Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-19

the gospel of my Lord Jesus, that first shows a
man his sin and then washes it all away!
l want you TO notice that this laver In which
the priest Washed-the laver of looking
| glasses-vas filed with fresh water every
morning. he servants Of the tabernacle
/ brought the water in buckets. and uOured il
into this laver. SO it is with the gospel OF
| Jesus Christ. 1t has a fresh salvation every
| day. 1t is not stagnant pool filled with ac-
| cumulated corruptlons. 1t Is living water
winch Is brought from the eternal rock to
wash away the sins of yesteI day-Of one mo-
| ment ago. oh" says some one, Il was a
| Christian 20 years ago." That does not mean
| anything to me. What are you now? We are
not talking. my brother, about pardon 10
years ago, but about pardon nova fresh
| salvation. suppose time of war should
come, and | could show the government that
| l had been loyal to it y years ago would that
! excuse me from taking an oath of allegiance
now suppose you ask me about nv physical
! health, and | should say was well 10 years
ago-thaU does not say how l am now.
! The gospel OF Jesus Christ comes
and demands present allegiance, present
fealty, present moral health; and yet how
many Christians there are seeking to live en-
/ tlrely 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 pas
sengers all thought we must go down, began
| to think of my life insurance, and whether, if
/ l were taken away, my family would be
cared for; and then | thought Is the prem
| 1um paid up? And l said yes. Then l felt
| comfortable. Yet there are men who in
| religious matters are looking back to past in
/ surance. They have let il run out and they
| have nothing for the present, no hope nor
pardOn-faling back on the old insurance
| policy of ten, twenty, thirty years ago. If /
want TO find out how a friend feels toward
/ me, do ! go to the drawer and find some old
| yellow letters written to me ten or twelve
! years agog no; | 20 to the letter that was
| stamped the day before yesterday in the post
| office and find how he feels toward me. 1t
| is not in regard to Old communications we
communications
we nave now. Are we not in sympathy with
Him to-day and is He not IN sympa by with
US? DO not spend so much of your time in hunt
ing IN the wardrobe for the old worn out shoes
OF Christian profession. Come now and take
the ghttering robe of Christ's Righteousness
from the Saviour's hand. You say you wee
plunged in the fountain of the SaviOur's
mercy quarter Of century ago. That is
nothing to me. ! tell you to wash now in this
laver Of looking glasses and have your soul
made clean.
notice also in regard to this laver of look
Eyeglasses spoken of in the text, that the
priests always washed both hands and feet
The water came down in spOuts SO that, with
out leaving any filth in the basin, the priests
washed both hands and feet. 20 the gospel
of Jesus Christ must touch the very eXtremi-
ties OF our moral nature. a man cannOt fence
of small part of his soul and saw: "NOw,
this is to be a garden in which l viii have all
the fruits and flowers of hrstian character,
while outside it shall be the DEVILS com
MONS" No, no: it VIII be all garden or none.
l sometimes hear people say, He is a very
good man, except in politics." Then he Is
not a good man. A religion that will not take
a 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 u bargain,
l deny the statement If he is a Christian
anywhere he will be one in his business. 1t
is very easy to be good in the prayer meeting
with surroundings kindly and blessed, but not
so easy to be a Christian behind the counter
when by one skillfu twitch of the goods you
a : So "a ha pIts-
toner cannot see it. 1t IS very easy to be
Christian with psalm book in your hand and
a Bible IN YOUR lap, but not 50 easy when you
can go into shop and falsely tell the mer-
chant you can get those goods at a 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 all perva-
slve. III you rent house you expect fun pos
session Of it. \ on say, where are the keys
of those rooms? If pay for this whole house
| want possession Of those rooms" And the
grace of God when it comes to a soul takes
fun possession Of a man or goes away and
takes no possession. 1t will ransack every
room in the heart. every room in the life,
from cellar to attic, touching the very eX-
tremlties of his nature. The priests washed
hands and feet.
L remark further that this laver of looking
glasses spoken of in the text was a very large
laver. | always thought from the fact that
so many washed there, and also from the fact
that solomon afterwards, when he copied that
laver in the temple, built il on very large
scale, that it was large; and so suggestive of
the gospel of Jesus Christ and salvation by
hlm-vast in its provisions. The whole world
may come and wash in this laver and be
clean. l do not now think of a single passage
that says small sinner may be saved, but |
ito think of passages that say great sinner
may be saved. If there be sins only family
hued, just little tlnged, so family cOlored
that you can hardly see them there is no
special pardon promised in the Bible for these
sins; but if they be glazing red like crimson,
then they shall be as snow. Now, my brother,
L do not state this to put a premium upon
great Iniquity. l merely say this to encourage
that man in this house who feels he is so far
gone from God that there is no mercy for him.
l want to tell him there Is a good chance. Why,
Paul was murderer: he assisted
at the execution OF stephen; and
yet Paul was saved. The dying thief
was saved. 1t is a vast laver! Go and tell
everybody to come and wash in it.. Let them
come up from the penitentaries ana wash
away their crimes. Let them come up from
the alms-house and wash away their poverty.
Let them come up from their graves and wash
away their death. II there be any one so
worn out in sin that he cannot 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 laver of Gods
mercy and salvation. In SOOmOn's Temple
there were ten LAYERS, and one molten sea
this great reservoir in the midst of the temple
filed with wateT-these LAYERS and this molten
sea adorned with flowers of palm branch and
oxen and lions and cherubim. This fountain
of Gods mercy is a vaster molten sea than
that. 1t is adorned not with palm branche.
but with the wood Of the cross; not with
cherubim, 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 on upon his host
and said: 81 cannot drink this, my
dashed it to the ground. Blessed be GOd.
There is enough water for all the hOst-enough
for Captains and host "Whosoever will may
come and take of the water of life freely"-a
laver broad as the earth, high as the heavens
and deep as hell.
But notice also in regard to this laver Of
looklng-glasses spoken Of IN the text that the
washing in it was imperative and not OPP
tiOnal. When the priests come into the tab
ernacIe-yOu will find this in the thirtIeth
chapter OF EXOdus-GOd tells them that they
must wash in that LAYER or die. The priest
might have said: Cant wash elsewhere!
[ washed in the LAYER at home and now you
want me to wash here" mo matter wheth-
er or not you have washed BEFORE" God says.
'Wash in this LAYER or die" But" says the
priest, there is water just as clean as this
why won't that dO?" 'Wash here" saws God,
''or die" So it is with the gospel of Christ
1t is imperative. There is only this al
tentative; keep our sins and
perish or wash them away and live. "But,"
says some one, "Why could not God have
made more ways to Heaven than One?'' / do
not know, but he could have made a half
Dozen l know he made but one. You say:
''Why not have long line of boats running
from here to Heaven" l cannot say, but
simply know that there is only one boat You
say: "Are there not trees as luxuriant as
that on Calvary-more luXurlant, for that had
reither 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 more ways, let us be thankful to God
there Is One-One name given unto men
whereby we can be saved -one LAYER in which
all the world may wash. So you see what
radiant gospel this is I preach.
can stand stolidly and present it, for it is
such an exhilarant gospel. 1t is not mere
whim or caprice; it is life or death; it is
heaven or hell. You come before your child
ana you nave present IN your hand. You
put your hands behind your back and say:
(which hand will you takeY" In one hand
there IS a treasure, in the other there is not.
The child blindly chooses. But God, our
rather, does not 90 that way with US. He
spreads out both hands and says: "NOw. this
shall be very plain. In that hand are pardon
and peace and life and the treasures of
heaven; in thaU hand are punishment and
sorrow and woe. Choose, choose for your
selves" "He that beleveth and is baptized
shall be saved but he that believeth not shall
be damned"
0 my dear friends, l wish l could this mo-
ment coax you to accept this gospel If YOU
could just take one look in this laver Of look
ing glasses spoken of IN the text you would
begin now spiritual ablutiOn. You will not
feel lnsulted, will you, when | tell you that
you are lost soul without pardon? Christ
offers all the generosity of his nature to you
to-day. The love of Christi dare not to-
ward the close of my sermon begin to tell
about it,. The love of Christ! Do not talk to
me about mountain; it is higher than that.
Do not talk to me about sea; it is deeper
than that.
An artist in his dreams saw such a splendid