Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1893-07-06
tinguished YOU; add them all up into

tingulshed you; add them all up into
the tremendous aggregate of good
words and works, and 'then you will
see Paul sharpen his knife as he cuts
that spirit of self satisfaction, as he
/ cries, ''By the deeds of the law there
shall no flesh be justified"
4 Well say a thousand men in this
audience, If am not to get anything
in the way of peace from God in good
works, how am l to be saved? by
mercy. Here / stand to tell the story;
/ mercy, mercy, long-suffering mercy;
sovereign mercy, infinite mercy, omni-
potent mercy, everlasting mercy. Why,
it seems in the Bible as if all Ian
guage were exhausted, as if it were
stretched until it broke, as il all ex-
preston were struck dead at the feet
4 of prophet and apostle and evangelist.
when it tries to describe Gods mercy.
Oh, says some one, that is only adj
ding to my crime, If | come and con-
fess before God and seek his mercy.
( No, no! The murderer has come. and
while he was washing the blood of his
victim from his hands, looked into the
face of God and cried for mercy, and
his soul has Eeen white in Gods par
doning love! And the soul that has
wandered off in the streets, and down
to the very gates of hell, has come
back to her fathers house, throwing
her arms around his neck, and been
saved by the mercy that saved Mary
Magdalen.
But, says some one, you are throw
/ ing open that door of mercy too wide.
No. ! will throw it open wider; will
+ take the responsibility of saying that
if all this audience, instead of being
gathered in semicircle, were placed
side by side, in one long line, they
! could all march right through the wide
open gate of mercy. "'Whosoever,"
'whosoever. oh, this mercy of God
there is no line long enough to
fathom it; there is no ladder long
enough to scale it: there is no arith-
metic facile enough to calculate it; no
angels wings can fly across it,
Heavenly harpcrs, aided by choirs
with feet like the sun, cannot compass
that harmony of Mercy, Mercy. 1t
sounds in the rumbling of the celes-
tial gate; ] hear it in the Ginning of
the celestial towers; | see it fla shing
in the uplifted and downcast coronets
of the saved; hear it in the thunder
| ing tread of the hammered hosts round
about the throne; and then it comes
from the harps, and crowns, and
thrones, and professions, to sit down,
unexpres ed, on throne overlapping
all heaven-the throne of mercy,
How | was affected when some one
told me in regard to that accident on
Long Island Sound, when one poor
woman came and got her hand on a
raft, as she tried to save herself. but
those who were on the raft thought
e., 1o,,
man came and most cruelty beat and
bruised her hands until she fell off.
Oh, bless God that this lifc-boat of
the Gospel has room enough for the
sixteen hundred millions of the race
room for one, room for all, and yet
there is room,
push this analysis of the publican's
prayer step further. and find that he
did not expect any mercy except by
pleading for it. lie did not fold his
hands together, as some do, saying IF
Pm to be saved, Pll be saved; if I'm
to be lost, I'll be lost and there is
! nothing for me to do" He knew what
was worth having was worth asking
for; hence this earnest cry of the text,
"God be merciful to me sinner"
This prayer of the publican was also
! IL hC L ildl IpCC
looked up, the publican looked down.
! You cannot be saved as metaphysi-
clan, or as a rhetorician; you cannot
be saved as scholar; you cannot be
saved as an artist: you cannot be saved
as an official. fyou are ever saved at
! all it will be as sinner. ''God be
merciful to me sinner"
Another characteristic of the prayer
! of the publican was, it had ring of
! confidence. 1t was not cry of despair
/ lie knew he was going to get what he
! asked for; he wanted mercy, he asked
for it expecting it. And do you tell
me. oh man. that God has provided
this salvation, and is not going to let
you have it?
If n man build bridge across
river, will he not let people go over it?
! If physician gives prescription to a
sick man. will he not let him take it?
{ If an architect puts up building, will
he not let people in it? If God provides
salvation, will he not let you have it?
! oh, if there be Pharisee here, man
who says, l am all right, my past life
has been right, don't want the par
don of the Gospel, for | have no sin
! to pardon, let me say that while that
man is in that mood there is no peace
| for him: there is no pardon, no saliva
! ton: and the probability is he wi go
down and spend eternity with the
! lost Pharisee of the text.
/ But if there be here one who says, /
want to be better, / want to quit my
sins, my life has been q very imperfect
life; how many things have / said
! that should not have said, how many
things have done / should not have
done; | want to change my life; want
| to begin now; let me say to such a
SOUL God is waiting God is ready, and
YOU are near the kingdom, or rather
| YOU have entered it, for no man says, i
am determined TO serve God, and sur
render the sins of my life; here now, /
consecrate myself to the Lord Jesus
| Christ who died to redeem memo
man from the depth of his soul says
that, but he is already Christian.
| My uncle, the Rev. Samuel X. Tai
mage of Augusta, Ca, was passing
along the streets of Augusta one dly.
| and he saw man, a black man, step
/ from the sidewalk out into the street,
/ take his hat off, and bow very lowly.
/ NV uncle was not man who de-
manded obsequiousness, and he said,
what do you do that for?" "Oh,"
! saws the man, "Massa, the other night
/ l was going along the street and had
burden on my shoulder, and | was
sick, and was hungry, and | came to
the door of your church, and you were
/ preaching about God be merciful to
| me sinner and stood there at the
door long enough to hear you say that
| il a man could utter that prayer from
! the depths of his soul God would par
don him, and finally take him to
! heaven Then put my burden on nay
shoulder and started. home. got to
/ my home, aud sat down and l said,
| God be merciful to me a sinner but it
got darker and darker, and then
| Massa, | got down on my knees, and
! said, God be merciful to me sinner
and the burden got heavier, and it got
| darker and darker; | knew not what to
do. Then got down on my face, and
4 I cried God be merciful to me a sim