Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1894-11-02

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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 its full precincts, you
will find your whole character reflected,
every feature of moral deforinity, 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
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 a
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 counte-
nance and tho need of washing, and
there was nothing to wash WITH" Clio
~ be to God, 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 than he wash
ed and was clean-glorious type OF the
gospel Of my Lord Jesus, that first shows
man his sin and then washes it all
away!
The Daily Need.
want you to notice that this LAYER
in which the priest washed-the laver
of looking glasses-was filled with fresh
water every morning. The servants Of
the tabernacle brought the water in
buckets and poured it into this LAYER.
So it is with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It has fresh salvation every day. 1t IS
not a stagnant pool filed with accumu-
lated corruptions. 1t is living water,
which is brought from the eternal
rock to wash away the sims of yester-
day, of one moment ago. "Oh, says
some one, II was a Christian 20 years
agop' 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, a
fresh salvation Suppose time Of war
should come, and l could show the gov
eminent that 1 had been loyal to it IL
wears ago, would that excuse me from
taking an oath Of allegiance nowf Sup
pose you ask me about my physical
health, and l should say was well 10
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 10 experience OF present
mercy and pardon! When l was on the
sea, and there came up 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 were taken away, my family
would be cared for, and then l thought,
Is the premium paid up? and said,
Yes. Then felt comfortable. Yet there
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 1 want to find out how friend
feels toward me, do 60 to the drawer
and find some old yellow letters written
to me 10 or ~ years ago? No. l go to
the letter that was stamped the day be-
fore yesterday in the postofice, 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 tho glittering robe OF
Ch1ist's righteousnessf from the Saviour
hand. You say you were plunged in the
fountain of the Saviour S mercy quarter
of century ago. That is nothing to me.
| tell you to wash now in this LAYER Of
looking glasses and have Your soul made
clean.
Made Wholly Clean.
Inotice also in regard 10 this laver OF