and scientists to
teach the philosophy of rocks and stars, and
poets to sing, and scholars to teach lore and le-
gend: but the Christ of Calvary is the only one
who has come to take the poison from the soul.
Ttad sfo tto h..or f6o ola n1 fvo,,
the conscience, the sting from death, and then
to Tyre and psalm the million in the winsome af-
ter time England had four Williams; and
eight Henrys. Sweden twelve Charles's.
ToaS's has ssh Sng oea' jesus BUT chr ss
Thank God that one is enough. Not only
the Bible, but experience, testify to the
power Of Christ's blood. Rochester the infdel,
Johu Newton the proaigate, Cowper the NOR
alist, Wesley the Journalist, Chalmers the mere
intellectual believer, come to witness to the
power of Chrst's blood.
Fourth: Christ's blood is precious because of
His dignity and character. 'God was in
Christ" aud SO He shed kngly blood. He
more imperial than Alexander, mightier
than Caesar more splendid than Charlemagne,
broader and more acute than all literary kings,
and money-kings, and brave kings, aud magi-
yet He wore crown of thorns and bled on Cal
vary. He is King whose foot prints have
cleaned goljenly as He has marched down the
ages; a King who sat on the throne of heaven
untold ages before the Pharaohs dwelt in the
Egyptian palace, or Ahasuerus sat in Shushan;
and yet He wore crown of thorns and bled
on Calvary. He is a King who will reign when
the baby scepters, and gilded crowns and toy
thrones of earth, have turned to dust; and yet
He bed on Calvary for man. As stand amid
the darkness brOOding round the cross,
hear voices ringing down the gloom, Gle was
wounded for our transgressons, He was bruised
for our iniquities.' Voices! Hereby perceive
We tine love of God, because He hath laid down
His life for u.s." The darkness has gone. I
an enthroned advocate. Jesus is home again.
No dust on His feet. No bloody sweat on His
brow. No tear 10 His eye. His heart is With
men still. His blood can save all the human
race. Garry the tidings round the world Let
the ships carry them. Let the caravans carry
them. Tell all nations and tribes that "God so
loved the worlo that He gave His only tegot-
ten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him shall
not perish, but have everlasting life."
wILLIsroN cHAHEL
Rev. Burke f. Leavitt, pastor, preached YES
terday from Math, 6-6-But thou, when thou
prayest, enter into thy closet, and when
thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father
which 10 in secret.
The human child has become separated from
his heavenly Father. There is nothing more
true than that man does not feel that he is at
home with God. He may not be conscious of
great guilt, that by sin he has separated be-
tween himself and God, that the wrath of God
abides upon him. He may not feel the loss of
God. But this is certain, man is not conscious
of the divine presence and of flial affection
going out toward present Father. In this con-
dition man is not always perfectly at ease
There are times W hen it comes over him that it
is by his own fault that he is not sensible of
Gods presence and interest in him. Yet he
finds that in return for disobedience and in
gratitude he is continually receiving life and
countless blessings from God This is
the condition in which man finds himself bv
n tture, receiving from an unseen and unfelt
God.
In this condition can man do any more than
take what is sent upon him, heplessly waiting
in the dark? Men have said no. Guilt says
no, and mere reason says no.
But the Father speaks. He sends for his lost
child. Though the obstacle to be removed re.
quire the sacrifice of His sou, He will have the
way opened for his child to come into His cons
cious presence; to tell his wants, to receive his
sympathy and help.
Lord is, that it tells the helpless, burdened
child of earth where he can find his Father and
tell all to him. 1t says to him, child your Father
is IN secret. He will meet you there Not in
the retirement OF YOUR heart, but in the secret
place, where you can he alone with Him.
To assemblies he may say something else
But this is the rule for the communion of the in
dividual man with God. For man God is wait
ing in secret.
The plain teaching of this command of our
Lord is, that every one who would pray must
have secret place in which to pray. A &C.
cret place furnishes the essentials of prayer
1st 1t affords relief from influences which
are not spiritual. God is spirit. We are sur
rounded by the material objects which appeal
to our senses. Persons whose presence draws
US out toward themselves. We mrst withdraw
from these to worship God in spirit.
I'd. The secret place relieves liability to in
terruptiOn. Every one who prays is aware of
innumerable influences tending to interrupt.
The eyes closed, the ears are more open to i'm
agined as we'll as actual sounds. In the pres
ence of others this conscious liability to inter.
ruption underlies the whole effort of prayer and
is destructive hindrance As if from His
own experience, the Saviour used very strong
word, to escape this destroyer of real prayer,
ENTER Into thy closet" in the Greek, your
most private place. where no one has a right tn