Milford chronicle., 1893-12-15

TO De saved anu says, II have wandered
very lTievously from God; do not believe
there is any hope for me, l tell you the
story of this man in the text who was
brought to Jesus Christ in spite of his sins
and opposition.
There may be some here who are as stout
4 ly opposed TO Christ as Paul was. There
may be some here who are captive of their
sins as much so as the young man who said
/ in regard to his dissipating habits; Il will
/ keep on with them. / know / am breaking
my mothers heart, and l know / am kill
/ ing myself, and l know that when / die /
shall go to hell. but it is now too late to
stop
AN ENCOURAGING EXAMPLE.
The steed on which you ride may be
swifter and stronger and higher mettled
than that ON which the Cilician prosecutor
rode, but Christ can catch it by the bridle
and hurl it back and hurl il down There
is mercy for you who say you are too bad
to be saved. You say you have put off the
matter so long; Paul had neglected it
great while. You say that the sin you have
committed has been among the most ag-
gravating circumstances; that was so with
Paul's.
You say you have eXasperated Christ and
coaXed your own ruin; so did Paul And
yet he sits today on one of the highest of
the heavenly thrones, and there is mercy
for you, and good days for you, and glad
ness for you, if you will only take the same
Christ which first threw him down and
then raised him up. 1t seems to me as if /
can see Paul today rising up from the high
way to Damascus, and brushing of the
dust from his cloak, and wiping the sweat
Of excitement from his brow, as he turns to
us and all the ages, saying, This faith
full saying and worthy of all acceptation
that Christ Jes came into the world to
save sinners, of whom l am chief"
Once more, learn from this subject that
there is a tremendous reality in religion. II
it had been a mere optical delusion on the
road to Damascus, was not Paul just the
man to find it out? If it had been a sham
and pretense, would he not have pricked
the bUbble2 He was a man of facts and
arguments, of the most gigantic intellec-
tual nature, and not man of hallucina-
tiOns. And when l see him fall from the
saddle, blinded and overwhelmed, l say
there must have been something in it,
And, my dear brother, you will find that
there is something in religion somewhere.
The only question is, Where?
There was a man who rode from STAN
ford to London, % miles, in five hours on
horseback. Very swift There was a wom-
an Of Newmarket who rode on horseback
thousand miles in a thousand hours. Very
swift. But there are those here, aye, all of
US are speeding on at tenfold that velocity,
at a thousandfOld that rate toward eterni-
ty. May Almighty God from the opening
heavens, flash upon your souls this hour
the question of your eternal destiny, and
oh, that Jesus would this hour overcome
you with his pardoning mercy as he stands
here with the pathos Of a broken heart and
sObs into your ear: Il have come for thee.
come with my back raw from the beat
ing. / come with my feet mangled with
the nails. 1 come with my brow aching
from the twisted bramble. I come with
my heart bursting for your woes. l can
stand it no longer. l am Jesus whom
thou persecutest."