The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-10-25
THEMES OF THE PREACHERS
No Force Put on Anyone Compels Him to
Love Sin More than God and Christ.
There Is Work for Everyone To Do, No Mat
ter How Lowly or Feeble lie May Be-Mrs.
L. @. RobinSOns Revival Services
SERMON AT ST. PAUL,s.
Christ's Lament Over Observation-Disclosures
tons of His Great Tenderness.

Christ's Lament Over Observation-Disclosures
tions of His Great Tenderness.
Rev. VIM. H. Hanckel. of Abbeville, S. c.,
preached yesterday forenoon at st. Paul's Epis-
copal Church, Oh "Our Lords Lament over Je-
rusalem," taking as his text Matthew xiii, 81.
The preacher, commenting upon this text said
it was almost without parallel for indignant re-
buke and emphatic denunciation by the Savior,
invective and prophecy the coming desolation
than, melting into tenderness. He abruptly ut
tiers the lamentation of the text
Jerusalem is but representative of all who
in all times and in all places continue impenitent
This lamentation is the expression of wounded
love- After this lament let no one say that if
the pure and simple gospel is preached it must
succeed and that we will of necessity be saved.
The Christ preached and failed. He it was of
man" and yet the very men who said this Of
Him were the men who put Him TO death. But
we need not accuse the people of Jerusalem; we
are doing just what they did, respecting divine.
redeeming love- From the words of the text
we gather that the loving Jesus still offers to for
give our sins and shelter us with his protecting
love-
Remember, we are not willing to be saved un-
less we are willing to be saved on the terms our
Lord himself proposes. The salvation Christ
offers is del:verance from sin-from it's conse-
quences in the next world and from It's power
and pleasure, and profit in this. How is it with
usY Is our only anxiety to be relieved from the
punishment of sin or do we seek to be also freed
from those evil feelings and wicked passions
which would make heaven an impossibility9 Do
we desire to be renewed in the image and like
ness OF God the Father? How few do what they
can for the souls growth in the divine
life and salvation from sin. How
few resist temptation, join in religious
duties, pray for help from above, and lift their
thoughts above earthly ambitions and pursuits
to things heavenly pure and eternal. There is
no force put on anyone that compels him to love
sin more than he loves God and Christ The
devil himself cannot force the drunkard to swal
low his intoxicating draughts whether he will or
no, or compel the basphemer to degrade the
holy name of God, or the liar to err from the
truth The consciousness of sin, when we sin
against God and righteousness, shows we are
under no such compulsion We do not love and
obey God, and follow Christ because we will not
Yes, we can reject Christ. We can close the
Bible and never open 1t any more. That power
every man has By so much as we are men we
can do this. That is our moral constitution
But we must accept the consequences. But
blessed be God, we can yield to Christ. We can
say with Thomas, "My Lord and my God" We
can say with the publican, "God. be merciful to
me, sinner" We open the door Of our
hearts, and the Savior will come in and sup with