The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1888-06-07

Nance OF those In heaven who were on earth
worse than you tell me you are. They went
the Whole round Of iniquity, they disgrlced
the mseircs, they disgraced their household,
they despai'ei Of return because their rep$-
tation was gone, their property was gone,
everything was gone; but In some hour like
this they heard the voice Of God and threw
themselves on the divine compassion, and
they rose up more than conquerors. And !
tell you there Is the same chance for you.
gospel, 50 free q gospel, SO tremendous q
gospel: It takes 4 man all wrong and makes
him all right.
In q former settlement where I preached
a member Of my congregation quit the hou e
Of God, quit respectable circles, went into
all styles of sin, and wal slain of his iniq.
uity. The day for his burial m and his
body was brought into the house Of God.
Some of his comrades who had destroyed
him were overheard along the street, on the
way to the burial, saying: "Come, let us 20
and hear Ialmage damn this old sinnerv'
Oh! l had nothing hut tears for the dead,
and l had nothing but invitations for The
"Christ Jesus came to seek and to save that
which was lost" Christ in his dying prayer
said: Gather. forgive them," and that was
a prayer tor you and for me. Oh! sttrt Oh
the. road to heaven to-day. 'You are rot
happy. The thirst Of your soul will never
NC. lbNCu ny GHC outAOdi vi o1h 1ou buii
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 c%ontending in
life. Do not 60 to Him with a long rigma-
role Of q prayer but just look up and say:
But you say: my hand treinblcs so from
my designations, I can't even take hold # a
hymnbook to sing" Do net worry about
that, my brother; I will give out q hymn at
the close so familiar you can sing it without
a book. Blu you say: .The wrong | did
was to one dead and in heaven now, and l
can't correct that wron+." You can correct
cnce OF that one, and the apologies you
ought to have made on Caith make in
heaven.
"OhY' says some man, "if I should try and
do right, if ! should turn away from my evil
doing unto the Lord I would be jostled, l
would be driven back. nobody would have
any sympathy for me-" You are mistaken.
Here, in the presence OF the church on earth
and heaven, l give you to-day the right
hand of Christian fellowship. God sent NO
here to-day to preach this and lie sent you
here to hear this: "Let the wicked forsake
his way, and the uprighteous man his thought.
and let INN return unto the Lord, who will
have mercy, and ito our God who will
abundantly pardon" Though you may
have been the worst sinner you may become
the best saint and in the great day of iudg-
ment it will be found that "whcre SIN
abcunded grace does much more abound"
and while the spoils of an everlasting king.
dom are being awarded for your pursuit, it
! will he ound that the lame took the prey.
Blessed he God that we are this Sabbath one
week nearer the obliteration of all the in
eqalities of this life and all its disquietudes.
Years ago on a boat on the North River the
pilot gave u very sharp ring to the bell tor
the boat to slow up. The engineer attended
to the machinery, and then he came UP with
some alarm On deck to see what was the
matter. lie saw it WAS a moonlight III ght and
there weie no obstacles in the way. He went
to the pilot and said: ''WhY did you ring
the bell in that way? Why do you want to
! stop? There's nothing the matter" And
the pilot said to him: ''Thcre is a mist
gathering on the river; don't you see that?
and there is night gathering darker and dark.
or, and ], can't see the way" Then the ell.
g1necr, 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 way be found at our post doing
our whole duty; and when the mists Of the
| river Of death gather on our eyellds 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,
! In safe within the vale.