The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-01-25

a century ago. That is nothing to me.
tell you to wash now in this laver of look
Eyeglasses and have your soul made clean
/ notice also, in regard TO this lavef o
looking-glasses spoken of in the text. tina
the priests washed both hands and feet. The
water came down in spouts, so that, without
leaving any filth in the basin, the priests
washed both hands and feet So the Gospel
OF Jesus Christ must Touch the very
ExTREMITIEs OF OUR MORAL NATURE
A man can not fence off a small part o.
his soul and say: Now, this is to be gar
den in which will have all the fruits aud
flowers of Christian character. while outside
ii shall be the devils commons" No, no
II will be all garden or none. l sometime,
hear people say, He is q very good man
except in politics" Then he is not q good
man. A religion that will not take q mau
through an autumn election will not be
worth anything to him in June, July and
August. They say he is a useful sort of q
man, but he overreaches in q bargain.
deny the statement. IL he is a Christian
anywhere, he will be one In his business. Ii
is very easy to be good in the prayer-meet-
ing with surroundings kindly and blessed,
but not SO easy TO be Christian behind the
counter where by one skillful witch OF the
goods YOU can hide flaw in the silk so Tia At
the customer can not see it. 1t is very easy
to be a Christian with psalm-bo in your
hand and Bible in your lap, but not 81
easy when you can 60 into shop and false
ly tell the merchant you can get those goods
at cheaper rate in another store so that he
will sell them to you cheaper than he can
afford to sell them. The fact is, the religion
of Christ is sll-pervasive, IL you rent a
house you expect full possession of IT. You
say: Where are the keys of those rooms2
Ii / pay for this whole house | want
possession of these rooms" And the grace
OF God when ii comes to soul takes full
possession of a man or goes away and takes
no possession. 1t will ransack every room
in the heart, every rom in the life from
cellar to attic, touching the very extremi
ties of his nature. The priests washed hands
and feet.
/ remark further that this laver of look
ing glasses spoken of in the text was very
large laver. / always thought, from the tact
that so many washed there, and also from
the fact that Solomon afterward. when he
copied that LAYER in the Temple built it Cd
very large scale. that it was large and so
suggestive of the gospel of Jesus Christ and
salvation by Him.
VAST IN ITS PROVISIONS
The whole world may come and wash in
the laver and be clean. / do not row think
of q single passage that says sn all sinner
may be saved, but do think of pass IA ses that
say great sinner may be saved. IL there be
sins only family hued, Just little tinged,
so family C olored that you can hardly see
them, there is no special pardon promised IN
the Bible for those sins; but if they be glar
ing red like crimson, then they shall be as
snow. Now, my brother, do not state
this to put a premium upon great iniquity.
merely say shis to encourage that man in
this house who feels he is So far gone from
God that there is mercy for him. / want
to tell him there Is q good chance. Why,
Paul was murderer, he assisted at the ex-
ecution OF Stephen; and yet Paul was saved
The dying thief was saved. 1t was vast
laverl Go and tell every body to come and
wash in 1t. Let them come up from the
penitentiaries and wash away their CRIMES
Let them come up from the alms-houses and
wash away their poverty. Let them come
up from their graves and wash away their
death. Ii there be anyone 80 worn out in
sin that he can not get up to the laver, you
will take hold of his head and put your
arms around him, and | will take hold of his
feet, and we will plunge him in this glorious
Bethesda, the vast LAYER OF Gods mercy and
salvation. In Solomon's Temple there were
ten LAYERS and one molten sea-this great
res erv0ir in the midst of the temple filled
with water-these LAYERS and this molten
sea adorned with figures of palm-branch
and oxen and lions and cherubim.
vaster molten sea than that. IL
is adorned, not with palm-branches, but
with the wood of the cross; not with cheru-
BIN, but with the wings of the Holy Ghost,
and around Its great rim all the race may
come and wash in the molten sea- was
reading of Alexander the Great who, when
he was very thirsty and standing at the head
of his army. had brought to him a cup of
water. He looked off upon his host, and
said II can not drink this; my men are oil
thin sty," and he dashed it to the ground
Blessed be God; there IS enough water foT
all the host-enough for Captain and host
"Whosoever will may come and take of the
water of life freeiy"-a laver broad as
the earth, high as the Heavens aud deep as
hell.
But 1 notice also In regard to this Iaver of
looking glasses spoken or in the text, that
the washing in it was imperative and not
optional. When the priests came into the
will find this in the 30th
chapter of Exodus-God tells them that they
must wash in that laver or die. The priest
might have said: Cant wash tlsew here?
washed in the laver at home, and now you
want me to wash here" No matter
whether or not you have washed before"
God says: Wash in this laver or die"
But" says the priest, there is water just
as clean as this-why won't that do2"
Wash here" says God, ''or die" So il is
with the Gospel of Christ-it Is imperative.
There is only this alternative-keep our sins
and perish or wash them away and live.
But" says some one, "whv could not
God have made more ways to Heaven than
oneT' do not know but he could have
made half q dozen. / know He made but
one You say: "Why not have a long
line of boats running from here to Heaven
can not say, but simply know that there
is
ONLY ONE BOAT.
You say: Are there not trees as luxu
RANT as that on Calvary-more luxuriant,
for that mad neither buds nor blossoms; 1t
was stripped and barked?" Yes, yes; there
have been taller trees than that and more
luxuriant, but the only path to Heaven is
under that one tree. Instead OF quarreling
because there are not mora avs, let us be
thankful to God there is one-one name
given unto men whereby We can be saved
one laver in which all the world may wash
So you see what radiant gospel this is L
Or, ach. do not know how man can
stand stolidly AMI present it, for it is sucn
an exhilerant &c spel. lie is not mere within
or caprice; IT is life or death; it is Heaven