The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-01-19

who has not felt t9--pride that will not sub
NIT to God, that wants it's own way-a nature
that prefers wrong sometimes instead of right;
that prefers to wallow instead of to rise up.
do not care what you call that; / am not going
to quarrel with any theologian or any man who
makes pretensions to theology. I do not care
whether you call it total depravitys
or something else, l simply make the
announcement of Gods word, affirmed
and confirmed by the experience of hundreds of
people in the house. The imagination of the
heart of man is evil from youth. There is none
that doeth good; no, not one We have bad
nature. We were born with it. We get it from
our parents; they got it from their parents. Our
thoughts are wrong. Our character is wrong.
Our whole life is obnoxious to God before con-
version, and after conversion not one good thing
in us but that which the grace of God has
planted and foStered. 'sWell,' you say, II can't
believe that to be So" Ah my dear brother,
that is because you have never looked into this
LAYER OF looking glasses.
DECEPTIVE PREACHING.
If you could catch a glimpse of your natural
heart before God, you would cry out in amaze
ment and alarm The very first thing the
gospel does is to cut down our pride and self
suffciency If man does not feel his lost.
ruined condition before God, he does not want
any gospel. | think the reason that there are
so few conversions in this day is because the
tendency of the preaching is to make men be-
lieve that they are pretty good anyhow-quite
clever only wanting little fitting up, few
touches of divine grace, and then you will be all
right; instead of proclaiming the broad, deep
truth that Payson and Baxter, and Whitefeld
Numbered to race trembling on tho verge of
infinite and eternal disaster. Nov" says some
one, can this really be true9 Here
good in usf In Hampton Court
saw aroom where the four walls were covered
with looking glasses, and it made no difference
which way you looked you saw yourself. And
so it is in this gospel of Christ If you once step
within its full precincts You will find your whole
character reflected, every feature of moral de-
formity, every spot of moral faint If under
stand the word of God it's first announcement is
that we are lost. / care not, my brother how
magnifcently you may have been born or what
may have been your heritage or ancestry, you
are lost by reason of sin. But" you say,
what is the use of all this-of showing mans
faults when he can't get rid of themp None
What was the use of that FURNISHED surface to
this LAYER of looking glasses spoken of in the
text lift only showed the spots on the counte-
nance and the need of washing, and there was
nothing to wash with! Glory be to God, find
that this LAYER of looking glasses was filled with
fresh water every morning, and the priest no
sooner looked on its FURNISHED side and saw his
need of cleansing than he washed and was clean.
Glorious type of the gospel of my Lord Jesus,
that first shows man his sin and then washes
it ali away. / want you to notice that this laver
in which the priest washed-the laver of looking
glasses-was filled with fresh water every morn
ing. The servants of the tabernacle brought the
water in buckets and poured it into this laver.
So it is with the gospel of Jesus Christ; it has
fresh salvation every day. IL is not stagnant
pool, filed with accumulated corruptionS. 1t is
living water, which is brought from the eter-
nal rock to wash away the sins of yester-
day-cf ere moment ago. "Oh," says some
one II was a Christian twenty years ago" That
does not mean anything to me- What are you
uowl We are not talking my brother, about
pardon twenty years ago. but about pardon now
fresh salvation. Suppose time of war should
come, and | could show the government that l
had been loyal to it twelve years ago, would that
excuse me from taking an oath OF allegiance
health. and l should say was well fifteen years
ago-that does not say how l am now. The Cos
pei of Jesus Christ comes and demands present
allegiance, present fealty, present moral health;
and yet how many Christians there are seeking
to live entirely in past experience, who seem to
have no experience of present mercy and pardon.
When was on the sea and there came up a
great storm, and officers and crew and passen-
gers all thought we must go down., began to
think of my life insurance, and whether, if
were taken away. my family would be cared for;
and then I thought: is the premium paid up?
And l said yes. Then / felt comfortable. Yet
there are men who, in religious matters, are
looking back to past insurance. They have let
ent, no hope, pardon-fallng back on the old
insurance policy of ten, twenty thirty years ago.
If | want to find out how friend feels toward
me, do go to the drawer-and find some old yell
low letters, written to me ten or twelve years
agol No. l go to the letter thatwas stamped
the day before yesterday in the postof6ce, and
find how he feels toward me. 1t is not
in regard to old communications we had with
Jesus Christi it is communications we have
now Are we not in sympathy with him o-day,
and he with us : Do not spend so much of your
time in hunting in the wardrobe for old worn
out shoes Of Christian profession. Come now,
and take the glittering robe of Christs righteous
ness from the Savior's hand You say you were
plunged in the fountain Of the Savior's mercy a
quarter of 8 century ago. That is nothing to
to rue. / tell you to wash now in this laver of
looking glasses, and have your soul made clean.
l notice, ALSO in regard to this LAYER Of look
ing glasses spoken Of i'll the text, that the
priests always 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
moral nature. A man cannot fence off small
part Of his soul and say "Now this is to be
garden in which will have all the fruits and
flowers of Christian character, while outside it
shall be the devils commons" No, no; 1t will be
all garden, none [ sometimes hear people
say: - He is a very good man, except In poll
tics" Then he is not good man. A religion
that will not take man through an autumn
election will not be worth anything to him in
June, July and August They say he is a useful
sort of a man, but he overreaches in bargain.
/ deny the sta tement If he is a Christian any
where, he will be one in his business. 1t is very
easy to be good in the prayermeeting, with sur
roundings kindly and blessed; but not so easy to
be Christian behind the counter, when by one
skillful twitch of the goods you can hide flaw
in the silk so that the customer cannot see it.
1t is very easy to be Christian with a psalm
book in your hand and Biblein your lap. but
not so easy when you can go into a shop and
falsely tell the merchant you can get those goods
sell them to you cheaper than he can afford to
sellthem. The fact is, the religion of Christ is
all pervasive. If you rent house you expect
full possession of it. You say: Where are the
keys to those roomsR If pay for this whole
house 1 want possession of those rooms" And
the grace of God, when it comes to soul, takes
full possession of man, goes away and takes
no possession. It will ransack every room in