Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1893-11-20

DiDlt. Cuo bOiu U6 1cNoi " iOSc eA~e.t
could you not have saved something
else?" ''Not and saved that" ibid
you expect to 60 DOWN." Eyes, sir,
but expected to. take nj mothers
Bible down with me-" "BraVol" said
Captain Judkins, II will take care OF
you" That boy demonstrated a GER
tainty and a confidence that like.
JUST IN PROPORTION
as you have few sis" of incredulity in
your religion, will you find it comfort
able religion. My full and unquestion-
ing faith in IL is founded on the fact
that 1t sootheS aud sustains in time or
trouble. l do not believe that any man
who ever lived had more blessings and
prosperity than l have received from
God and the world. But l have had
trouble enough to allow me opportun-
ity for finding out whether our religion
is Of any use IN such exigency. l have
had fourteen great beresvements, to say
nothing Of lesser bereavements, Tor /
was the Youngest OF large family. l
had as much persecution as comes to
most people. / have had all kinds of
trial, except severe and prolonged sick
ness, and l would have been dead long
ago but for the consolatory power OF
our religion.
Between the first and last sentences
Of my text there was proxysm OF earn
estness too mighty for words. 1t will
take half of an eternity TO tell of all the
answers OF earnest and faithful prayer.
In his last journal, David Livingstone,
10 Africa, records the prayer so soon to
be answered: "19 March-Birthday.
My Jesus, my God, my Life, my All, l
again dedicate my whole life TO thee.
Accept me, and grant gracious
Father that ere this year is gone, may
finish my task. In. Jesus name, l ask
it. Amen" When the dusky servant
looked into LivingStone'S tent and
found him dead on his knees, he saw
that the prayer had been answered.
But Notwithstanding the esrneStness of
the prayer OF Moses in the text it was
defeated prayer aud not answered. 1
think the two "Ifs" in the prayer de-
ieated it, and one "If" is enough to de.
feat any prayer, whatever other good
characteristics it may have. "If thou
wilt forgive their sins; and If not,
blot me, L pray thee, out Of thy book. "
God did neither. AS the following
verses show, he punished their sins,
but l am sure he did not blot out one
letter OF the name of Moses from the
Book of Life.
There is only one kind Of prayer in
which you need to put the III" and
that is the
PRAYER FOR TEMPORAL BLESSINGS.
Pray for riches and they may engulf US,
or for worldly success of any sort and it
NAV destroy US. Better say, eff 1t be
best" 'lf can make proper use ST it, >"
III Thou seest 1 need it," A wife,
prayiag for the recovery OF her hus-
band from illness, stamped her foot and
said with frightful emphasis, Il will
not have him die; God shall not take
him." Her prayer'was answered, but a
few years after, the community was
shocked by the fact that he had in a
moment OF anger slain her. A mother
praying For a sons recovery from Ill,
ness, told the Lord He had no right TO
take him, and the boy recovered, but
plunged into all denominations and died
a renegade. Better in all such prayers
and ali prayers pertaining to our tenn
poral welfare, put an al" saying, IF
it will be Thy will!" But praying for
spiritual good and the salvation of our
soul we need never insert an 'If." Our
spiritual welfare is sure 10 be for the
best, and away with the 'IfS."
Abraham's prayer for the rescue OF
Sodom was a grand prayer In some re-
Spects but there were six IFS" in it,
or "peradventures, which mean the
same thing, "Peradventure there may
be fifty righteous in the city, peradven-
ture forty-fve, peradventure forty,
peradventure thirty, peradventure
twenty, peradventure ten."
THOSE SIX PEBADvENTUREs,
those six offs" killed the prayer and
Sodom went down and went under.
Nearly all the prayers that were an
swered had no "Ifs" in them. The
prayer of Elijah that changed dry
weather to wet weather. The prayer
that changed Hezekiah from a sick man
to a well man. The prayer that halted
sun and moon without shaking the
universe to pieces Oh rally your soul
for a prayer with no "Ifs" In 1t. Say
in substance, Lord, thou hast prom
ised pardon and 1 take 1t. Here are
my wounds, heal them. Here is my
blindness, irradiate il. Here are my
chains of bondage, by the Gospel ham
mer strike them off, | am fleeing to
the City of Refuge and am sure this Is
the right way. Thanks be to God, l
am free"
Once. by the law. my hopes were slain,
But now, IN Christ, live again.
With the Mosaic earnestness Of my
text and without its Mosaic cts" let
us cry out for God Aye, If words fail
us, let US take the suggestion Of that
printers dash of the text, and with a
wordless silence implore pardon and
comfort and life and heaven. For this
assemblage, all of wnom / shall meet
i'm the last judg ment, dare not offer
the prayer of my text, and so l change
it and say: Lord God, forgive our
sins, aud write our names in the book
Of Thy loving remembrance, from
which they shall never be blotted out. "
Acquitted OF Murder.
Sn,etal CorrssToadsnes or the Rs0fstsr.
BEVERLY, w. VA. November 19.-
There was universal rejoicing at Bsver-
ly, Randolph county, on, Saturday over
the acouittal of six of the most promi-
nent cil.ssn OF that section on charge
of murder, tried and acquitted in the
Criminal Court OF Baltimore City. The
gentlem who were thus placed in jeop-
srdy were J. L. Wamsley, the prosecut-
ing attorney of Randolph County; Nell
son Wilson, deputy clerk Of the Circuit
Court; S. A. Brown, ex-deputy clerk
and the editor of the Randolph Enter
prise; Leslie Harding, acting deputy
clerk Of the County Court, and r. B.
Coolinger and E. d. Wamsley, two
- H.,