Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1891-11-26
A Sermon by Rev. Thomas R, Smith.
Preached mt the Free Baptist Chapel. ELS
worth. Nov. \. 1891.


Published of the sermons hy Ellsworth
pastors
Psalms XL-23 III brongEt M ~
also om ~ an h"rriile pU, ont If The mtrn
clay, aud set my feet upon rock and a,
tqblishrd my qoiHgs And he hrth pm
ner sang Ia nay mouth, crcH praise 10 orr
God"
This, is q definite and positive decara
ton of the psalmist in regard to the work
that God had wrought in him and for him.
Though he tells it in igurative and met
aphorical way, yet there is no ambiguity
in the expression nor doubt in his heart in
regard to the work. Doubt is destructive
and dangerous, paralyzing to all noble ef-
fort in any direction, and it Is much more
in our moral nature. 1t robs US of that
energy needful for our final success in
this great warfare We are engaged in ii
blinds our vision and We see not our
opportunity; it paves the way to final
failure. If il were possible to have infused
single DOUBT into the heart of Peter the
Hermit in regard to his mission to rescue
the Holy Land from the Saracens it would
have robbed his fiery eloquence of the
thunderbolts of power tina, stirred Europe
so strangely at the time Of the Crusades.
Doubt is Benedict Arnold with soul
ready to surrender the citadel of the being
to the enemy at all times. Whoever may
doubt, David doubts not. There is not
the shadow of a doubt in our text The
pit, the rock and the song in our text for
bid the entertainment of a thought of
uncertainty. David knew of the darkness
the divine hand that lowered the rope of
mercy that took him up out of the horri-
BILE pitt he knew of the solid rock that
lie found his feet planted on. in sharp
contrast to the miry bottom of the horri
be pitt he knew of the sweetness of that
new song that so strangely stirs his heart
every time he sings that song
| have often wondered when reading the
psalmist's declaration in our text that he dbl
not put on record at the end of this verse
halleluiah; but one lovely May morning my
wonder disappeared forever just as the
sun was tipping the hills with golden glory
l noticed little bird singing as it sat On
the branch of tree, its little throat burst
ing with song. There was some mystic
rious connection between the shine of the
sun and the song of the bird SO David
gives US in our text the shine of great
deliverance, but the song or halleuiah is
for the heart
This is song of victory and joy, and
the psalmst makes grand use of his meta
phorical pit to convey to the mind and
stamp 1t on the heart, the wonderful work
God has done for him. The poet king,
ever mindful of his early training as a
shepherd, could not but be familiar with
the fact that Palestine abounded with
many pits In his wanderings through
that land in tending his fathers sheep he
must have met them IN his journeyings.
The first account given of them in the BIZ
bic is in Abraham's days in an account of
great battle in which he rescued his
nephew, Lot. Many of the combatants
perished in the pits near the battlefield.
Joseph when he incurred the displeasure
of his brethren was put in a pit previous
to his being sold into Egypt. The prophet
jeremiah was let down into one Of these
pits with cord. But it seems there were
many kinds of pits aboundng in Palestine
Joseph's pit was dry one. whereas Jere-
n1. >,
loathsome pit, full of mre and clay. And
there can be no doubt but that the meta
phorical pit of our text was one of this
kind. This pit Of our text was indeed a
horrible one, and sinking in mire and clay
was most offensive and grievous. And
yet there could not have been employed a
more faithful similitude for the many
horrible, immoral pits into which men
sink themselves by their sins.
Let US follow the psalmist in the figur-
ative use of our text so as to get view
of some of the many immoral pits into
which mems sins sink them.
The first pit is the golden pit. The apos-
tie knew what he was saying when he
said: 1.-The love of money is the root of
all evil" All! let your feet once sink in
the miry clay of avarice and it will take
the omnipotent power to lift you out. The
descent into this pit may be slow and easy.
When men commence to descend into this
pit they do it with something of the original
innocence and sensibility of their nature.
Accordingly whatever wrong they are
about to do, they try first to give it some
color of right; they must throw over it
some pretext or apology to make it right
to the unperverted part of their nature.
The young merchant that takes not God
into his business-who has not christian
purpose to govern him nor keeps his busi-
ness transactions on the elevated plane of
the golden rule tells you that .'he
would become prosperous and wealthy
capitalist in order to be able to confer
Duhlic henenta" But alas he onda With