The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1880-04-08
JOHN CARRIERS SIN:
OR, 1OW HE WAS REWARDED.

OR, 1OW HE WAS REWARDED.
John Garter was Christian man by
profession, and in heart too, but he hao
been sorely tempted to a great sin; i
does not matter to us what it was. II
state of such dependence, such de.
spair OF life and happiness, such deep
affection for others who suffered with
him that he scarcely cared Whist he did
and forgot oil things except the present
distress and the offered escape, no did q
thing that he knew was wrong and wick
ed; thing that would have blasted his
reputation and wrecked his character in
all mems eyes if it were found out. But
1T was not found out; it hung about h'
neck like a secret milestone after the
distress that tempted him was gene and
the sin done with. There were years
when be could not pray or read his Bi,
BILE; when memory brought up to him
all the texts of condemnation and none
OF the merc.ful words Of Scripture. He
Raid to himself that he was another
Eau, and could find no place of repent
Rnce. His voice was never beard in
prayer meeting; he avoided tho com
munion table-framirg some excuse OF
illness or making absence from town
necessary at those stated times: he
conld not pray to his dying father,
though the pale lips whispered request
that he should do so. The bitterness of
death compassed him about, and though
he loved his father deeply he was glad
the good old man died before he knew
his sons iniquity.
Time after time the wish rose in his
heart that he could confess to man his
transgressions and be freed from the
intolerable burden of this secret, but
this could not be done without bringing
to his family disgrace and grief he had
no right to involve them in. He had,
in the world phrase, harmed nobody but
himself by this transaction, since he had
oome out Of it without exposure; had
been successful in covering up an action
in itself criminal, but harmful most TO
himself,
The position was peculiar, and ex.
quisitely painful to man with a tender
conscience, for to such sin is misery:
and yet they fall into it as easily as
worse men, as all history assures MS
But after tine of heart-broken agony
and hopeless penitence John Garter be-
gan to find out once agsin that God is
merciful; he ceased to look into his own
heart, and fix his eyes upon that Saviour
whS came to save from sin as well as
from sins penalty. Humbly and slow.
ly, like a punished child, he crept back
into new and religious life; wounded,
1t is true, crippled TO certain extent.
but submissive, repentent, and filed
with charity for his fellows. He knew
that he could never recover bis self.
respect never forget his fall, but he &C.
cepted that as the result of transgres.
sion, and said like Jeremiah:
Wherefore doth living man COM
plain, man for the punishment Of his
SINS
All this was within himself; TO his
family and his friends he was only lit
tie graver than usual, as many men be.
come grave with increasing years; he
was now constant attendant at church.
gave freely to good objects, and seemed
to other mon quiet, earnest, kind
hearted man, implicitly to be trusted
leaning rather to generosity than to jus
tice.
What endured in all this time was
known only to himself aud to God; his
conscience tormented him continually;
it was by constant recalling OF the
pre- misses to rcpentant sinners that he
endured life. No doubt he knew n
hundred who had sinned as deeply as he
had and as successfully concealed their
their sin, but he did not know that
probably in all tho hundred not one suf.
cred such agonies Of regret and repent
ance as he did. To them the thing wns
over, done with; their business was to
see to this days work or duty; they put
the past decisively behind them not be-
cause they ought TO but because they
wanted 10. But to n sensitive moral