Sharp County record., 1891-07-16

You almost become ar atheist. on
said: "Where is God, that honest men
90 down and thieves prosper?" You were
dogged of creditors, you were dogged OF
the banks, you were dogged of worldly
disaster, and some of you went
into misanthropy, and some OF you
took to strong drink, and others OF you
fled out of Christian association, and
you got astray o! man, that was the
last time when you ought to have for
saken God Standing amid the found
ering of your earthly fortunes, how
could you get along without God to
comfort you, and 6od to deliver you,
and God to help you, and a God to
save you? You tell me you have been
through enough businass trouble al
most to kill you. know it. l can not
understand how the boat could live
one hour in that chopped sea-
But do not know by what process you
got astray; some in one way, and some
in another and if you could really see
the position some of you occupy before
God this morning, your soul would
burst into an agony of tears, and you
would pelt the heavens with the cry:
"God have mercy" Sinais batteries
have been unlim bered above your soul
and at times have heard it thunder:
"The wages OF sin is death" "All
/ have sinned and come short Of the glory
of God" By one man sin entered into
the world, and death by sin; and so
death passed upon all men, for that all
have sinned." 1.-The soul that sinneth,
it shall die"
When Sebastopol was being lombard
ed two Russian frigates burned all
night in the harbor, throwing a glare
upon the trem bling fortress; and some
of you are standing in the night of your
souls trouble. The cannonade and the
confagration, the multiplication ofyour
sorrows and troubles think must make
the wings of Gods lowering angels
shiver to the tip.
But the last part of my text opens a
door wide enough to let us all out and
to let all Heaven in. Sound it on the
organ with all the stops out. Thrum 1t
on the harps with all the strings atune.
With all the melody possible let the
heavens sound it to the earth and let
the earth tell it to the heavens. "The
Lord hath laid on him the iniquity
of us all" am glad that the prophet
did not stop to explain whom he meant
by Him" Him of the manger Him
of the bloody sweat Him of the resur-
recton throne, Him of the crucifixion
agony "On Him the Lord hath laid
the iniquity of us all"
"Oh!" says some man, that is not
generous, that is not fair; let every man
carry his own burden and pay his own
debts" That sc unds reasonable. If |
have an obligation and have the means
to meet it, and come to you and ask
you to settle that obligation, you right
ly say: "Pay your own debts" If you
and | walking down the street, both
hale, hearty and well, | ask you to
carry me, you say and say rightly:
"Walk on your own feet" But sup
pose you and | were in a regiment and
| was wounded in battle, and | fell
unconscious at your feet with gunshot
fractures and dislocations, what would
you do? You would call to your com
rades, saying: Come and help; this man
is helpless bring the ambulance; let us
take him to the hospitals" and would be
dead lift in your arms, and you would
lift me from the ground where | had
fallen and put me in the ambulance and
take me to the hospital and have all
kindness shown me. Would there be
anything mean in your doing that?
Would there be anything bemeaning
in my accepting that kindness? o! no,
You would be mean not to do it, That
is what Christ does. If we could pay
our debts then it wonld be better to go
up and pay them, saying: "llere, Lord,
here is my obligations; here are the
means with which | mean to settle that
obligations now give me a receipt; cross
it all out" The debt is paid. But the
fact is we have fallen in the battle; we
have gone down under the hot fire of
our transgressions; we have been
wounded by the sabers of sin, we
are helpless, we are undone." ."
Christ comes. The loud clang
heard in the sky on that Christ
mas night was only the bell, the re-
sounding bell of the ambulance. Clear
the way for the Son of God. lie comes
down to bind up the wounds, and to
scatter the darkness, ana to save the
lost Clear the way for the Son Of God.
Christ comes down to us, and we are u
dead lift He does not lift us with the
tips Of Ills fingers. He does not lift us
with one arm. lie comes down upon
His knee, and then with u dead lift He
raises us to honor and glory and inn
mortality "rhe Lord hath laid on
Him the iniquity Of us all" Why,
then, will no man carry his
sins? You can not carry successfully
the smallest sin you ever committed,
You might us well put the Apennines
on one shoulder and the Alps on the
other-how much less can you carryall
the sins Of your lifetime? Christ comes
and looks down in your face and says;
81 have come through all the lacera-
tions of these days, and through all the