Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1893-07-13

IL a man build a bridge across a river,
VIII he not let people go over IL? IL
a physician gives a prescription to q
sick man, will he not let him take it?
Ii an architect puts up a building, viii
he not let people in 1t? If God pro-
vides salvation, will he not let you
have 1t! oh, If there be a Pharisee
here, a man who says, / am all right,
my past life has been right, 1 don't
want the pardon Of the Gospel, for I
nave no sins to pardon, let me say
that while that man is i'm that mood,
there Is no peace for him; there is
no pardon, no salvation, and the prob
liability is he will go down and spend
eternity with the lost Pharisee of the
text.
But IL there be the one who says I
van to be better, | want to quit my sins
my HE mas been a very imperfect life;
how mkly things have / said that /
should not have said, how many things
l have done j should not have done;
| want to change ny life; l want to
begin now; let me say to such q soul,
God is waiting, God is ready, and you
are near the kingdom, or rather you
have entered Ii, for no man says, L
am determined to serve God, and sur
reader the sins of my life; here now,
c~onsecrate myself to the Lord Jesus
christ who died to redeem memo man
from the depth of his soul says that,
bu he Is already a Christian.
My uncle, the Rev. Samuel X. Tai
mage OF Augusta, Ga, was passing
along the streets of Augusta one day,
n he saw q man, a black man, step
from the sidewalk out into the street,
take his hat Off and bow very lowly.
My uncle was not a man who demand
ed obS~equiousness, and he said: What
do you do that for?' oh" said the
man, "Massa, the other night / was
going along the street and ! had ? bur-
den IN my shoulder, and / was sick,
and l was hungry, and / came to the
door Of your church, and you We're
preaching about God be merciful to me
a sinner and l stood there ar the door
long enough to hear you say that if a
man could utter that prayer from the
depths of his soul God would pardon
him, and finally take him to heaven.
Then / put my burden ON my shoulder
ard / started home. / got TO my home
and / sat down, and / said, God be
merciful to me a sinner, but 1t got
darker and darker, and then massa |
got down on my knees, and l said, God
be merciful to me a sinner and the
burden got heavier, and it got darker
and darker; / knew not what to DO.
Then I got down on my face N l
cried, God be merciful to me a sinner
and ava off | saw a light coming,
and it came nearer and nearer ana
nearer, until all was bright in my heart
and / arose. / am happy now-the bur-
den is all gone, and | said to myself
that il ever l met you in the street L
would get clear off the sidewalk, ana
would bow down and take my hat
off before you. i feel that / W more
to YOU than to any other man. That Is
| the reason I bow before you"
oh. are there not many now who can
utter this prayer, the prayer OF the
black man. the prayer of the publican,
s.God be merciful to me a e
While / halt in the sermon, will you not
all utter it? I do not say audibly, but
| inter it down in the depths of your
souls consciousness. Yes, the sigh goes
| all through the galleries, it goes all
through the pews, it goes all through
these aisles. sigh after sigh, God be
merciful to me a sinner.
Have YOU all uttered it? No. there Is
one soul who has not uttered it; too
proud to utter ii, too hard TO utter 1t.
Oh, Holy Spirit, descend upon that n
heart. Yes, ne begins TO breathe II
now. No bending of the head yet, no
starting tear yet, but the prayer Is
beginning-it is born, God be merciful
to me a sinner. Have all uttered 1t:
Then I utter it myself, for no n III
all the house needs to utter 1t more
than my own soul: God be merclful 10
me a sinner.