The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-09-01

has passed upon all men, for that all
have sinned." 1.-THE wages OF sin is
DEATH" "The soul that sinneth, it shall
die"
But the last part of my text opens
door wide enough to let US all out and
wide enough to let all heaven in. Sound
it on the organ with all the stops Outl
Hum it on the harp with all the strings
attuned! Let earth tell it to heaven and
heaven tell it back again to earth: "On
Him, on Him the Lord hath laid the In
iquity of us all" lam g lad the prophet
did not waste any time in telling US who
he meant by "Him." 1t is Him of the
manger; Him of the bloody sweat; Him
OF the crucifiYiOn agony, Him or the
resurrection throne, The Lord hath
laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Says
someone: THAT is not generous. Let
everyone bear his own burdens" And
there is something in that. If owe
debt and have money to pay 1t, and L
come to you and ask you to cancel my
obligation, you would be right in saying
to me, PAY your own debts. II am
walking along the street with you and
we are both hale and hearty, and l want
you to carry me, you are right in syalng:
walk on your own feet" But suppose
you and were in a regiment together,
and | was fearfully wOubded in the
your feet with gunshOt fractures and
dislOcatiOns, five bullets having struck
me at once, you would say to your
comrades, "Here, this man Is helpless.
Let US carry him to the ambulance. Let
us take him out to the hospital" And
you would take me up in your arms, and
| would be dead weight, and you would
beckOn to the corps of the ambulance:
Bring your wagon around this way
NoIr bfe 70 ul
would put me in the ambulance and you
would have done your duty. Would it
have been mean to let you carry me
thenP You certainly would not have
been so unkind as not to carry me. Now
that Is Christ to the soul. Ii we could
pay our spiritual obligations we might
go up to God and say: Lord, there is
so much debt, and here have the means
to cancel it. Now cross it all out; the
debt is paid" But the fact is we are
pierced through and through with the
sabres of sin. We have gone down un-
der the hot fire, and we are helpless and
undOne. We will die on the field unless
some help comes to us. God sends his
ambulance; yea, he disp Atches his only
son to carry us out and bind up our
gashes and take US home. "On him the
the Lord hath laid the iniquity of US
ALL" Oh, my friends, we are a dead
weight in Christ's arms; all our sins on
US; all our claims upon us. If Christ
raises US it will not be by the tips of
the fingers; it will not be with one arm /;
it will be by getting down on one knee
and putting around us his OmnipOtent
arms, and throwing all the energy OF
his GOdhead into one dead lift, that he
will raise us up to honor and glory and
immortality. "0n him hath he lain the
iniquity of us all"
Is there any man in the house under
the delusiOn that he can carry his own
sinsP You cannot. You might as we'll
try to transport boulder of the sea. or
carry on one shoulder the Alleghanies
and on the other shoulder Mount Wash
ingtOn. You cannot carry one of your
sins into the eternal world, and carry 1t
gracefully. Most certainly you cannot
carry a whole lifetime of transgressiOn.
Oh, then, let us shift the burden. Jesus
stOOps down and looks in your face and
says: 81 come to carry your sins and
your sOrrows. Put them upon my bleed
ing back. / have come through all
these lacerating days and through all
these tempestuOus nights. My tongue
bitten with pain, the blood bursting
from my brow to carry your sins and
throw them down the precipice. Put
those sins upon me-" "And the Lord
hath laid upon him the iniquity of us
ALL"
Who here wants to keep his sinsP
They have almost pestered your life out.
Sometimes they have made you cross
and unreasonable, and spoiled the joy of
your days and the peace of your nights.
There are men in this house who have
been riddled with sin. You know this
world can give you no sOlace. 1t is all
gOssamery and volatile, and as to eter-
| nifty it is a black and suffOcating mid
/ night; and you wTithe under the sting
| of conscience which promises you no
rest here and no rest hereafter. And
yet you do not pray, and do not repent,
| although this night may be your last.
| Blessed be God, there Is fair chance
for every man here present. If at this
moment this meeting could be thrown
open, and you could all speak you would
think, hear one man say: 81 had all
elegant surroundings. had the best
education. l have moved in the most
brilliant circles all my days. thought
L was all right. had a life of outward
morality; but one day something whis-
pered in my ear: You are sinner"
saw my hands were red with the blood
and found it. That is true what you
have been saying: "On him the Lord
hath laid the iniquity of us all" And
another man would say: 81 was one of
| the worst drunkaTds in the city. When
L came home my children covered; and
when they put out their hands to me
for kiss, 1 struck them; and when my
wife protested against maltreatment |
kicked her into the street. Oh, l have
had all the hunger, and bruises, and tTe-
mOrs-all the estate of dIunkaTd's
woe. But one night 1 was going along
| by Methodist church, and said: "Pll
| go in and see what they are doing"
went to skOff, but 1 was overwhelmed
with the scene. L cried for mercy, and
then and there found 1.-THE pardOning
mercy of GOd-and il is all true what
you have been saying: ION him the
Lord hath laid the intquity of us all"
l lifted my family out of the depths to
which they had sunken, and now my
wife sings all day at her work, and my
little children come two blocks down
the street to greet me home. And sir
my home has been heaven ever since
have become a changed man." Away
back, If the meeting were still open, a
sister would cry out: 81 went far astray
l took the leap from which few ever
come back. l saw the storm that hOwls
over lost soul; but Jesus met me one
dark night on the street and said: "GC
| home moor thing. 90 hOmai YOur faith.