Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1893-12-22

inter prOstrdtiOn before GOl, gong uO"h
in the dust. with the cry, "Unclean, I'M
clean "a bewaiing OF the soul, like David
from the belly Of hell-a going down in the
dust until Christ shall by His grace lift us up
ms He lifted Paul. Oh, proud hearted
heerer. YOU must get off that horse May
iioht from the throne of God brighter than
the sun throw you1 Come down into the
dust and cry for pardonand life and heaven.
Again. l learn from this scene Of the. text
that the grace Of God can overcome tne per
secutor. Christ and Paul were boys az tne
same time in different villages, ana fau1
antipathy to- Christ was increasing nc
hated everything about Christ. lie was go
ing down then with writs in his pockets 10
have Christ's disciples arrested. He was not
roipc az a sheriff goes to arrest man against
whom he had no spite, but Paul was goinS
down to arrest those people because ne was
glad to arrest them ,L
The Rible saws. ole breathed ont slaugh-
Ter He wanted them captured, ana ne
wanted them butchered | hear the CLICK,
and clash and cetter Of the hoofs OF the gaT
loninv steeds on the way to Damascus. On
do Won think that proud man on horseoacK
csn ever become Christian2 Yes Ihere
ia voics from heaven like thunderclap
ntter,np two words, the second word the
ssme az The first, but uttered with more en-
nhasis. so that the prou equestrian may nave
no doubt as % whom is meant "Saui saul
THAT man was saved, and he was persecu-
tor. cad so God can, by His grace, overcome
any prosecutor. c...,,
The DAYS of sword and fire Tor CHRISTIANS
seem to have gone by The 6ayonets Q,
Napoleon I. pried open the "lndulsitlon
and let the totting wretches out. The
ancient dungeons around Rome are To-Day
mere cur;osities for the travellers. The
Coliseum, where wild beasts used to suck
I'D the life of the martyrs while the emperor
watched and Lola PahIiha sat with emerald
adornnetts worth &C, 900, 900 sesterces, clap
ing her hands as the Chr stiars died under
the nav and the tooth of the lion--that Col
iseum is a ruin now. The s|ene OF the
Smithneld fires il q haymarket The day OF
fire and sword for Christians seems to have
gone by. But has the day or persecution
eeasedP Nc. Are you not caricatured ior
your teligionP In proportion as yor Try 10
serve Col and be faithful.to HIM, arc you
not sometimes maltreated?
That woman finds it hard to bea Christian
as her husband talks and jeers while she ls
irving to say her prayers or read the Blbie.
That daughter finds if hard TO be Christian
with the whole family arrayed against ner-
| father. mother. brother AMI sister making
| her the target of ridicule. That young man
finds if hartto be Christian in the shop or
factory or store when his comrades ieer at
him because he will hot 20 to the gambling
hell or other places Of inlquty.
Oh. no. the days Of persecution have moi
ceased and will not until the end OF tho
world. But oh. you prosecuted ones, is it not
time that you began to pray for your perse-
cutors? They are no prou1er, no fiercer. no
| more set in their way than was this perse-
cutor of the text. He fell. They will fall II
Christ from the heavens grandly AMI glor:-
| ouslv looks out on them. God can by HIS
grace make Renan believe in the divinity OF
Jesus and Tyndall in the worth of prayer
Robert Newton stamped the ships deck III
derisive indignation at Christianity only
little while before he became a Christian.
"Out of Iay house." said father 10 ms
| daughter, "if you will keep praying. Yet
before Macy months passed the father knet
et The same altar with the child. aud the
Lord Jesus Christ is willing to look out from
heaven upon that derisive opponent OF the
| Christian religion and address him, not IN
glittering generalities, but calling him by
name: "John George Henry Saul,
Saul, why persecutest thou Me
Again. | learn from this subject that there
Is hope for the worst offenders. II was par
ticularly outrageous that Saul should have
cone TO Damascus Cd that errand. Jesus
| Christ had been dead only three years. and
the story of his Kindness and his generosity,
and his love filed all the air 1t was not an
old story, as it is now. 1t was new story.
Jesus had only three summers ago been ID
these very places, and Saul every day IN
Jerusalem must have met people WHO kne"
Christ people with good eyesight wGon
! Jesus had cured OF blindness, people VINO
J had been dead and who had been resurrectec
by the Savior, and the people VINO could TEL
PAM all the particulars of the cruclhxlon-
lust how Jesus looked in the last hour, Just
how the heavens grew black in the face al
the torture. :,
He heard that recited every day by people
who we're ACQUAINTED with all the clrcum-
stances. and vet in the fresh memory OF ina
soene he goes TO prosecute Christs disciples
impatient at the time it takes to iced IN
horses at tn inn, not pulling at the shame
hut riding with loose rein faster ana FASTER
oh, he was the chief OF sinners No outbreai
NJ ,podestv when he said that He was :
murderer He stood by when Stephen dee
and helped in tho execution OF that goo'
man.
When the rabble wanted to be unimpede.
IN their work of destroying Stephen an
wanted to take off their coats, but hld no
dare TO lay them down lest they be sstoien
PAM said. ON take care of the coats. an'
they put them down at the feet OF PAU an'
he watched the coats. and he watched IN
| nOrTld managing u ElCilOu5 ciOlE-N-f
a wonder that when he fell from the horse d
} did NOT break his neck-that his loot did no
catch somewhere in the trappings OF IN
, saddle. and he was not dragged and klcke'
20 DEATH He deserved TO die mlseraDly
wretcbedlv and forever, Notwithstanding a.
his metaphysics, and his eloquence, and hi
logic.
He was the chief of sinners. He said whs
was true when he said that. And we. N
! grace of God saved him, and go 1t VIII you
= fftbere is any man in this house who think
= he is too bad TO be saved and says, u nav
wandered very grieyously from God d
) not believe there ia any hope for me, | te
YOU the story of this man in the text who wa
! brought to Jesus Christ in apite OF his sin
and opposition. There~may'be some her
who are as stoutly opposed to Christ as Pau
:, was. There may be some here who are car
: tive Of their sins as much so as the youn
], man who said in regard TO his disslpattn
habits 81 will keep on with them. kno'
am breaking my mothers heart, and
know am killing myself. and know thu
when die l shall 60 10 he'll, but it IS no.
too late TO stop.
The steed on which you ride may b
swifter and stronger and higher melted tina
that on which the Cilician prosecutor rode
but Christ can catch II by the bride and hui
il back and hurl it down. There is Nero
,, | for YOU who say you are too bad to be saye'
You say you have put off the matter so long
Paul had neglected it great while. 70
say that the sin you have committed hi
been among the most aggravating clrcun
stances that was SO with PauIs.
7 You say you have exasperated Christ az
9 coaxed your own ruin so did Pau. Al
/ vet he sits to-day on one Of the highest
| the heavenly thrones, and there is Nero
! for YOU, and good days for you, and gla'
4 rnsn f,r ,.on II ,.o,, will only tnke the san