The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1888-06-28

some of US who Jared sumptuously every
day are hurled back into discontinue,
there are the lame that will take the prey
One step further: There are a great
many people discouraged about getting to
Heaven. You are brought up in good
families, you had Christion parentage;
but you frankly tell me that you are
thousand miles away from the right
track.
My brother, you are the one I want to
preach to this morning. Ihave been look
ing for you. will ~ you how you got
astray. 1t was not righteousness on your
part. 1t was perhaps through the genial
ity and sociality of your nature that you
fell into sin. You wandered away from
your duty, you unconsciously left the
house of God; you admit the Gospel to be
true, and yet you have SO grievously and
so prolongedly wandered, you say rescue
is impossible.
It would take a week to count up the
names of those in Heaven who were on
earth worse than you tell me you are.
They went the whole round of iniquity,
they disgraced themselves, they dis
graced their household, they despaired OF
return because their reputation was gone,
their property was gone, every thing was
gone; but in some hour like this they
heard the voice of God, and threw
themselves on the D ivine compassion, and
they rose up more than conquerors. And
tell you there is the same chance tor
you. That is one reason why l like to
preach this Gospel, SO free a Gospel, so
tremendous Gospel. 1t takes a man all
wrong, and makes him all right
In q former Sptt1 lament where | nreachat
a member of my congregation quit the
house of God, quit respectable circles,
went into all styles of sin, and was slain
of his iniquity. The day for his burial
came, and his body was brought to the
house of God. Some of his comrades
who had destroyed him were overheard
along the stree t, on the way to the burial,
saying: "Come, let us 60 and hear Tall
mage damn this old sinner!',,' Oh! had
nothing but tears for the dead, and ha
nothing but invitations for the Twin G.
You see I could not do otherwise.
"Christ Jesus came to seek and save that
which was lost" Christ in His dying
prayer said: "Father, forgive Them"
and that was prayer for you and for me.
Oh! start on the road to Heaven to- day.
You are not happy. The thirst of your
soul will never be slaked by the fountains
of sin. You turn everywhere but to God
for help. Right where you are, call on
Him. He knows you, He knows all about
you, He knows all the odds against which
you have been contending in life. Do not
go to Him with long rigmarole of
prayer, but just look up and say: "Help!
helpw
But you say: "My hand trembles so
from rov 1iccinofinnc T 10
hold of hymn book to sing" Do not
worry about that, my brother; l will give
youa hymn at the close SO familiar you
can sing it without book. But you say:
81 have such terrible habits on me, 1
can't get rid of them" My answer is,
Almighty grace can break up that habit
and will break it up. But you say:
"The wrong l did was to one dead and
in Heaven now, and / can't correct that
wrong"
God, go into the presence of that one, and
the apologies you ought to have made on
earth make in Heaven.
"OhW says some man, "if I should try
to do right, if 1 should turn away from my
evil doing unto the Lord, would be
jostled, l would be driven back, nobody
Noulu ilofC duy upotHg LII LuCs
You are mistaken. Here in the presence
of the church on earth and in Heaven, I
give you to-day the right hand of Chris
to preach this, and He sent you here to
hear this:
Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the I'M
righteous man his thoughts, and let him return
unto the Lord, who will have mercy, and unto
| our God, who will abundantly pardon.
Though you may have been the worst
sinner, you may become the best saint,
and in the greet Day of Judgment it will
be found that "where sin abounded, grace
does much more abound" and while the
spoils of an everlasting kingdom are be-
ing awarded for your pursuit, it will be
found that the lame took the prey.
| Blessed be God that we are, this Sabbath,
one week nearer the obliteration of all the
inequalities of this life and all its dis
| quietudes.
Years ago, on a boat on the North
River, the pilot gave very sharp ring to
the bell for the boat to slow up. The en-
gineer attended to the machinery, and
| then he came up, with some alarm, on
| deck to see what was the matter. He saw
| it was moonlight night and there were
no obstacles in the way. He went to the
pilot and said:
"Why did you ring the bell in that wayf
Why do you want to stop, there's nothing
the matter?" And the pilot said to him:
'There is mist gathering on the river;
don't you see that? And there is night
gathering darker and darker, and ean't
see the way"
Then the engineer, looking around and
seeing it was bright moonlight, looked
into the face of the pilot and saw that he
was dying, and then that he was dead.
! God grant that when our last moment
comes we may be found at our post doing
our whole duty, and when the mists of the
river of death gather on our eyelids may
the good pilot take the wheel from our
hands and guide us into the calm harbor
of eternal rest!
Drop the anchor, furl the sail,
| lam safe within the vale.
L