The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1894-11-02

have bad nature. We were born with
1t. We got it from our parents. They
got it from their parents. Our thoughts
are wrong, our action is wrong, our
whole life is obnoxious to God before
conversion, and after conversion not
one good thing in us but that which the
grace of God has planted and fostered.
We'll" you say, II can't believe that
70 be So" All, my dear brother, that
is because You have never looked into
this laver of looking glasses.
1t Ia Full Of Evil.
If you could catch a glimpse of your
natural heart before God, you would
cry out In amazement and alarm. The
very first thing this gospel does is to cut
down our pride and self sufficiency. If
man does not feel his lost and ruined
condition before God, he does not want
any gospel. think the reason that there
gre so few conversions in this day is be-
slrse the tendency of tho preaching is
to make men believe that they are pref
ty good anyhow-quite clever, only
wanting little fixing up, a few touch
es of divine grace, and then you will be
all right-instead of proclaiming the
broad, deep truth that Payson and
Whitefield Numbered to race trembling
on the verge of infinite and eternal
disaster. Now" says some one, "can
this really be true? Have we all gone
astray? Is there no good in usf" In
Hampton Court saw room where the
four walls were covered with looking
glasses and it made no difference which
way yor looked you saw yourself. And
80 it is in this gospel of Christ. If you
once step within its full precincts, you
will find your whole character reflected,
every feature of moral deformity, ev-
cry spot of moral faint. If understand
the word of God, its first announcement
is that we are lost. care not, my broth
er, how magnifcently you may have
heritage on ancestry, you are lost by
reason of sin But, you say, what
Is the use of all this---of showing
mans faults when he can't get rid of
them?" Monet "What was the use of
that FURNISHED surface to this laver of
looking glasses spoken Of in the text, if
it only showed the spots on the counte
nance and the need Of washing, and
there was nothing to wash with" Clio
ry be to God, / find that this lavor of
looking glasses was filed with fresh
water every morning and the priest no
sooner looked on its FURNISHED side and
saw his need of cleansing than he wash
ed and was clean-glorious type Of the
gospel of my Lord Jesus, chat first shows
a man his sin and then washes it all
away
The Daily Need.
l want you to notice that this laver
in which the priest washed--the laver
of looking glasses-was filed with fresh
water every morning The servants of
the tabernacle brought the water i'll
buckets and poured it into this LAYER.
So it is with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
1t has fresh salvation every day. 1t is
not stagnant pool filled with accumu-
lated corruptions 1t is living water,
which is brought from the eternal
rock to wash away the sins of yester
day, of one moment ago. "Oh, )" says
some one, Il was Christian 20 years
ago!' That does not mean anything to
me. What are you now? We are not
talking, my brother, about pardon ten
years ago, but about pardon now, q
fresh salvation. Suppose a time of war
should come and could show the gov
eminent that had been loyal to it 10
years ago, would that excuse me from
taking an oath of allegiance now? Sup
pose you ask me about my physical
health, and should say / was well 15
| years ago, that does not say how am
now. The gospel Of Jesus Christ comes
and demands present allegiance. present
! fealty, present moral health, and yet
| how many Christians there are seeking
| to live entirely in past experience, who
| seem to have no experience of present
mercy and pardon! When / was on the
sea, and there came up a great storm,
| and officers and crew and passengers all
| thought we must go down, l began to
| think of my life insurance, and wheth-
er, if We're taken away, my family
| would be cared for, and then thought,
| Is the premium paid up? and l said,
| 1 TO- uGI lSlu COllllO1 1 CT uuClC
are men who, in religious matters, are
| looking back to past insurance They
| have let it run out, and they have moth
ing for the present, no hope nor pardon,
| falling back on the old insurance policy
of 10, 20, 80 years ago.
If I want to find out how friend
feels toward me- do l go to the drawer
and find some old yellow letters written
to me 10 or IL years ago? No. go to
the letter that was stamped the day be-
fore yesterday in the postoffice, and
find how he feels toward me. 1t is not
! in regard to old communications we had
with Jesus Christ. 1t is communications
we have now Are we not in sympathy
with him this morning, and is he not in
sympathy with us? Do not spend SO
much of your time in hunting in the
wardrobe for the old, wornout shoes of
| Christian profession. Come this morn
ing and take the glittering robe of
Christ's righteousness from the Saviour's
hand. You say you We're plunged in the
fountain Of the Saviour mercy quarter
of century ago. That is nothing to me.
Voll YOU W WdSA HOW LII tuiS ltNcI VI
looking glasses and have your soul made
clean.
Made Wholly Clean.
I notice also III regard to this laver of
looking glasses spoken of in the text
that the priests always washed both
hands and feet The water came down
in spouts, SO that, without leaving any
filth in the basin, the priests washed both
hands and feet So the gospel of Jesus
Christ must touch the very extremitics Of
our moral nature. A man cannot fence off
2 small part of his soul and say, How.
this is to be a garden in which will
have all the fruits and flowers of Chris
tian character while outside it shall be
the devils commons" No, no. 1t will
be all garden or none. / sometimes hear
people say, He is very good man ex-
cept in politics. Then he is not good
man.
u