Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1893-07-07


| mercitul TO me "a sinner"
No mountain ever had more bril-
liant Coz, net than Mount Moriah.
The glories of The ancient temple
blazed there. The mountain p was
not originally large enough TO hold
the nipple, and so a wall SIX hundred
feet high was erected, and the noun
tain was built out into that wall. 1t
was at that po.nt that Satan met
Christ, and tried to persuade him to
cast himself down the six hundred
feet. The nine gates of the temple
fiashe the light of silver and gold and
Corinthian brass, which Corinthian
brass was mere precious stones melted
and mixed and crystalized. The tenn
pie itself was not so very large struct-
ure, but the courts and the adjuncts
of the architecture made it half "a mile
in circumference.
We stand and look off upon the won
drous structure. What's the matter?
What strange appearance in the
temple? Is it fire? Why, it seems as
If it were mansion all kindled into
flame. What's the matter? Why, it's
the hour of morning sacrifice, and the
smoke on the altar rises and bursts out
of the creviceS and out OF the door. and
wreathcs the mountain-top with folds
of smoke, through which glitter prec-
ious stones, gathered and Furnished
by royal munificence.
see two men mounting the steps of
the building; they go side by side;
they are very unlike; no sympa ny be,
Ween them-the one the Pharisee-
proud, arrogant, pompous, he goes up
the ep, of the building; he seems by
his manner 10 say: "Clear The track!
Never before anne up these steps such
GOODNESS nd'consecration.
Beside him was the publican, bowed
down, seemingly, with n load on his
heart They reach the enclosure
for worship in the midst of the temple;
the PhariSee goes close up to the gate
of the Holy of Holes; he feels he is
worthy TO stand there: he says,p IT,
cally: ~ am so holy 1 want TO go into
the Holy of Holes. O, Lord. am
a very good man; I'm a remarkably
good man; why, two davs in t e week
/ eat absolutely nothing. I'm so good;
I'm vev generous in my conduct to-
ward the poor; | have no sympathy
with the common bible, especially
have | none with this poor, miserable
common place, wretched publican, who
happened TO come up the stairs beside
me-
The publican went clear to the other
side of the enclosure, 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 afdr off. Standing
on the opposite side of this en- losure
he bows his head. AMI as Orientals
when they have any trouble beat their
breasts, so he b gins TO pound his
breast. as he cries, God be merciful
TO me a sinnpr!'
Oh, was there ever n greater con-
trast? The incense that waited that
morning from the priests censor was
not SO sweet as the publicau's prayer
floating into the opening heavens;
while the rayer of the PHarisee died
on his contemptuous lips, and rolled
down into his arrogant he TT.
Worshiping there, they join each
other, and go side by side down the
steps, the Pharisee cross, wretched,
acrid, saturnine; the publican, with
his face shining with the very joys of
heaven; for ~ tell YOU that this man
went down to his house justified rather
than the other"
Now, | put this publican's prayer
under analysis. and | discover in the
first place that he was persuaded of
his sinfulness lie was an honest man,
he was tax gatherer, he was an Off
Ger of the government; the publicans
were tax-gatherers, and Cicero says
they were the adornment of the state.
OF course they were somewhat unpop-
ular, because people then did not like
to pay their taxes any more than peo-
, pie now like TO pav their taxes, and
there were many who disliked them.
Still, suppose this publican, this I, x-
gatnerer, was an hon ,rable man; he
had an Office of rust; there were many
hard things said about him: and yet,
stand ny there in that enclosure Of The
temple, amid the demonstrations of
Gods holiness and power. he cries out
from the very depths of his stricken
soul, "God be merciful to me a sinner!"
BY what process shall / prove that ]
am a sinner? by what process shall
prove that you are a sinner? Shall l
ask you to weigh your motives, to scan
your action to estimate your behavior?
/ will do nothing of the kind; | will
draw nv argument rather from the
plan Of the work that God has achI eved
for your salvation.
You go down in a storm to the beach,
and you see wreckers put on their
rough jackets, and launch the life
boat, and then shoot the rockets to
show that help is coming, out into the
breakers, and you Immediately crv.
"A shipwreck" And when | see the
Lord Je us putting aside robe and
crown, and launch out on the tossing
sea of human suffering and sat mic
hate, going out into the laundering
surge of death, cry, "A shipwreckr'
/ know that our souls are dreadfully
lost. by the WORK that God has done to
save them. Are you a sinner? Sup
pose you had commercial agent in
Charles on or San Franc SEQ or Chi
cago. and you were pay ing him prompt
" his salary, and you found out, after
awhile. that notwiths and .ng he had
drawn The salary, he had given nine-
tenths of all the time to some other
commercial establ lshment Why,
your Indignation would know no
bounds. And yet that is just the way
we have treated the Lord.
lie sent us out into this world TO
serve him. lie has taken good care of
us; he has clothed us, he has sheltered
us, and he has surrounded us with ten
A n