Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1888-07-11

| w oeSNCs VI AO 10 buC OOu 1lAC uubt
our God, that pardoneth iniquity O, wha
Jesus is to the soul that believes in Him
The soul looks up into Christs face ant
says: "To what extent wilt thou forgiv,
me?" And Jesus looks back into his fac,
and says: ''To the uttermost." The sou
says: "Will it never be brought up again?'
"Never," says Christ, "Won't it be brough
up again in Judgment Day ?' "No," say
Christ, ''never in the Judgment Day.
What bread is to the hungry, what harbo
is to the bestormed, what light is to tn,
blind, what liberty is to the captive, that
and more than that, is Christ to the mai
who trusts Him.
Just try to get Christ away from tina
Christian. Put on that man the thumb
screw. Twist it until the bones crack. Pu
that foot into the iron boot of persecution
until it is mashed to pulp. Stretch tina
man on the rack of the Inquisition, ant
louder than all the uproar of the persecu
tors, you will hear his voice, like the voic
of Alexander LIE Croix, above the cracklin,
faggots, as he cried out: 20 Jesus o
my blessed Jesus O, divine Jesus VIII,
would not die for Thee9 9'
Again / remark that Christ is precious
to the believer, as a friend. You hav,
commercial friends and you have famil,
friends. To the commercial friends you q
when you have business troubles. You car
look back to some day-it may have beer
ten or twenty years ago-when, if you ha(
not had that friend, you would have beer
entirely overthrown in business. But
want to tell you this morning of Jesus, thu
best business friend man ever had. HI
can pull you out of the worst perplexities
Tbaro N IN fhso - ho,,
got in the habit of putting down all theil
worldly troubles at the feet of Jesus. Why
Christ meets the business man on the stree
and says: 80, business man, I know al
thy troubles. will be with thee. l will
see thee through" Look out how you try
to corner or trample on a man who il
backed up by the Lord God Almighty
Look out how you trample on him.
o, there is financier that many of oul
business men have not found out. Christ
ance companies, and all the banking houses
They say that the Vanderbilts own the
railroads, but Christ owns the Vanderbilts
and the railroads, and all the plottings ot
stock gamblers shall be put to confusion,
and God with his little finger shall wipe oui
their infamous projects. How often it has
been that we have seen men gather up
riches by fraud, in pyramid of strength
and beauty, and the Lord came and blew
on it and it was gone while there are
those here day who, if they could speak
out in this assemblage, or dared to speak
out, would say, s'The best friend / had in
1887 the best friend I had in 1857, the
best friend had at the opening of the
war the best friend I ever had Las been
the Lord Jesus Christ. l would rather
give up all other friends than this one.'
But we have also family friends. They
come in when we have sickness in the
household. Perhaps they say nothing
but they sit down and they weep as the
light goes out from the bright eyes, and the
white petals of the lily are scattered in the
blast of death. They watch through the
long night by the dying couch, and then,
great comfort. They say "Don't cry
Jesus pities you. All is well. You will
meet the lost one again." Then, when
your son went off, breaking your heart, cid
they not come and put the story in the very
best shape, and prophesy the return of the
prodigal? We're they not in your house
when the birth angel tapped its wings over
your dwelling I? And they have been there
at the baptisms and at the weddings
Family friends But l have to tell you
that Christ is the best family friend. o,
blessed is that cradle over which Jesus
bends. Blessed is that nursery where
Jesus walks. Blessed is that sick brow
from which Jesus wipes the dampness.-
Blessed is that table where Jesus breaks
the bread. Blessed is that grave where
Jesus stands with His SCARED feet on the
upturned sod, saying 81 am the resurrec-
tion and the life be that believeth in Me,
though he we're dead, yet shall he live" p
Have you babe in the house? put it into
the arms of the great Child lover. Is there
a sick one in the house? think OF Him who
said:
sDamsel, arise" Are you afraid you
will come to wantp Think of Him who
fed the five thousand. Is there little one
in your house that you are afraid will be
blind, or deaf, or lame? Think of Him who
touched the blinded eye and snatched back
the boy from epileptic convulsion. Oh, He
is the best friend. Look over your family
friends to-day, and find another that can
be compared to Him. When we want our
friends, they are sometimes out of town.
Christ is always in town. We find that
some will stick to US in prosperity who will
not in adversity. But Christ comes through
darkest night and amid ghastliest sorrow
and across toughest sea to comfort you.-
There are men and women here who would
have been dead twenty years ago but for
Jesus. They have gone through trial
enough to exhaust ten times their physical
strength. Their property went, their health
went, their families were scattered. God
only knows what they suffered. They are
an amazement to themselves that they have
been able to stand it. They look at theil
once happy home, surrounded by all com.
fort. Gone They think of the time when
they used to rise strong in the morning and
walk vigorously down the street, and had
experienced health they thought mex
haustible. Gone Everything gone but
Jesus.
He has pitied them. His eye has watch
ed them. His omnipotence has defended
them. Yes. He has been with them
They have gone through disaster, and He
was a pillar of fire by night. They have
gone across stormy Galilee, but Christ Lac
His foot on the neck of the storm. They
felt the waves of trouble coming up around
them gradually, and they began to clint
into the strong rock of Gods defence, and
then they sang as they looked over the
waters "God is our refuge and strength,
an ever present help in time of trouble
therefore we will not fear though the eartt
be removed, though the mountains be car
ried into the midst of the sea, though the
waters thereof roar and be troubled, though
the mountains shake with tho swelling
thereof. Selah." The other day there
was sailor who came into the Bethel in
New York and said /: 'My lads Che was
standing among sailors), don't know
what's the matter with me. used to heal
a good deal about religion and about Jesus
Christ. don't know that have any re-
ligiop, or that know anything much about
Christ hut when was in mid-Atlantic
looked up one day through the rigging, ant
there seemed to come light through my
soul. have felt different ever since, and
love those that once hated, and I feel {
joy can't tell you. really don't know