The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1894-11-07

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 conversions;
aRd after conversion, not one good
thing in us but that which the grace
of God has planted and fostered.
"Well," you say, 81 CAN'T believe that
to be So" All! my dear brother, that
is because you have never looked into
this laver of looking-glasses.
If you could catch 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-suhiciency
If man does rot feel his lost and
ruined condition before God, he does
not want any Gospel. think the rea-
son that there are so few conversions in
this day is because the tendency of the
preaching is to make men believe that
they are pretty good anyhow-quite
clever, only wanting little fixing up
"a few touches of Divine grace, and
then you will be all right; instead of
proclaiming the broad, deep truth that
Payson and Whi$efeld hundred to
race trembling ON the verge Of infinite
and eternal disaster. "Now," says
some one, "can this really be true? Is
there no good in us?" In Hampton
court I saw room where the four
walls were covered with looking
glasses, and it made no differ
ence which way you looked, you
saw yourself. And so it is in
this Gospel of Christ. If you
once step within it's full precincts you
will find your whole character reflect
ed; every feature of moral depravity;
every spot of moral taint. If ] under
stand the Word of God, its first an
nouncement is that we are lost. care
not, my brother, how magnifcently
you may have been born, or what may
have been your heritage or 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?" None!
What was the use of that
FURNISHED surface to that laver
of loolzing-glasses spoken of in the
text, if it only showed the spots on the
countenance and the need of washing.
and there was nothing to wash with?"
Glory be to God, I find that this laver
of looking-glasses was filled with
fresh water every morning, and the
priest no sooner looked on its FURNISHED
side and saw his need of cleansing,
then he washed and was clean-glori-
GUS type of the Gospel of my Lord
Jesus. that first shows man his sin,
and then washes it all away.
want you to notice that this laver
in which the priest washed-the laver
of looking-glasses-was filled with
fresh water every morning. The SER
wants Of the tabernacle brought the
water in buckets and poured it into
this laver. So it is with the Gospel of
Jesus Christ; it has a fresh salvation
every day. It is not stagnant pool
filed with accumulated corruptions.
It is living water, which is brought
from the eternal rock to wash
away the sins of yesterday
of. one moment ago. 'Oh,"
says some one, 81 was Christian
twenty 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 nova fresh salvation. Sup
pose a time OF war should come,
and 1 could show the government
that I had been loyal to it
twelve years ago, would that excuse
me from taking an oath of allegiance
now? Suppose you ask me about my
physical health, and should say was
well fifteen years ago-that does not
say how I am now. The Gospel Of
Jesus Christ comes and demands pres
ent allegiance, present fealty, present
moral health; and yet how many
Christians there are seeking to live en-
tirely in past experience Of present
mercy and pardon! When was on
the sea, and there came up great
storm, and officers and crew and pas.
sengers all thought we must go down,
r began to think of my life in
surance, and whether, if I were
taken away, my family would
be cared for; and then I thought
is the premium paid up? and I
said: Yes. Then felt comfortab BILE.
Yet there are men who, in religious
matters, are looking back to past in
surance. They have let it run out, and
they have nothing for the present, no
hope nor pardon-falling back on the
old insurance policy of ten, twenty,
thirty years ago. If want to find out
how friend feels toward me, do I go
to the drawer and find some old yellow
letter written to me ten or twelve
years ago? No; I 60 to the letter
that was stamped the day before
yesterday in the post Office, and
I find how how he feels toward me.
It is not in regard TO old communica-
tions we had with Jesus Christ; it is
communications we have now. Are
we not in sympathy with Him this
morning, and is He not in sympathy
-