The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-03-02


to heaven for vengeance. Some one must die.
Shall it be us or Christi sLet it be me-" said
Jesus. You were drafted for the last war and
some one took your place You were in debt;
not being able to meet the obligation, some one
paid it. You can easily understand how Christ
went in to fight our battles and to pay our debts;
The debt is cancelled, tho captives are released,
the shackles are broken, the prison is opened,
blood paid the price, blood washed away the
pollution, blood sealed the agreement The
blood of Paul. that soaked the dust of the guilo-
tine; the blood of Hugh Latimer, that simlnered
in the fire; the blood Of the high-souled martyrs
that Redeemed the mouths of the lions In the
Coliseum, have just as much worth to your soul
as the blood of Christ, unless you take this last
as expiatory and feel the truth that the blood
of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sim"
Come then, and get your sins pardoned do
not ask you to come to private confessional, or
to whisper in my ear your ohenses, but, sitting
where you are to accept this moment the blood
cleansing test for that old sin. Do you ask
"What sin do you meant" l mean that old sin
that you committed years ago. 1t may have
been two years, ten years or twenty years. You
know when it was. think that old sins are
interest added on They are ten fold greater
now, and have been multiplied by all of your
opportunities of having them pardoned. Does
that old sin present its dun at the door of your
soul today Can you not pay it'll Does it
threaten to carry you off to Jaii Does 1T pro-
pose to sell you out2 Better get together all
your bonds and mortgages, and certificates OF
stocks, and United States securities. Come, let
me count them-not enough. Bring all the
clever things you have ever done. Let mo count
them. Not enough. Bring ali that you possess
You say II have brought everything" Alas,
that you cannot meet the obligation. You must
The blood of Jesus Christ, the royal blood, the
human blood, the expiatory blood, ceanseth
Yes, heard it topple over and plash into the
depths of the sea. 1t sinks like lead. There is
no condemnation to them who are in Christ
Jesus
Circumstances aggravate sins If child does
wrong, not Willingly, you excuse it; but when
we do wrong we know it every time sin is ceal-
mitted. Conscience tolls funeral bell. }Ye
we must Our sins are against warnings and
reproofs, and doubly aggravated This man S
sins are more heinous than the transgresslons OF
that man, because he had better bringing up.
Here is man who. twenty years ago, kneeled
at Methodist altar. He went awhile on the
road to heaven, but then got tired and
put off in another direction. Where he
has been since he began to backslide
he and his God only know; This do know, he
is wretchedly unhappy There is no such nest
of scorpions this side Of hell as the heart of the
backslider He is the last man that ever re-
turns The pubcans and the harlots come in
before him. Where o man, is that family altar
that you once lifted! Where is the closet of pray
er that you once frequentedl Are you as happy
now as you used to bel Your common sense
teaches you that the man who came to Christ
and heard the full expression Of Gods love, and
| then went away to betray the Lord, must drink
the btterest gall, and the thuudePs that at last
drive him away will roll and crash with all the
accumulated wrath of God omnipotent; and yet
to-day my text sweeps circle of pardon around
all these accumulated sins. Fire may not be
able to burn them out; hoofs may not be able to
trample them out; hammers may not be able to
pound them out; but here is blood that will wash
them out Comet come! take you with my
right hand while with my left catch the warm
blood that gushes from the heart of Christ and
pour it over your soul, and 10, the blackness of
of Christ to-day would rub ali our sins away
SINS OF THE HEART AND SINS OF THE LIFE
But, you say '1Fhess things are not appropri-
ate to me, for am moral man" How about
your thoughtss You see my right hand and you
see nay left hand and one just as plainly as the
other. So with the sin of the heart and the sin
of the life-one is just as plain in Gods sight as
the other. You have not been guilty of murder,
you say. Are yeu sure about thata Have YOU
ever hated anybody2 Then you are murderer
l John iii Is: Whose hateth his brother is a
murderer" You say you have never been
guilty of theft9 Are yon sure about that9 I
acknowledge you have never taken anything
from your fellow-lnan; but have you not taken
days and hours that belonged to God for your
own purposesf If is is wrong to steal from a
man, it is more wicked to rob God
If could marshal before you all the sins Of
the best man in this house to-day, this whole
audience would Shrek out with horror Sins
against God and man; sins against Sabbaths and
saeraments; sins against body and soul; sins
against light and knowledge; sins against Sinai
and Calvary; Sins against the grave and the res
direction; sins against the judgment; sins
against the throne of God and the mansions Of
glory. blow the trumpet and call up all the
sins of your past life. wave them here from
the past. ! stamp them up from beneath-gath-
or them into companies of hundreds;
into regiments Of thousands; into bri-
vaster than that of Xerxes. Let the largest of
the hundred sins be captain over the company
Let the largest of the thousand iniquities be
colonel over the regiment Let the swarthiest
transgression of your lifetime be general over all
the host Together let them wheel, aud march
and fire. How the couriers Of death dash up
and down the line! How the great batteries Of
woe belch forth the sulphurous smoke of he'll
and boom with the caunonading of eter-
nal destruction! The host of thy sins
innumerable, marching on to capture the SOUL
One man against million armed iniquities
Who can go forth and meet themg We must
fall back and fall down. Are there no allies to
help? In all the round of Gods universe is there
no Ou9 TO Lake our part! Arse, We seas and
whelm the host! Strike, we lightnings, and con-
sumo the foe! But the wave strikes the beach
aud falls back, crying. mo help in mel" The
lightning sheathes Itself in the black scabbard of
the midnight cloud and says mo help in mep
But yonder see white horse in hot haste
coming this way. Make room for the courier
He swings his sword. Good news! Good news!
The Captain of the Salvation comes to the res
cue. Fall back, my sins! Fall back, my sorrows
Allies of light and love- to arms, to arms The
host of our sins scatter in defeat and our deliv-
cred souls shout Victory through our Lord Je-
sss Christ At the sea shore you go down on
to battle. None but those who have
tried it know the exhilaration. 1 would
that we might all join hands and 60 down by scores,
and by hundreds, and by thousands to battle in
stand on the margin and paddle the ripples
with our feet but plunge in until the waves go