Sharp County record., 1888-06-14

, last great day while it will be found that
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 great
5 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 a
: 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. l will .sb you how you got
astray. 1t was not maliciOusness on your
part. twas perhaps through the genial
i'y and sociality of your nature that you
fell into sin. You wandered away from
your duty, you uuconsciously 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.
1t would take q 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 ivine compassion, and
they rose up more than cOnquerors. And
| tell you there is the same chance tor
you. That is one reason why like to
preach this Gospel, so free a Gospel, so
tremendous Gospel 1t takes man all
wrong, and makes him all right.
In former settlement where preached
member of my congregation quit the
house of God, quit respectable circles,
went into all styles of sin, and was slain
of his iniqIity. 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 go and hear Tai
mage damn this old sinnerr,,' Oh! had
nothing but tears for the dead, and | ha
nothing but invitations for the living.
You see l 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 a long rigmarole of
prayer, but just look up and say: "Help!
helpW
But you say: "My hand trembles so
from my designations, l can't even take
hold of hymn book to sing" Do not
worry about that, my brother; 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, l
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 l can't correct that
wrong"
You can correct it. By the grace of
God, go into the presence Of that one, and
earth make in Heaven.
"OhW says some man, 'if should try
to do right, if should turn away from my
evil doing unto the Lord l would be
jostled, would be driven back, nobody |
would have any sympathy for me-"
You are mistaken. Here in the presence
of the church on earth and in Heaven,
give you to-day the right hand of Chris
tian fellowship. God sent me here o-day
to preach this, and He sent you here to
hear this:
Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the un.
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 great 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
of this life and all its dis ,
luietudes.
Years ago, on boat on the North
River, the pilot gave very sharp ring to Z
he bell for the boat to slow up. The en- !
sineer attended to the machinery, and
hen he came up, with some alarm, on
leck to see what was the matter. He saw q
T was a moonlight night and there were
..Wb1yH les in the way Tie went to the
the matter?" And the Pell in that way! :
"There is mist gathering on 'nothing
don't YOU see that? And there is nlgnv
gathering darker and darker, and 'aht
see the way"
Then the engineer, looking around ana
seeing it was bright moonlight, looked
into the face of the pilot and saw that he
was diving, 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 tie 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 haroor
of eternal rest!
Drop the anchor, furl the sail,
lam safe within the vale.
Woman In RuSiness,