Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-08-05

shepherd about the lost sheep. Oh, we
might gather even the stars of the sky and
twist Them like forget-me-nots in the gar
land of Jesus. We must bring everything
to him-the wealth of language, the tender
ness of sentiment, the delicacy of morning
dew, the saffron Of floating cloud, the tan
gled surf Of the tossing sea, the bursting
thunder guns of the storms bombardment.
Yes, every star must point down to him,
every heliotrope must breathe his praise,
every drop in the summer shower must flash
his glory, all the tree branches of the forest
must thrum their music in the grand march
which shall celebrate world redeemed.
Now, all this being SO, what is the com
mon sense thing for you and for me to do?
What we do 1 think will depend upon
three great facts The first fact that sin has
ruined us. 1t has blasted body, mind and
soul. We want no Bible to prove that we
are sinners. Any man who is not willing to
acknowledge himself an imperfect and
sinful being is simply fool and not to be
argued with. We all feel that sin has dis
organized our entire nature. That is one
fact. Another fact is that Christ came to
reconstruct, to restore, to revise, to correct,
to redeem. That is q second fact. The
third fact is that the only time we are sure
Christ will pardon us is the present. Now,
what is the common sense thing for us to do
in view of these three facts? You will all
agree with me to quit sin, take Christ and
take him now. Suppose some business man
in whose skill you had perfect confidence
should tell you that tomorrow (Monday)
morning between IL and IL o'clock you
could by a certain financial transaction
make 81, 900, but that on Tuesday perhaps
you might make it, but there would not be
any positiveness about it, and ON Wednes-
day there would not be SO much, and Thurs
day less, Friday less, and SO on less and
less-when would you attend to the matter?
ABUsINEss PROPOSITION.
Why, your common sense would dictate:
ssImmediately will attend to that matter
between IL and II o'clock tomorrow (Mon-
day) morning, for then can surely accom-
plish it, but ON Tuesday L may not, and on
Wednesday there is less prospect. I will
attend to it tomorrow" Now, let Us bring
our common sense in this matter of religion.
Here are the hopes of the gospel. We may
get them now. Tomorrow we may get
them and we may not. Next day we may
and we may not. The prospect less and
less and less and less.
The only sure time now-now. I would
not talk to you In this way if did not
know that Christ was able to save all the
people, and save thousands as easily as save
one. would not 20 into the hospital and
tear off the bandages from the wounds if
had no balm to apply. would not have
the face to tell man he is sinner unless
had at the same time the authority of say
ing he may be saved. Suppose in Venice
there is Raphael, faded picture, great in
its time, bearing some marks of its great
ness. History describes that picture. 1t is
nearly faded away. You say: "Oh, what
should be nearly defacedr' After while a
man comes up, very unskil1ful in art, and
he proposes to retouch it. You say: "Stand
off Iwould rather have it just as it is; You
will only make it worse" After q while
there comes an artist who was the equal of
Raphael. Ee says: 81 will retouch that
picture and bring out all its original pow
er." You have full confidence in his
ability. He touches it here and there.
Feature after feature comes forth, and when
he is done with the picture it is complete in
ALL ITS ORIGINAL POWER.
Now God impressed His image on our
race, but that image has been defaced for
hundreds and for thousands of years, getting
fainter and fainter. Here comes up divine
Raphael. He says: 81 can restore that pic
ture." He has all power in heaven and on
earth. He is the equal of the One who
made the picture, the image of the One who
drew the image of God in our soul. He
touches this sin and it is gone, that trans
gression and it disappears, and all the
DETACHMENT vanishes, and "where sin
abounded grace doth much more abound"
Will you have the DETACHMENT or will you
have the restoration? am well persuaded
that if could by touch of heavenly pa
thos in two minutes put before you what has
been done to save your soul, there would be
an emotional tide overwhelming.
Mamma" said q little child to her
mother when she was being put to bed at
night, mamma, what makes your hand SO
SCARED and twisted and unlike other peo-
Piles hands?" "Well," said the mother,
''my child, when you were younger than
you are now, years ago, one night after 1
had put you to bed heard a cry, shrek,
upstairs. came up and found the bed was
on fire and you were on fire, and took
hold of you and tore off the burning gar
ments. and while was tearing them of
and trying to get you away burned my
hand, and it has been burned and SCARED
ever since. and hardly looks any more like
a hand; but I got that, my child, in trying
to save you" o, mani o, womani wish
to-day could show you the burned hand of
Christ-burned In plucking you out OF the
fire, burned in snatching you away from the
flame. Aye, also the burned foot, and the
burned brow, and the burned heart-burned
for you. By His stripes ye are healed.