Connecticut western news., 1893-12-14

circumstances. and yet in the fresh mem- ory of that scene he goes to persecute Christ's disciples, impatient at the time it takes to feed the horses at the inn, not pulling at the snafne, but riding with loose rein faster and faster. Oh, he was the chief of sinners! No outbreak of modesty when he said that. He was a murderer. He stood by when Stephen died and helped in the execution of that good man.
 1 When the rabble wanted to be unim- peded in their work of destroying Steph- en and wanted to take off their coats, but did not dare to lay them down lest they be stolen, Paul said, "rll take care of the coats,'' and they put them down at the feet of Paul, and he watched the coats, and he watched the horrid man. gling of glorious Stephen. Is it wonder that when he fell from the horse he did not break his neck-that his foot did not catch somewhere in the trappings of the saddle, and he was not dragged and kicked to death? He deserved to die miserably, wretchedly and forever, notwithstanding all his metaphysics, and his eloquence, and his logic.
 THE CHIEF OF SINNERS.
 He was the chief of sinners. He said what was true when he said that. And yet the grace of God saved him, and so it will you. If there is any man in this house who thinks he is too bad to be saved and says, "I have wandered very grievously from God; do not believe there is any hope for me-" 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 stoutly 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: II will keep on with them. know I am breaking my mothers heart, and know I am killing myself, and I know that when die I shall go to hell, but it is now too late to stop"
 The steed on which you ride may be swifter and stronger and higher mettled than that on which the Glician perse- cutor rode, but Christ can catch it by the bridle and hurl it back and hurl it down. There is mercy for you who say you gre 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 commit ted has been among the most aggravat- ing circumstances; that was so with Paul's. &TE S
 You say you have exasperated Christ l ,~,,sx, o0 1 And yet he sits today on one of the high est of the heavenly thrones, and there is mercy for you, and good days for you, and gladpess for you, if you will only take the ssspe Christ which first threw him down and then raised him up. It seems to me as if I can see Paul today rising mp from the highway to Damas- GUS, and brushing off the dust from his cloak, and wiping the sweat of excite ment from his brow, as he turns to us and all the ages, saying, ''This faith ful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom am chief.'
 THE SUBLIME REALITY.
 Once more, I learn from this subject that there is a tremendous reality in re ligion. If 1t had been mere optical de- fusion on the road to Damascus, was not Paul just the man to find it out? If it had been sham and pretense, would he not have pricked the bubble? He was man of facts and arguments, of the most gigantic intellectual nature, and not man of hallucinations. And when see him fall from the saddle, blinded and
 
 overwhelmed, I say there must have been something in it. And, my dear brother, you will find that there is some thing in religion somewhere. The only question is, Wherep
 There was man who rode from Stam- ford to London, 95 miles, in five hours 8 woman of Newmarket who rode on horseback thousand miles in thousand hours. Very swift. But there are those here-aye, all of us are speeding on at tenfold that velocity, at thousandfold that rate, toward eternity. May AL mighty God. from the opening heavens, flash upon your soul this hour the ques- tion 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 broken heart and sobs into your ear: "I have come for thee. come with my back raw from the beating. I come with my feet man. gled with the nails. I come with my broW aching from the twisted bramble. I come with my heart bursting for your woes. I can stand it no longer. I am Jesus whom thou persecutest."