News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1894-09-06
Perfect Confidence.


to trust i'll Christ?
Perfect Confidence.
Just as you trust any one. You trust
your partner in business with important
things. If a commercial house gives you
a note payable three months hence, you
expect the payment Of that note at the
end of three months You have perfect
confidence i'll their word and i'll their
ability. Or, again, you go home today
You expect there will be food Oh the
table You have confidence in that
Now, ask you to have the same conf
dence in the Lord Jesus Christ He says
"You believe; take away your sins, "
and they are all taken away. what"
you say, "bofore pray any more? Be
fore read my Bible any more? Before
l cry over my sins any more?" Yes, this
moment. Believe with all your heart,
and you are saved Why, Christ is only
waiting to get from you what you give
to scores Of people every day. What is
that? Confidence. If these people whom
you trust day by day are more worthy
than Christ, if they are more faithful
than Christ, if they have done more
than Christ ever did, then give them the
preference, but If you really think that
Christ is as trustworthy as they are then
deal with him as fairly.
ooh, says some one in light way,
81 believe that Christ was born in Beth
lehem, and believe that he died on the
cross" Do you believe it with your
head or your heart? Twill illustrate the
difference. You arc in your own house.
In the morning you open newspaper,
and you read how Captain Braveheart
on the sea rislled his life for tho saliva
ton of his passengers. You say: "What
a grand follow he must have been! lis
family deserves very well of the COua-
try" You fold the newspaper ard sit
down at the table and perhaps 90 rot
think of that incident again. That is
historical faith.
Saved by Faith.
But now you are on the sea, and it is
night and you are acleep, and you are
awakened by the Shrek of "Firc!' You
rush out on the deck. You hear, amid
the wringing Of the hands and the faint
ing the cry: "No hope, no hope! We
are lost, we are LOST" The sail puts out
its wing OF fire, the ropes make burn
ing ladder in the night heavens, the
spirit of wrecks Kisses in the wave, and
on the hurricane deck shakes out its ban
ner of smoke and darkness. Down
with the lifeboatsp' cries the captain.
Down with the lifeboats!' People rush
into them. The boats are about full.
Room only for one more man. You are
standing on the deck beside the captain.
Who shall it be? You or the captain?
The captain says, You" You jump
and are saved. He stands there and dies.
Now, you believe that Captain Brave
heart sacrificed himself for his passen-
gers, but you believe it with love, with
tears, with hot and long continued ex-
carnations, with grief at his loss and
joy at your deliverance. That is saving
faith-in other words, what you believe
with all the heart and believe in regard
to yourself. On this hinge turns my ser
mon-aye, the salvation of your i'm
mortal soul. You often go across
bridge you know nothing about. You
do not know who built the bridge, you
do not know what material it is made
of, but you come to it and walk over it
and ask no questions. And here is an
arched bridge blasted from the 'Rock
of Ages" and built by the Architect of
the whole universe, spanning the dark
gulf between sin and righteousness, and
all God asks You is to walk across it,
and you start, and you come to it, and
you stop, and you go little way on,
aid you stop, and you fall back, and
you experiment. You say, "How do !
know that bridge will hold ne?" in
stead Of marching on with firm step
ssking nc questions, but feeling that
the strength of the eternal God is under
you.
Oh, was there ever a prize proffered
20 cheap rs pardon and heaven are Of
fered to yor? For how much? A million
dollars? 1t is certainly worth more than