Sharp County record., 1886-12-23

lOt 0dllS Il mo OIL NtulS
in it and coax him to do as Elisha sai5F
They say: ats easy. If the prophet bos
told YOU to walk for mile on sharp sni,aa
in order to get rid of this awful diseaso
YOU would have done it. 1t is easy. Come
my lord, just get down and wash in The
Jordon. You take bath every day, anv
how, and in this climate it is so hot that i
will do you good. Do it on bur account and
for the sake of the army you command, and
for the sake of the Nation that admires You,
Come, my lord, just try this Jordanic
BATH "Well," he says, 'to please YOU
will do as you say"
The retinue drives to the bank of the Jor.
dan. The horses paw and neigh to get intotbs
stream themselves and cool their hot fanks
General Naaman, assisted by his attend.
ants, gets down out Of the chariot and pain.
fully comes to the brink Of the river, and
steps in until the water comes to the ankle
and goes on deeper until the water comes
TO the girdle, and now standing 80 far down
in the stream Just little inclination of the
head will thoroughly immerse him. He
bows once into the flood, and comes up and
shakes the water out Of his nostrils and
ewes. and his attendants look at him and
say: "Why General, how much better YOU
look. And he bows a second time into the
food and comes up, and the wild stare
is gone out of his eyes. He bows the
third time into the food and comes
no, and the shriveled flesh has got
smooth again. He bows the fourth time
into the flood and comes up, and the hair
that had fallen out Is restored in thick
locks again all over the brow. He bows
the fifth time into the flood and comes up,
and the hoarseness has gone out of his
throat. He bows the sixth time and comes
up. and all the soreness ard anguish have
gone out of the limbs. Why" he says
II am almost well, but will make a com.
plete cure,n and he bows the seventh time
into the flood and comes up, and not so
much as tester, or scale, or eruption as
big as the head Of a pin is to be seen On
him. He steps out on the bank and says:
" Is it possblem And the attendants look
and say: "Is it possble" And as, with
the health of an athlete, he bounds back
into the chariot and drives on, there goes
ND from all his attendants wild Hu1za!
huzzaw Of course, they go back to pay
and thank the man of God for his counsel,
so fraught with wisdom. When they left
the prophets house they went off mad;
they have come back glad.
People always think better Of minister
after they have been converted than they
do before conversion. Now we are to them
an intolerable nuisance because we tell
them to do things that go against the grain;
but some Of us have a great many letters
from those who tell us that once they were
angry at what we preached, but afterwafd
gladly received the Gospel at our hands.
They once called us fanatics or terrOrists
or enemies; now they call US friends. Ion-
der is mani speak a literal fact-whO
said that he would never come into the
church again He said that two years ago.
He said: my family shall never come here
again if such doctrines as those are
preached But he came again, and his
family came again. He is Christian, his
wife a Christian, all his children Chris
tians. the whole household Christian, and
shall dwell with them in the house OF the
Lord forever. Our undying coadJutors are
those who once heard the Gospel ana
"went away in a rage"
Now, my hearers. you notice that this
General Naaman did two things IN order 10
get we'll The first was, he got out OF MS
chariot. He might have staid there WITH
his swollen feet on the stuffed ottoman,
seated. on that embroidered cushion until
his rdst gasp, he w5uld never have got any
relief. He had to get down out of his chariot
And you have got to get down out OF the
chariot of your pride if you ever become a
Christian You can not drive up TO the
cross with a coach and four and be saved
among all the spangles. You seem TO thlhB
that the Lord is going to be cOmplimented
by your coming. Oh, no; you poor, mlsera-
BILE, scaly, leprous sinner, get down Out ol
that We all come in the same haughty way
We expect to ride into the Kingdom
of God. Never until we get down
on our knees will we find mercy Inc
Lord has unhorsed us, uncharioted us. uec
down out of your pride. Get down OUT VI
your self-righteousness and your hyper
criticism. We have all got to do that lhaV
is the journey we have got to make on our
knees. It is our Internal pride that keeps
us from getting rid of the leprousy OF STU,
Dear Lord, what have we to be proud Oh
Proud of our scalesl Proud OF our uil-
cleanness? Proud of this killing lnlec'
tion! Bring us down at Thy feet, WeePlnS'
praying, penitcnt, believing suppliantsl
For sinners Lord, Thou camest TO bleeu'
And I'm sinner, vile, indeed;
Lord, believe Thy grace is free,
Oh, magnify that grace in mel
But he had not only to get down out oil
his chariot; he had to wash. "Oh," you
say, Il am very careful of my ablutions'
Every day plunge into bright and beau
tiful BATH All my hearers, there IS q
food brighter than any other. 1t is the
| food that breaks from the granite Of eter-
nal hills. 1t is the food of pardon, and
peace, and life, and Heaven. That flood
| started in the tears of Christ and the sweat
of Gethsemane, and rolled on, an accumu'
lating food until all earth and Heaven
could bathe in it. Zachariah called it 'the
fountain open for sin and uncleanness."
William Cowper called it "the fountain
filled with blood" Your fathers and moth
ers washed all their sins and sorrows away
in that fountain. Oh, my hearers, do you
not to-day feel like wading into it! wade
down now into this glorious flood, deeper,
deeper, deeper. Plunge once, twice, thrice
| four times, five times, six times, seven
times. 1t will take as much as that to cure
your soul Oh, wash, wash, wash, and DO
| cleanl
Isuppose that was a great time at Da
hnD