The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1889-09-01
THE BACKWARD FACT AND EX
PECTANT LOOK.
By wAyLAND HOYT, d. D.

offered one sacrifice for sins forever,
sat down on the right hand Of Gcd;
from henceforth expecting till his enc
mics shall be- made his fooLstool. ~
Mark that relation between after and
expecting. After grasps the past;
expecting" seizes the future. Aud the
last Is the bloom Of the FIRST.
Here is a good point Of view to get
heart srding vision of the certain tri-
umph Of our Lord. Behold the Back
ward Fact that we may see the radiant
reasouableuess Of the Expectant Look.
But this Man after.
1t is the Backward Fact that this
Man Lord aud Saviour has offer
ed sacrifice for sins.
Oae of the great stories in any litera-
ture, one Of the books the world will
never willingly let die, which will Dc
rs Milton says Of a good book, treas
urcd up to "a life beyond life, 80 is "Ro-
mola, by George Eliot. l. is story
of lhat time i'm Florence when Savona-
rols preached and wrought and suffered
martyrdom. Lately have been re-
reading il. Romola is a grand and
gracious maiden, true, strong. pure.
high. She had brother who became
monk in So. Mark 5 monas-
try. where savonarola was the
The prior. There comes to Florence q
Greek. Tito by name, young, learned,
courteous. beautiful, fascinating. bad,
who captures Romola's heart because
she thinks him good and noble. Some
times the eyes even Of the puIest love
are blinded. This brother of Romola Is
diving in the monastery, and she is
summoned to be with him in his last
moments THIS brother is connected,
lbyap partial knowledge at least, With a
sad. foul thing which ibis Tito is guilty
of. and Tito knows il. In "a broken and
gasring way, for death is heavily upon
him. his brother warns Romola of this
Tito. 10 whom in grand. pure fashion
she has given herself, bat lii words so
scatteriueand indirect she cannotundcr-
stand him. and her strong love refuses
lo think evil. From her brother pai-
let. ON which he dies, she carries away
as a SOFT of memento of him the cruel
fix on which his eyes fell as death
closed them. Tito knows of her pos.
session Of this crucihx, and it is 60 him
symbol and menace Of tots SIN he has
done so foully. for threads from the
erucihx run back and lie it firmly TO
his crime. lie is most anxious 10 get
the crucihx away. for if ever his mean
crime ec. to the light il Will ruin all his
chances with R3moia and blacken all
the prospects opening SO radiantly foI
him In Florence. What shall Tito dor
He cannotdemaud The uuciiiX of Romo-
Ia. he cannot even ask it of hcr. To do
SD would Doe To- excite rumots 5us
ricion. This he viii DO. lie Las pre-
plred most beautiful receptacle. Upon
. leaves of its doors be has a wonderful
picture painted by the greatest artist
Florence can boast Of. lie brings the
exquisite cabinet TO R)mola as a gift
he persuades her 10 place the menacina
erucifx within il: he shuts TO the
painted doors and locks them. Romola
delighted with the gift, asks him foi
the KEY: 40. hc VIII not give her The
kew: he will fling the key into the water
from the bridge spanning the River
Arno. And She, trusting him 50 utter
ly. and 80 nobly unsuspicious in hel
love. consents. Aud so The cruciiiN
standing thus connected with Titof
crime. and with it the crime itself
Tito hopes. is hidden and locked away
Bu. the Tito may thus deity hid'
away what has gotten to be the symDo
and mendnce of his crime behiad door
painted by the greatest Of artists, be
cannot lock away his crime. He car
ries the consciousness Of it. 1t is a fea
and doom. Ina due time the dayligh
di-closes the hidden horror.
In measure less or more Is it not some
what thus with all Of us; Locke
within cur hearts. the best Of US car
ries the Consciousness Of sins. We ma.
Jv to throw away the key into som
river Of forecifulness, but the memoir
e. remains. BY courteries and cultur
and outward moralities and the bus
duties of the daily life, az by Into
- picture. we may prevent the eye OF on
10 fellows from much beholding the SIN
To- we know are in us. But they are there
z / They scare us sometimes. If we, for
S Gtu. do forget them, we know Go
n does not. Our own hearts condem
q ns and we are certain God is create
D.: than cur hearts, and knoweih all tmns'
p On. for some forgiveness. night an
! real. which can annihilate these sins
e Oh. to be certain that the beautiful cal
d met is emptied of the crucifix Really
s. lis not Just this our hungriest need
lido not think YOU can find huma
& heart which viii not feel It's most Graz
ling necessity matched and mated by a
ie atonement. This is our glad gospel
k the cabinet may be empucd Of lis en-
n ciiix. and the key may be drowned in
n divine f0rgetfulness, and therefor
- righ.fully, our own forgetiulness ma
b. whelm it also. You have sinned, b'
u Christ has made sacrifice for sins. 4
y erything necessary to your compile
10 forgiveness he has done. You M
IN stand in a delivering acQuiital' IN Il
ut surprising joyfulness of free and pc
Is. feet justification. His atonement n
N been mado-this is the Backward Fac
III. ,,o,,t ,,f sin accent him anl YOU q