The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1894-10-31

their parents. Our thoughts are wrong,
our action is wrong; our whole life is
obnoxious to God before conversions;
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 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-sufficiency.
If man does not feel his lost and
ruined condition before God, he does
not want any gospel. l think the rea'
son 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
few touches of divine grace, and then
you will be all right; instead Of pro-
claiming the broad, deep truth that
Payson and Whitfield thundered to a.
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 us?" In Hampton court l
saw room where the four walls were
covered with looking glasses; and it
made no difference 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 reflected;
every feature of moral deformity, every
spot of moral taint. If understand
the word of God, it's first announce
ment is that we are lost. care not,
my brother, how magnifcently you
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
this laver of looking 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, find
that this laver 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
cleaning than he washed and was clean
glorious type of the Gospel of my
Lord Jesus, that first shows a 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 filed with fresh
water every morning. The servants 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 fresh salvation every day. 1t is
not stagnant pool filed with accumu-
lated corruptions. 1t is living water,
which is brought from the eternal rock
to wash the sins of yesterday-of one
moment ago. "O," says some one, 81
was Christian twenty years agop
That does not mean anything to me
What are you now? We are not talk
ing, my brother, about pardon ter
years ago, but about pardon now-s
fresh salvation. Suppose time Of
war should come, and l could show
the government that 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 moi
say how am now. The gospel Of Jesus
Christ comes and demands present al
legiance, present fealty, present NORA
health, and yet how many Christians
there are seeking to live entirely in pas
experience, who seem to have no ex
perience of present mercy and pardon
When was on the sea, and there came
up great storm, and officers and crew
and passengers all thought we must gC
down, began to think of my life insur
ance, and whether If were taken away
my family would be cared for; and ther
1 thought is the premium paid up? ant
said yes. Then 1 felt comfortable
Yet there are men who, in religion.
matters, are looking back to past insur
ance. They have let it run out, ant
they have nothing for the present, nj
hope nor pardon-falling back on thu
old insurance policy of ten, twenty
thirty years ago If want to find ou
how friend feels toward me, do q
to the drawer and find some old yellow
letters written to me ten or twelv,
years ago? No, 1 go to the letter tina
was stamped day before yesterday il
the post Office, and find how he feel
toward me. 1t is not in regard to OLE
communications we had with Jesu
Christ, it is communications we hav,
now. Are we not in sympathy will
him this morning, and is he not in sym
pathy with us? Do not spend so mucl
of your time in hunting in the ward
robe for the old worn out shoes O
Christian profession. Come this morn
ing and take the glittering robe o
Christ's Righteousness from the Saw
iour's hand You say you wer'
plunged in the fountain of the Saviour
mercy quarter of a century ago
That is nothing to me; tell you t.
wash now in this laver of looking
glasses and have your soul made clean
1 notice also, in regard to this lave
of looking glasses spoken Of in tn,
text, that the priests always washed
both hands and feet. So the gospel o
Jesus Christ must touch the very ex
tremities Of our moral nature. A maj
cannot fence off small part of his sou