The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1889-01-12

40 SiafS-ydIuS, DeCduSe Iuey are uo-
termined to live in the past. and not
in the living present.
Let me state more precious appli.
cations of this principle of forgetting
the past. Once in your life you made
a great mistake. 1t has cast deep,
dark cloud over your life ever since.
You have never forgotten it. You
have never let the world forget it,
and the world has never letsyou for
get it. You have been committing
slow suicide. In addition to this,
you have been outraging humanity;
and humanity has been Outraging
you. This very hour do the best you
can before God and man to correct
your mistake. then forget it forever.
You have spent as much time "cry-
ing over split milk" as would have
earned it dozen times.
Again you committed a great sin,
which has blasted all your hopes,
and has thus far ruined your life.
Perhaps you took it to God and asked
him to forgive you. Did you believe
His word, which says: "If we con-
fess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse US
from all unrighteousness." God has
lovingly forgiven you. Now it is
your duty to
FORGIVE YOURSELF.
God not only forgave, but he for
got your sin. On the great day of
atonement two goats were brought to
the High Priest. One was slain the
other was led away into everlasting
forgetfulness. and the man who led
it away was required to wash the
clothes he wore on the trip, and re
move even any suggestions of the
scape goat. That's picture of what
God has done for you. But YOU have
kept that hateful and destructive
scape-goat around your heart as pet
all these years. Send it off at once.
Let me ask you to carry this prin-
cIple of forgetting a single step
farther. 1t is the cGmmonest thing
in the world for people to have diff.
ferences among themselves. Nobody
is perfect. Even the Pope is not in.
fallible. If we have any rough point:
they are the first ones to strike oui
neighbors. Perhaps the contact
knocked off or rubbed away the
rough point. The operation hurt
and left a sore place. 1t was frient
who did the thing, but we never for
gave him for it. We kept working
away at the wound until it is now {
running sore of enmity. Oh, forge
it. Paying attention to every child
ish slight or difference will mak'
ninety-nine people out of every hun
dred our enemies. The difference
among men are apt to be seven tenth
Imagination, three. tenths vanity. ant
all the work of Satan or his agents.
III. The work of orgetting tn
: past would produce revOiuSion il
the world. Then it would be read!
for the rest of Paul's experience. TIL
first thing would be to get an aim
, How many aimless people there ar
in the world land how many fail
ures there are for want of the aim
the people who succeed are not nee
essariy the smartest. They may b
almost the opposite. They are no
the hardest workers. They do no
always display the most energy. Blu
, they have sense enough to take aim
, Then they use all their ammunitio
r on the game they are after. Paul
, aim was the high calling of God i
Christ Jesus.
1t is the highest calling that ma
can pursue. A great and good ma
who is now in glory, used to say h
would rather be poor preache
t preaching around in school house
than the Emperor of Germany. Tn
great missions and enterprises {
. earth are child's play compared wit
r the winning of souls. The best brain
I and the best hearts-the best peopl
of the world-have always been Ell
1 gagged in this high calling. Th
r world is apt to treat Church wor
> with Indifference, but that is becaus
9 it is blind. 1t deserves more of ou
pity than censure. When a bin
man tramps on your flower bed. yo
pity him. When the blind worl
4 tramps over the Kings Garden it d'
e serves our pity.
The high calling Paul chose was il
own reward. But Gods blessing
t always overflow. SO this calling hs
8 a prize connected with it. Paul wa
d smart enough to see that prize !; h
Q was ambitious enough to want it
# and he was successful enough to Ct
= it. His Instructions on this suhjet
o. oro on full and clear that anVuOQ