Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1891-07-25

soul stirred up You may have had to take
care of her a good many years, but you
never can forget how she ulei to take care
OF yoA.
There have been niauy sea captains com
verted liz our church, aud the pecftiiaflty OF
them was that they were nearly all prayed
ashore by their mothers, though the mothers
went into the dust soon after they went ID
sea. Have you never heard an old man III
delirium Of some sickness call for his mother
The fact Is we get so used TO calling Tor heI
the first ten years OF our life we never GET
ovef il, and when she goef away from Us It
makes deep sorrow Iob sometimes, pei
maps, in days of trouble and darkness, Wien
the world would say, You ought 10 be aole
20 take care of yourselt'-you wake up from
your dreams finding Yourself saying, IN,
mother! mother Have these tears no Ill
vine origin Why. take all the warm hearts
that ever beat in all lands, and i'll all ages,
and put them together and their united throp
would be weak compared with the throb OF
Gods eternal sympathy. les, God also ls
father Of all that rain OF repentance.
Dii YOU ever see q rain or repentance 10
YOU KNOW what it Is that makes a man Re
pent: | see people going around trying to
repent. They cannot repent. DO You know
no man can repent until God helps him To
repent? How do | know By this passage,
Him hath God exalted to be a prince AMI ii
Saviour TO give repentance On. It IS a trc-
IN ndOus hour when one wakes uD ana says:
i am a bad man. | have not sinnei against
the laws of the land, but have wasted my
lite: God asked me for my services and 1
haven't given those services. Oh, my sins.
God forgive me- hen that tear starts 1t
thrills all heaven. An angel cannot Keep his
eyes off it. and the church Of God assemble.
around, anu there Is d comtnlngling of tears,
and God is the Father of the rain, the Lord,
long suffering. mercifut and gracious.
In a religious assemblage a man arose and
said: Il have been d very wicked man;
hroke my mothers heart. | became an int
del, but | have seen my evil way, and | have
surrendered my heart to God, but it ls a
grief that | never can get over that my
parents should never have heard of my sal
walton; | don't know whether they are living
or dead While lie was yet standing i'll the
audience a voice from the gallery said, "Oh.
my son, my son" He looked up and he rec
ognized her. 1t was his Old mother. She
had been praying for him a great many
Years, and when at the foot of the cross the
p~rodigal son and the praying mother en-
braced each other, there was a rain, a tire
mendou rain, of tears, and God was the
Faf52r of th..sa raars Oh that Cod un1Ad
break US down with a sense Of our sin, and
then lift us up with an appreciation Of His
mercy. Tears over our wasted life. Tears
over a greived spirit. Tears over an in
jured father. Oh, that God would move
upon this audience with a great wave of re.
The king of carthage was %dethroned
His people rebelled against him.. He was
driven into banisfhpent. His wife and
children were outrageously abused. Years
went by, and the king of Carthage made
many friends. He gathered up a great
army. He marched again toward Car
thage. Reaching the gates of Carthage
the best men OF the place came out bare
footed and bareheaded and with ropes
around their necks. cryino for maRcu-
Ihey SAID, I'VE abused you and we abused
your family, but we cry for mercy" The
king OF Carthage looked down upon the
! people from his chariot and said: II came
| 10 bless, | didn't come to destroy. You
Grove me out, but this day | pronounce
pardon f9r all the people. Open the gate,
ana let The army come H." The king
marched In and took tho throne, and the
people all shoutet, Long live the kingr'
My triends,l you have driven the Lord
Jesus Christ, tiieking of tn, church, away
from your heart; you have been maltreating
HIN all these years; but He comes back to-
day. lie stands in front OF the gates Of
your soul. If you will only pray for His
pardon He will meet you with His gracious
spirit and He will say: Thy sins and thine
iniquitles | will remember no more. Open
vice the gate | will take the throne. My
peace | give unto you" And then, ali
through this audience, from the young ana
from the old, there viii be a rain of tears,
and God will be tue father OF that rairl