News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1893-07-06
News and Citizen.
MORRISVILLE and HYDE PARK.
Thursday, July 8, 1898.
THE SINNERS HOPE.
fHE PUBLICAN WAS JUSTIFIED BE-
CAUSE OF HIS HUMILITY.

The Self Righteous Pharisee-why the
Publicans Were DisIiked and Their Title
Used as aByword Among the Jews-This
One Admitted His Sin-PracticaI Appeal.
BROOKLYN, July 2.-Rev. DIR. Talmage
had selected as his subject for today
picture of contrast, Arrogance and HUI
mility," the text being Luke xviii, Is,
''God be merciful unto me, sinnerp
No mountain ever had more brilliant
coronet than Mount Moriah. The glories
of the ancient temple blazed there. The
mountain top was not originally large
enough to hold the temple, and so wall
800 feet high was erected, and the noun
tain was built out into that wall.
1t was at that point that satan met
Christ and tried to persuade him to cast
himself down the 600 feet. The nine
gates of the temple flashed the light of
silver and gold and Corinthian brass,
which Corinthian brass was mere pre-
cious stones melted and mixed and crys-
tallized The temple itself was not so
very large structure, but the courts
and the adjuncts of the architecture
made it half mile in circumference.
THE MORNING SACRIFICE.
We stand and look upon that Won
drous structure What's the matter?
What strange appearance in the temple?
Is it fire? Why, it seems as if it were a
mansion all kindled into fame What's
the matter? Why, its the hour of morn
ing sacrifice, and the smoke on the altar
rises and bursts out of the crevices and
out of the door and wreathes the noun
tain top with folds of smoke through
which glitter precious stones gathered
and FURNISHED by royal munifcence.
/ see two men mounting the steps of
the building They go side by side; they
are very unlike; no sympathy between
them-the one the pharisee, proud AFRO
CANT, pompous; he goes up the steps of
the building; he seems by his manner to
say: Clear the track Never before
came up these steps such go and
conservation"
Beside him was the publican, bowed
down, seemingly, with a load ON his
heart. They reach the Enclosure for
worship in the midst of the temple.
The ,pharisee froes close up to the gate
of the holy , f holes. He feels he is
worthy to stand there. He says prac-
tically: 81 am so holy want to go into
the holy of holes. o Lord, am very
good man! ] am a remarkably good
man. Why, two days in the week l eat
absolutely nothing I'm so good I'm
very generous in my conduct toward
the poor. have no sympathy with the
common rabble; especially have none
with this poor, miserable, commonplace,
- 30
come up the stairs beside me-"
THE REPENTANT PUBLICAN.
The publican went clear to the other
side of the inclosure, as far away from
the gate of the holy of holes as he
could get, for he felt unworthy to stand
near the sacred place And the Bible
says he stood afar off. Standing on the
opposite side of this Enclosure, he bows
his head, and as orientals when they |
have any trouble beat their breasts, so
he begins to pound his breast as he cries, |
"God be merciful to me, a sinner"
Oh. was there ever a greater contrast? |
The incense that waited that morning
from the priests censor was not SO sweet |
as the publican's prayer floating into the
opening heavens, while the prayer of the
pudI1Stt ultl OIl Ills SIuDIllOuS lips
and rolled down into his arrogant heart.
Worshiping there, they join each other
and go side by side down the steps, the
pharisee cross, wretched, acrid, satur-
nine-the publican with his face shining
with the very joys of heaven, for 81 tell
you that this man went down to his
house justified rather than the other"
Now, put this publican's prayer I'M
der analysis, and | discover in the first
place that he was persuaded of his sin
fulness. He was an honest man; he
was a taxgatherer; he was an officer of
the government. The publicans were tax
gatherers, and Cicero says they were the
adornment of the state. OF course they
were somewhat unpopular, because peo-
pie then did not like to pay their taxes
any better than people now like to pay
their taxes, and there were many who
disliked them.
Still | suppose this publican, this tax
gatherer, was an honorable man. He
had an office of trust; there were many
hard things said about him, and vet,
standing there in that inclosure of the
temple amid the demonstrations of
Gods holiness and power, he cries out
from the very depths of his soul, 'God
be merciful to me, sinner" By what
process shall prove that / am a sinner?
By what process shall l prove that you
are sinner? Shall ask you to weigh
your motives, to scan your actions, to
estimate your behavior? will donothing
of the kind. will draw my argument
rather from the plan of the work that
God has achieved for your salvation.
SHIPwRECKED SOULS.
You go down in storm to the beach,
and you see wreckers put on their rough
jackets and launch the lifeboat and
then shoot the rockets to show that help
Is coming out into the breakers, and you
Immediately cry, "a shipwreckr' And
when | see the Lord Jesus Christ putting
aside robe and crown and launch out on
the tossing sea of human suffering and
Fatanic hate, going out into the thunder
ing surge of death, cry, ga shipwreckr'
/ know that our souls are dreadfully
lost by the work that God has done to
save them. Are you a sinner? Suppose
you had a commercial agent in Charles
ton or San Francisco or Chicago, and
YOU were paying him promptly his sal
airy, and you found out after awhile
that notwithstanding he had drawn the
salary he had given nine-tenths of all the
time to some other commercial estab-
ishment. Why, your indignation would
know no bounds. And yet that is just
the way we have treated the Lord.
He sent us out into the world to serve
him. He has taken good care of us. He
has clothed us, he has sheltered us, and
he has surrounded us with 10000 bene-
factions, and yet many of us have given
nine-tenths of our lives to the service Of
the world, the flesh and the devil. Why,
my friend, The Bible is full of confession,
and do not find anybody is pardoned
until he has confessed.
What did David say? II will confess
my transgressions unto the Lord" What
did Isaiah say? ''Woe is me, because
am a man of unclean lips" What did
Ezra say? "Our iniquities are increased
over our head, and our tresspass is grown
up into heaven" And among the mil
lions before the throne of God tonight |
not one got there until he confessed. |
The coast of eternal sorrow is strewn |
with the wreck of those who, not taking |
the warning, drove with the cargo of |
immortal hope into the white tangled |
foam of the breakers.
Repent the voice celestial cries,
Nor longer dare delay;
The wretch that scorns the mandate dies |
And meets the fiery day.
NO SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
But analyze the publican's PRAYER a |